- Klepp
Infobox_Kommune
name = Klepp
idnumber = 1120
county = Rogaland
landscape = Jæren
capital =Kleppe
language =Nynorsk
demonym = Kleppsbu
munwebpage = www.klepp.kommune.no
governor = Elfin Lea (H)
governor_as_of = 2004
arearank = 377
area = 114
arealand = 102
areapercent = 0.04
population_as_of = 2004
populationrank = 68
population = 14,313
populationpercent = 0.31
populationdensity = 140
populationincrease = 15.6
lat_deg = 58 | lat_min = 46 | lat_sec = 38 | lon_deg = 5 | lon_min = 35 | lon_sec = 48
utm_zone = 32V | utm_northing = 6520268 | utm_easting = 0303270 | geo_cat = adm2ndKlepp is a municipality in
Rogaland county,Norway . The parish of "Klep" was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (seeformannskapsdistrikt ).Klepp, belonging to the traditional district of
Jæren , is a flat and open agricultural landscape. The highest point, "Tinghaug", is at 102 m abovesea level . There are long stretches of sand beaches along theNorth Sea coastline in the west.The administrative centre is called
Kleppe (or Kleppekrossen), and is located in the centre of the municipality. The population around Kleppe is growing rapidly, mostly in the form of suburbansingle-family home s, but also in the form of someapartment block s. There is a shopping mall, "Jærhagen", in Kleppe.Klepp has a sports club with a women's football team that plays in the top league in Norway. Norway's national women's football captain,
Ane Stangeland Horpestad , plays for Klepp.General information
Name
The municipality (originally the
parish ) is named after the old "Klepp" farm (Old Norse : "Kleppr"), since the first church was built there. The name is identical with the word "kleppr" which means "rocky hill". Before 1912, the name was written "Klep".Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 18 February 1972. The arms show the large stone cross, dating from around 1000 (possibly the oldest in Norway), which is standing on a grave hill in "Krosshaug" in Klepp municipality. The hill probably also acted as a site for the local court for many centuries. Hence the cross was considered an appropriate symbol. [cite web|url=http://www.ngw.nl/int/nor/k/klepp.htm|author=Norske Kommunevåpen|date=1990|title=Nye kommunevåbener i Norden|accessdaymonth=9 October|accessyear=2008]
History
The earliest traces of population in the municipality have been dated to around
6000 BC . At that time, the land was covered by largeoak woods.A large stone cross, dating from around 1000 AD, which is standing on the grave hill "Krosshaug", is adjacent to the hill "Tinghaug". This was the site for a thing for many centuries during the
Iron Age .Geography
The municipality is located 25 km south of
Stavanger . Neighbouring municipalities areHå to the south, Time to the south and east,Sola andSandnes to the north.The coastline is agricultural and consists of, from south to north, the areas Orre, Reve, Bore and Sele.
Transportation
The
Jærbanen railway runs through Klepp along lakeFrøylandsvatnet . The village ofKlepp stasjon , 3 km east of Kleppe, is built around the train station.Economy
Klepp is the second largest agricultural municipality in Rogaland, with a total of around 600 farms.
Kverneland ASA , located inØksnevad , is the largest manufacturer of agricultural equipment in the world.References
External links
* [http://www6.nrk.no/galleri/bildegalleri.php?dir=rogklepp&banner=rogaland&h=600 Pictures from Klepp]
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