Leirvik

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For other uses, see Leirvik (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Leirvík.

Leirvik is a town and the administrative centre of Stord municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Leirvik is the regional centre of Sunnhordland, and has many public services and offices such as the regional court and Sunnhordland Museum, as well as shops and resturants. In 2007, Leirvik had a population of 11,237 and a population density of 1328 per square kilometre.^[1] Leirvik has approximately 65% of the total population of Stord.

Confusingly, when the municipality of Stord declared township, they decided to name the town "Stord". This was to ensure that Leirvik and its surrounding areas were large and populous enough to qualify for Norwegian town status^{[citation needed]}. Even though this is the official name, the public acceptance of this is minimal, and the name of the urban community remains "Leirvik". The name translates into 'clay bay', the word "leire" meaning "clay" and "vik" meaning "bay". The name comes from the high concentration of clay in the ground. The locals often refer to Leirvik by the name "Vikjo" rather than "Leirvik".