Varhaug is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1894 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Hå Municipality in the traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre was the village of Varhaug. The other larger village in the municipality was Vigrestad.
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 537th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Varhaug Municipality was the 262nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 7.9% over the previous 10-year period.
General information The municipality of Varhaug was established in 1894 when the old Haa Municipality was divided into two municipalities: the northern district (population: 1801) became the new Nærbø Municipality and the southern district (population: 1806) became the new Varhaug Municipality.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the following areas were merged to form the new Hå Municipality (resurrecting the name of the old municipality that was dissolved in 1894): all of Nærbø Municipality (population: 3,926) all of Ogna Municipality (population: 1,470) all of Varhaug Municipality (population: 3,454)
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Varhaug farm () since the first Varhaug Church was built there. The first element is likely the word which means "row of stones" (such as a stone jetty) or "pile of stones" (such as after a landslide). The last element is which means "burial mound" or "cairn".
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Varhaug Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Hå prestegjeld and the Jæren prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger.
Churches in Varhaug MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtVarhaugVarhaug ChurchVarhaug1904
Geography The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Ihamaren, located on the border with Time Municipality. Nærbø Municipality was located to the north, Time Municipality was located to the east, Ogna Municipality was located to the south, and the North Sea was located to the west.
Government While it existed, Varhaug Municipality was 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 was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Jæren District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Varhaug Municipality was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
Mayors The mayor () of Varhaug Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1894–1904: Halvor T. Aarrestad 1905–1913: Svend H. Aanestad 1914–1916: Rasmus Hobberstad 1917–1922: Halvor T. Aarrestad 1923–1928: Andreas Stavnheim 1929–1931: Sivert Høien 1932–1941: G.L.M. Ueland 1941–1941: Rasmus Varhaug 1942–1942: John F. Johnsen 1943–1945: Rasmus Varhaug 1945–1951: G.L.M. Ueland 1951–1959: Karsten Aanestad 1959–1963: I.I. Gausland
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References