Suldal is a municipality in the northeast corner of Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. Since 1965, the administrative centre of Suldal is the village of Sand i Ryfylke (prior to that it was the village of Suldalsosen). Other villages in Suldal include Erfjord, HÃÂ¥landsosen, Jelsa, Marvik, Nesflaten, Vanvik, and Suldalsosen.
The municipality is the 46th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Suldal Municipality is the 208th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of . The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 0.3% over the previous 10-year period.
The parish of Suledal (later spelled Suldal) was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1842, Suledal Municipality was divided into two: the northern district (population: 1,584) became the new Søvde Municipality and the southern district (population: 2,030) remained as a smaller Suledal Municipality.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the following areas were merged to form a new, larger Suldal Municipality:
On 1 January 1978, the parts of Vindafjord Municipality located southeast of the Vindafjorden on the Ropeid peninsula (population: 13) was transferred to Suldal.
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Suledalen valley () since it was a central geographical feature of the municipality. The first element is the plural genitive case of which means "pillar" or "column" (likely referring to the mountain pass Suldalsporten). The last element is which means "valley" or "dale". Before 1891, the name was written "Suledal".
The coat of arms was granted on 11 March 1976. The official blazon is "Gules, three bendlets wavy Or" (). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a set of the three diagonal wavy lins. The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The lines represent the local river SuldalslÃÂ¥gen which runs through the municipality. The arms were designed by Magnus Hardeland. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.
The Church of Norway has four parishes () within Suldal Municipality. It is part of the Ryfylke prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.
The area that is now Suldal Municipality has a long history of trade connections to the nearby valley regions to the north and east. The main mountain plateau trade route led east from Suldal municipality over the plateau to the nearby Setesdal valley in Bykle in Agder county. Another route led north from Suldal in Rogaland county through the Røldal area in Vestland county, and then east into Vinje in Telemark county. There has also been found Viking artefacts and graves in Suldal.
At , Suldal Municipality is the largest municipality in Rogaland county. The municipality borders three counties: Vestland (north), Telemark (northeast), and Agder (east). To the north, Suldal Municipality is bordered by Sauda Municipality and Ullensvang Municipality, in the east by Vinje Municipality and Bykle Municipality, in the south by Hjelmeland Municipality, and in the west by Vindafjord Municipality. Across the Jelsafjorden and Vindafjorden lie Stavanger Municipality and Tysvær Municipality.
The mountain Kistenuten is located at the triple border point of Rogaland, Vestland and Telemark. The highest point in the municipality (and in Rogaland county) is the tall mountain Vassdalseggi, located on the border with Vinje Municipality in Telemark county. Other mountains in Suldal include Trollaskeinuten, Snønuten, Mælen, Knoda, Fitjanuten, Leirnuten, Kaldafjellet, Simlenuten, Steinkilenuten, and Raudberga, all reaching above m.a.s.l.
The Sandsfjorden and Hylsfjorden lie within Suldal Municipality, as does lake Suldalsvatnet. The Saudafjorden lies partially within the boundary of the municipality. The Erfjorden and the lakes BlÃÂ¥sjø, Holmavatnet, and Holmevatnet also lie along the municipal boundary of Suldal.
The Ulla-Førre project of building huge hydroelectric dams in the mountains was initiated in the 1960s. At times, the project employed over a thousand people. The finished hydroelectric complex has a total capacity of approximately and produces about yearly.
Suldal 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 Haugaland og Sunnhordland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.
The municipal council () of Suldal Municipality is made up of 19 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 Suldal Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position: