Sola is a municipality and a seaside resort area in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Solakrossen. Other villages include Tananger, HÃÂ¥landsmarka, Sørnes, and Tjelta. Stavanger Airport is located in Sola, just a short distance from the centre of the large Stavanger/Sandnes metropolitan area.
The municipality is the 343r largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Sola Municipality is the 39th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of . The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 13.2% over the previous 10-year period.
In the western part of Sola, there are of long, sandy beaches facing the North Sea. The usually suitable wind and waves make the sandy beaches a popular place for windsurfing.
The municipality of Sola was established in 1930 when the old HÃÂ¥land Municipality was divided as follows:
On 1 January 2017, a small area on the southwestern edge of the village of Solakrossen was transferred from Sandnes Municipality to Sola Municipality.
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Sola farm () since the first Sola Church was built there. The meaning of the name is uncertain. One possibility is that it comes from the word which means "sun". Historically, the name was also spelled Sole.
The coat of arms was granted on 12 February 1982. The official blazon is "Azure, two bars double embowed argent" (). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a set of two curved bars that look like waves. 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 blue color symbolizes the sea and the white/silver color symbolizes the whitecaps of the waves washing up to the long, shallow, sandy beaches along the ocean in the municipality. The arms were designed by the painter Roald Kyllingstad. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.
The Church of Norway has four parishes () within Sola Municipality. It is part of the Tungenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.
Sola Municipality lies on the west side of the Stavanger Peninsula, south of the Hafrsfjord. The municipality sits just about from the centres of the cities of Stavanger and Sandnes. The island of Rott lies just off the western coast of Sola. The Fladholmen Lighthouse lies just off shore of the village of Tananger in northern Sola. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Kjerrberget.
Stavanger Municipality is located to the northeast, Sandnes Municipality is located to the east, Klepp Municipality is located to the south, and Kvitsøy Municipality is located to the northwest.
According to Snorre Sturlason the Battle of Hafrsfjord took place in the year AD 872, probably outside Ytraberget. Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway, is celebrated for having united Norway at this notable battle.
The stone crosses at Tjora date from about the year 1150. In early Christian times, these stone crosses were used as gathering points for religious ceremonies before churches were built. Sola Church Ruins (Sola ruinkirke) is the ruins of a Romanesque stone church dating from about the year 1120. The stone church probably replaced an older wooden church in the area. This wooden church was possibly the one that Erling Skjalgsson had built when he converted to Christianity at the end of the 10th century. Sola Church overlooked the Hafrsfjord and was in use until 1842.The artist Johan Bennetter (1822âÂÂ1904) used the church as a studio and lived there with his family. During World War II, most of the church was demolished. It was later reconstructed, and the restoration was finished in 1995.
Stavanger Airport, Sola was founded in 1937. At Sola airport, the first opposed landing by paratroopers took place as German Fallschirmjägers from 1st battalion of the 1st Regiment, 7th Flieger Division were dropped on the airfield. Sola Air Station became an important airfield for the Germans during World War II.
Sola 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. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Sør-Rogaland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.
The municipal council () of Sola Municipality is made up of 41 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
The mayor () of Sola Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
Museums in Sola include: