Tysvær is a municipality in Rogaland

Rogaland

is a county in Western Norway, bordering Hordaland, Telemark, Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder. It is the center of the Norwegian petroleum industry, and as a result of this, Rogaland has the lowest unemployment rate of any county in Norway, 1.1%...

 county

Counties of Norway

Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. It is part of the region

Districts of Norway

The country Norway is historically divided into a number of districts. Many districts have deep historical roots, and only partially coincide with today's administrative units of counties and municipalities. The districts are defined by geographical features, often valleys, mountain ranges, fjords,...

 of Haugaland

Haugaland

Haugaland is a traditional district situated on the western coast of Norway. Haugaland is one of the 15 traditional district located within the Region of Vestlandet.-Location:...

. The municipality is located at the northern side of Boknafjord

Boknafjord

The Boknafjord is a Norwegian fjord located in the county of Rogaland, between the cities Stavanger and Haugesund. The fjord is shared between the municipalities of Kvitsøy, Rennesøy, Finnøy, Tysvær, Bokn and Karmøy....

, east of Karmøy

Karmøy

Karmøy is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located southwest of the city of Haugesund in the traditional district of Haugaland....

. Tysvær has a population of 9,349 (2006) and an area of 419 km². Aksdalsvatnet

Aksdalsvatnet

Aksdalsvatnet is a lake in the municipality of Tysvær in Rogaland county, Norway....

 is a lake in this municipality.

Local administration is located at Aksdal. Tysvær has a number of scenic walks including Heggelifjellet and Kvinnesland, the source of the name Kvindesland

Kvindesland

Kvindesland is a Norwegian family name, derived from "Kvinnesland", an area of Tysvær, Rogaland, Norway. The name refers to the old Norse term kvin, meaning strong wind. Less than fifty people bear the name, making it one of the rarer Norwegian surnames....

.

Tysvær was separated from Skjold

Skjold, Rogaland

Skjold is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway.It was created as Skjold formannskapsdistrikt in 1837. The district Tysvær was separated from Skjold in 1849 to constitute a municipality of its own, and the same thing happened to Vats in 1891...

 in 1849. The municipality of Nedstrand

Nedstrand

Nedstrand is a village and a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway.The village is located on the south-eastern coast of Nedstrandhalvøya, and its population is 241 ....

, and some parts of Skjold, Avaldsnes

Avaldsnes

Avaldsnes was an ancient centre of power on the west coast of Norway and is the site of one of Norway’s more important areas of cultural history...

, Vikedal

Vikedal

Vikedal is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway.It was created as Vikedal formannskapsdistrikt in 1837. On 1 January 1923 the municipality was divided in three, creating the new municipalities Imsland and Sandeid. The split left Vikedal with a population of 924.On 1 January 1965 the...

 and Vats

Vats

Vats is a village in the municipality of Vindafjord, in Rogaland county, Norway. Vats is located in the traditional district of Haugaland.An important industrial location, the oil platforms Statfjord, Gullfaks and Troll were built here. The Norwegian computer and software company Hatteland Group is...

, were merged with Tysvær on 1 January 1965.

The Norwegian emigration to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 was initiated by the local Cleng Peerson

Cleng Peerson

Cleng Peerson was a Norwegian-American pioneer who led the first group of Norwegians to emigrate to the United States, traveling on the Norwegian sloop Restauration.-Background:...

. Also, the painter Lars Hertervig

Lars Hertervig

Lars Hertervig was a Norwegian painter. His semi-fantastical work with motives from the coastal landscape in the traditional district of Ryfylke is regarded as one of the peaks of Norwegian painting.-Background:...

 and Asbjørn Kloster

Asbjørn Kloster

Asbjørn Kloster was a social reformer and leader of the Norwegian temperance movement in the 19th century.-Background:...

, leader of the Norwegian temperance movement

Temperance movement

A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...

 were born in Tysvær.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

) is named after the old Tysvær farm (Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

: Teitsfjörðr), since the first church was built there. The first element is the genitive case

Genitive case

In grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...

 of the old male name Teitr and the last element is fjörðr which means "fjord

Fjord

Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...

".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms

Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 is from modern times. It was granted on 3 February 1984. The arms show a silver heron

Heron

The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....

 on a blue background. The heron was chosen as a symbol for the municipality since there are several large colonies of herons in the municipality.

External links

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
  Statistics Norway
  Statistics Norway is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876.Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every year on its web site. All releases are published both in Norwegian and English...