| Bjerkreim | |
| Former Name: | Birkrem herred |
| Idnumber: | 1114 |
| County: | Rogaland |
| District: | Dalane |
| Capital: | Vikeså |
| Established: | 1 Jan 1838 |
| Preceded: | none |
| Demonym: | Bjerkreimsbu |
| Language: | Nynorsk |
| Coatofarms: | Bjerkreim komm.svg |
| Webpage: | www.bjerkreim.kommune.no |
| Mayor: | Tone Vaule |
| Mayor Party: | Ap |
| Mayor As Of: | 2023 |
| Area Rank: | 173 |
| Area Total Km2: | 650.56 |
| Area Land Km2: | 577.31 |
| Area Water Km2: | 73.24 |
| Area Water Percent: | 11.3 |
| Population As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Rank: | 236 |
| Population Total: | 2848 |
| Population Density Km2: | 4.9 |
| Population Increase: | 2.5 |
| Coordinates: | 58.6569°N 6.1467°W |
| Utm Zone: | 32V |
| Utm Northing: | 6505393 |
| Utm Easting: | 0334476 |
| Geo Cat: | adm2nd |
Bjerkreim is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Dalane. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vikeså. Other villages in the municipality include Bjerkreim and Øvrebygd.
Nature has been generous in giving Bjerkreim many idyllic places, making Bjerkreim a good place to live by living in a countryside environment, but still relatively close to a major city, Stavanger. Bjerkreim has one of the most important salmon rivers in Norway, Bjerkreimselva. The most important livelihoods are agriculture and small-scale industries.
The 651km2 municipality is the 173rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Bjerkreim is the 236th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,848. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 2.5% over the previous 10-year period.[1] [2]
The parish of Birkrem was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1965, there were many municipal changes in Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On that date, the Nedre Maudal area of Bjerkreim (population: 40) was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Gjesdal.[3]
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Bjerkreim farm (Norse, Old: Bjarkarheimr), since the first Bjerkreim Church was built there The first element is the genitive case of which means "birch". The last element is which means "homestead" or "farm". Before 1889, the name was written "Birkrem".[4]
The coat of arms was granted on 11 July 1986. The official blazon is "Vert, a birch branch with six leaves and four catkins argent" (Norwegian: På grøn grunn ein opprett sølv bjørkekvist med sju blad og fire raklar). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is a vertical branch from a birch tree which has six leaves and four catkins. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The design was chosen since the name of the municipality is derived from the Norwegian word for birch, Norwegian: bjørk, thus the arms are canting. The arms were designed by John Digernes. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[5] [6] [7]
The Church of Norway has one parish (Norwegian: sokn) within the municipality of Bjerkreim. It is part of the Dalane prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.
| Bjerkreim | Bjerkreim Church | Bjerkreim | 1835 |
| Ivesdal Chapel | Øvrebygd | 1876 |
Bjerkreim Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.[8] The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Sør-Rogaland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal. A notable local politician is Olaf Gjedrem, mayor from 1979 to 1993 and later a member of the national parliament.
The municipal council (Norwegian: Kommunestyre) of Bjerkreim is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The executive committee of the council has 5 members, who also make up the authority's planning and economic committee. The mayor of Bjerkreim leads both the council and the executive committee. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Bjerkreim:[9]
Bjerkreim municipality lies at the northern end of the hilly, rugged Dalane district, just south of the very flat Jæren district. There are several large lakes in Bjerkreim including Austrumdalsvatnet, Byrkjelandsvatnet, Hofreistæ, and Ørsdalsvatnet.
The main means of transportation to Bjerkreim is via the European route E39 highway which passes through the municipality from south to north. The municipality lies in the southwestern part of the country. The distance to the nearest airport, Stavanger airport in Sola, is approximately 40 minutes by car.
. Norske gaardnavne: Stavanger amt . 1915 . W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri . 10 . Kristiania, Norge . 47–49 . no . Oluf Rygh.