Forsand is a borough in Sandnes and former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The borough centre is the village of Forsand, and other villages are Lysebotn, Øvre Espedal, Kolabygda, and Fløyrli.

The borough had a population of 1,030 people in 2026. Forsand surrounds the famous Lysefjorden and it was located on the east side of the Høgsfjorden. In 1999, evidence of a population here dating back to around 7500 BC was uncovered.

The municipality was created in 1871, and merged with Strand and Sandnes in 2020. It had a population of 1,193 and was large when it was dissolved in 2020.

Name The borough (originally the parish) is named after the old Forsand farm () since the first Forsand Church was built there. The first element is which means "sticking out" or "protruding". The last element is which means "sand" or "sandy beach".

Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled . On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to .

Geography Forsand is a large burough that is very mountainous with a long, narrow fjord running through the middle from east to west. The Lysefjorden is surrounded by very steep tall cliffs such as Kjerag and Preikestolen (now in Strand), with the Lysefjord Bridge crossing the fjord near the western end. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Lysekammen.

The famous Kjeragbolten boulder and Kjeragfossen waterfall are located along the inner part of the fjord. The village of Lysebotn is located at the eastern end of the fjord. The lake Nilsebuvatnet is located high up in the mountains, north of Lysebotn along the border with Strand. It is regulated for hydroelectric power use at the Lysebotn Hydroelectric Power Station.

Strand is located to the northwest, Hjelmeland to the north, Bykle to the northeast, Sirdal to the east, Gjesdal to the south, and the rest of Sandnes to the west.

Churches The Church of Norway has one parish () within Forsand, and two churches. It is part of the Sandnes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger. The parish was transferred from Ryfylke prosti to Sandnes prosti on the dissolusion of the municipality in 2020.

Churches in ForsandParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtForsandForsand ChurchForsand1854Lyse ChapelLysebotn1961

Former municipality Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the municipality was the 141st largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway.

Forsand was the 378th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,193 in 2019. The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 5.2% over the previous 10-year period. It existed from 1871 until its dissolution in 2020, and was on its dissolution divided between Sandnes and Strand. The area was in the traditional district of Ryfylke. The municipality of was established on 1 January 1871 when the large Høgsfjord Municipality was divided into two: the district located east of the Høgsfjorden (population: 2,081) became the new Fossan Municipality and the remaining parts of Høgsfjord Municipality that were located west of the Høgsfjorden (population: 1,122) changed its name to Høle Municipality.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, all of Forsand Municipality located south and east of the Frafjord was transferred to the neighboring Gjesdal Municipality. The reason for this border change was because the southern part of Forsand had no road connection with the rest of Forsand, but it was connected by road to Gjesdal.

On 1 January 2020, Forsand Municipality was dissolved. The area on the northwestern shore of the Lysefjorden around the Preikestolen became a part of the neighboring Strand Municipality and the rest of Forsand became part of Sandnes Municipality.

Coat of arms The coat of arms was granted on 11 March 1988. The official blazon is "Vert, a heron vigilant argent" (). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is a heron standing on one leg. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The green color in the field symbolizes the importance of the local forests and wildlife. The heron was chosen since it is a common bird that lives in the area, from the fjords all the way up into the mountains. The arms were designed by John Digernes. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Municipal council 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 Ryfylke District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

The council 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 Forsand Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:

1871–1879: Osmund Guttormsen Espedal 1880–1881: Knud Olsen Moluf 1882–1885: Osmund Guttormsen Espedal 1886–1887: Rasmus Ingebrigtsen Norland 1888–1889: Thormod Schavland 1890–1893: Rasmus Ingebrigtsen Nordland 1894–1895: Thormod Schavland 1896–1897: Børge T. Kommedal 1898–1899: Tore T. Haaland 1901–1910: Rasmus I. Norland 1911–1913: Ingebret R. Norland 1914–1916: Rasmus I. Norland 1917–1918: Torvald O. Espedal 1918–1919: Rasmus J. Dirdal 1920–1922: Ingebret R. Norland 1923–1940: Torgeir Espedal 1941–1941: Torstein I. Fossan 1945–1947: Torgeir Espedal 1948–1958: Peter Norland 1958–1961: Torstein I. Fossan 1962–1965: Alf T. Espedal (LL) 1966–1967: Tormod Harboe 1968–1971: Alf T. Espedal 1972–1978: Tormod Rossavik (KrF) 1978–1983: Per Fløysvik (KrF) 1984–1989: Årstein Løland (Sp) 1990–1991: Torstein Haukalid (KrF) 1992–1999: Fridtjov Thorsen Norland (Sp) 1999–2003: Torstein Haukalid (KrF) 2003–2007: Ingeborg Søyland (Sp) 2007–2015: Ole Tom Guse (KrF) 2015–2019: Bjarte S. Dagestad (H)

See also List of former municipalities of Norway

References