Sandnes () is a city and municipality in Rogaland, Norway and a suburb of Stavanger. It lies immediately south of Stavanger (the 4th largest municipality in Norway), and together the Stavanger/Sandnes area is the third-largest urban area in Norway. The urban city of Sandnes lies in the extreme western part of the vast municipality and it makes up about 5% of the total land area of the municipality.
The western part of the municipality is very urbanized while the eastern part of the municipality is very rural. The municipality is divided into 13 boroughs and the administrative centre is located in the borough of Trones og Sentrum, a borough in the city. There are several villages in the rural parts of the municipality including Hommersåk, Høle, Foss-Eikeland, Stokka, Forsand, Lysebotn, and Vatne.
The municipality is the 109th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Sandnes Municipality is the 11th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of in 2026. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 12.8% over the previous 10-year period.
History
The small port village of Sandnes was granted ladested () status in 1860. On 6 April 1861, the small city was separated from Høyland Municipality to form a separate self-governing municipality of its own. Initially, the municipality had 440 residents.
On 1 July 1957, a small part of Høyland Municipality (population: 18) was transferred into the city of Sandnes.
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 much larger Sandnes Municipality: the city and municipality of Sandnes (population: 3,961) all of Høyland Municipality (population: 20,353) most of Høle Municipality (population: 926), except for the Oltesvik area which became part of Gjesdal Municipality the Riska and Dale areas of Hetland Municipality (population: 2,077)
In 2014, the Storting decided that the number of municipalities in Norway would be lowered. If the municipalities of Sandnes, Stavanger and Sola were to merge, a new municipality would be formed called Nord-Jæren, after the name of the geographical location the municipalities are located in. After the city council said no to the merge, proposals for Forsand Municipality to merge with Sandnes were enacted instead.
On 1 January 2017, a small area on the southwestern edge of the village of Solakrossen was transferred from Sandnes Municipality to the neighboring Sola Municipality.
On 1 January 2020, most of the neighboring Forsand Municipality was merged with Sandnes to form one large municipality called Sandnes.
Name The municipality (and city) is named after an old farm, since the city was built on its grounds. The first element is which means 'sand' or 'sandy beach' and the last element is which means 'headland'. The farm was located at the end of the Gandsfjorden where the city centre is located today.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms, granted on 21 April 1972, shows a white piece of pottery against a green background. Pottery was chosen since it was one of the main industries in the late 18th century. The symbol is a , which in English would be a ceramic cuckoo bird (, 'clay, ceramic' and , 'cuckoo bird'). The ceramic Sandnes cuckoo () is an ocarina or simple flute which was made by the potteries in Sandnes and used to advertise their products. Later it also became a nickname for people from Sandnes.
Geography The municipality lies in the Jæren traditional district and stretches nearly from the west coast of Norway to the rugged mountainous interior. The city of Sandnes is located at the base of the Stavanger Peninsula, about south of the city of Stavanger, and these two cities have expanded so as to form a conurbation. Sola is located to the west; Klepp, Time; and Gjesdal to the south; Sirdal and Bykle to the east, Strand and Hjelmeland to the northeast, and Stavanger to the northwest. The Gandsfjord is situated north–south at the west end of the municipality and the Høgsfjorden and Lysefjorden dominate the eastern part of the municipality. Stavanger Airport is located in Sola, just to the west of Sandnes.
The landscape of western Sandnes is quite flat. On the long west coast there are several beaches and further inland the land is raised to form low plains with some small peaks rising up to above sea level. From Stavanger and Sandnes it is approximately one hour by car to alpine and skiing resorts. In Sandnes there are some easily accessible small mountain peaks, such as Dalsnuten and Lifjell, with a view over the Sandnes/Stavanger area. The renowned Lysefjorden is also easily accessible by car or boat. The lake Frøylandsvatnet, the river Figgjoelva, and the mountain Hanafjellet are all located in Sandnes.
The Lysefjorden in the eastern part of the municipality is surrounded by very steep tall cliffs such as Kjerag and Preikestolen, with the Lysefjord Bridge crossing the fjord near the western end. The famous Kjeragbolten boulder and Kjeragfossen waterfall are located along the inner part of the fjord. The village of Lysebotn lies at the eastern end of the fjord. The lake Nilsebuvatnet is located high up in the mountains, north of Lysebotn on the border of Strand. It is regulated for hydroelectric power use at the Lysebotn Hydroelectric Power Station.
Climate Sandnes is in a common urban area with Stavanger and thus the weather station for the international airport of Stavanger Sola is the closest weather station to Sandnes proper.
Situated on the southwest coast of Norway, the local climate is greatly influenced by the temperate water in the North Sea, and Atlantic lows giving mild westerlies also in winter. This creates warmer temperatures throughout the year compared to other cities at similar latitudes, and also gives plentiful precipitation in the form of rain, especially in late autumn and winter. Sandnes is a little bit more inland than the airport so thus may have slightly warmer summer days and cooler winter nights as a result.
Sandnes has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb, Trewartha: Dolk) with five months with a mean temperature above . Spring and early summer is the driest season. The all-time high at the airport was recorded August 1975. The warmest high recorded in the Stavanger area is at the weather station Stavanger-Våland (72 m) in July 2018. The all-time low was recorded January 1987.
Location Sandnes is located on the west coast of Norway. Here are some distances from the city of Sandnes to other major cities in Norway:
Government Sandnes Municipality is responsible for primary education, 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 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.
Sandnes is divided into 14 buroughs: Austrått, Figgjo, Ganddal, Hana, Høle, Lura, Malmheim og Soma, Riska, Sandved, Stangeland, Sviland, Trones og Sentrum, and Forsand. For administrative purposes, these are grouped into 6 : Øst, Nord, Sørøst, Sør, Sentrum, and Vest.
Municipal council The municipal council () of Sandnes is made up of 49 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. Elections are always held two years from the parliamentary elections. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
Ruling party timeline
Mayors The mayor () of Sandnes Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1861-1864: Jan Adolph Budde 1864-1864: Anders Tvedt 1864-1864: Gabriel Sandved 1865-1866: Abraham Hobberstad 1866-1867: Sven Njeldson Oftedahl 1867-1868: Mauritz Kartevold 1869-1870: Gabriel Sandved 1871-1873: Mauritz Kartevold 1873-1875: Jonas Eivindson Lura 1875-1876: K.M. Sørensen 1876-1877: Sven Njeldson Oftedahl 1877-1877: Martin Nygaard 1878-1878: Svend O. Mouland 1878-1879: Sven Svendson Haaland 1879-1880: K.M. Sørensen 1880-1882: Sven Njeldson Oftedahl 1882-1882: Svend O. Mouland 1883-1884: Ole Svendsen 1885-1885: Andreas O. Anfindsen 1886-1888: Ole Svendsen 1889-1890: Petter Simon Øgland 1890-1891: Samuel Jonasson Sandved 1891-1895: Petter Simon Øgland 1895-1896: Lars Adamson Sporaland 1896-1897: Olaf Anfindsen (V) 1898-1898: O.C. Østraadt (H) 1899-1901: Olaf Anfindsen (V) 1902-1902: O.C. Østraadt (H) 1903-1903: Olaf Anfindsen (V) 1904-1904: O.C. Østraadt (H) 1905-1905: Olaf Anfindsen (V) 1906-1907: O.C. Østraadt (H) 1908-1912: L.O. Nygaard (AvH) 1913-1913: Thorvald S. Øglænd (AvH) 1914-1915: L.O. Nygaard (AvH) 1916-1916: Thorvald S. Øglænd (AvH) 1917-1919: Enok Berge (AvH) 1920-1921: Thorvald S. Øglænd (AvH) 1922-1929: Lars Øglænd (V) 1929-1934: Johan Martinson Haga (Bp) 1935-1936: Monrad Øksnevad (Bp) 1936-1938: Gunvald Rasmussen (V) 1938-1941: Edvard Astad (Ap) 1941-1941: Monrad Øksnevad (Bp) 1945-1945: Gunvald Rasmussen (V) 1946-1947: Louis Torgersen (Ap) 1947-1948: Tollef Fjermestad (Ap) 1948-1949: Andreas J. Båstøl (Ap) 1950-1950: Jakob Skretting (Ap) 1950-1951: Gunvald Rasmussen (V) 1952-1953: Andreas J. Båstøl (Ap) 1953-1955: Louis Torgersen (Ap) 1955-1956: Gunvald Rasmussen (V) 1956-1957: Arthur O. Berge (KrF) 1958-1959: Kristian Rønneberg (Sp) 1960-1961: Audun Schance Olsen (V) 1962-1963: Torleiv Tengs-Pedersen (H) 1964-1964: Audun Schance Olsen (V) 1965-1967: Lars Vatsendvik (V) 1968-1969: Lauritz B. Sirevåg (H) 1970-1971: Arne Tunheim (V) 1972-1973: Beint Bentsen (KrF) 1974-1977: Arne Sandnes (H) 1978-1979: Odd Arnøy (KrF) 1980-1981: Arne Sandnes (H) 1982-1985: Sigurd Aarsland (KrF) 1986-1990: Roald G. Bergsaker (H) 1991-1993: Geir Mykletun (KrF) 1994-2007: Jostein W. Rovik (H) 2007-2011: Norunn Østråt Koksvik (H) 2011-2023: Stanley Wirak (Ap) 2023–present: Kenny Rettore (H)
Media gallery
Economy
Sandnes hosts a large array of retail shops of most kinds and is used by the neighbouring municipalities appreciating the service and wide range of selections. Sandnes is known as Norway's bicycle city, mainly due to the fact that the bicycle manufacturer Øglænd DBS was situated here for decades. The city offers a variety of routes for everyday riders and tourists. Since 1996, a public bicycle rental program has been in operation in the city.
The city has a vibrant industrial base, mainly in the Ganddal area in the south and the Lura and Forus area in the north along the municipal boundary with Stavanger. There is significant activity related to oil exploration in the North Sea and also some IT-related companies. In this suburban region between Sandnes and Stavanger, malls and department stores have also been established. Among these malls is one of Norway's biggest malls, Kvadrat, meaning 'square' (although it is not square shaped anymore as it has expanded several times since it opened in 1984).
Around 30% of the population is employed in Stavanger (Q4 2004). Sandnes was formerly known as the pottery town of Norway – due to the important ceramics industry based on the extensive occurrence of clay in the surroundings. The Vatneleiren military base is also located in Sandnes, just outside Vatne.
Culture, sports, and education Since 2016, the primary football team, Sandnes Ulf, has played in the second tier, 1. divisjon, of Norwegian professional football.
Sandnes is also known for its Rugby League team, Sandnes Raiders which has supplied the Norwegian national team with players.
The handball club Sandnes HK has played in the top division on several occasions.