Sandnes

Encyclopedia : S : SA : SAN : Sandnes

For other uses, see Sandnes (disambiguation)}}}.

The bus station Ruten

Sandnes kommune

County	Rogaland
District	Jæren
Municipality
Administrative centre	Sandnes
Mayor (1994)	Jostein Rovik(H)
Official language form	Norwegian
Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage	302.9 Square kilometre>km² 286 km² 0.09 %
Population  - Total (as of 2005>2005)  - Percentage  - Change (10 years)  - Density	Ranked 8 57,601 1.24 % 18.3 % 198/km²
Coordinates
[www.sandnes.kommune.no] [Data from Statistics Norway]

Coordinates: Sandnes is a city in the county of Rogaland, Norway. Originally the municipality Sandnes was identical to the town bearing the same name, but in 1965 Sandnes was merged with former Høyland, Høle and parts of Hetland (Riska and Usken) municipalities. Then it was known as the pottery town of Norway due to the important ceramics industry in these days, based on the extensive occurrence of clay in the surroundings.

The town of Sandnes is located about 15 km south of Stavanger, and these two cities have expanded so as to almost form a twin city. The municipality of Sola is located to the west, Klepp and Time to the south, and Gjesdal and Forsand to the east. The fjord Gandsfjorden is situated north-south and ends in the centre of Sandnes. The international airport of Stavanger is situated in Sola.

The landscape of the Stavanger and Sandnes region is quite inviting and flat. On the long west coast there is several beaches and further inland the land is raised to form low plains with some small peaks raising up to 400-500 meters above sea level. From Stavanger and Sandnes there is 1 hour by car to alpine and nordic skiing resorts. In Sandnes there is some easy accessible small mountain peaks with a splendid view in all directions. The renowned Lyse Fjord is also easy accessible by car or boat.

Sandnes hosts a large array of retail shops within most disciplines and is used by the neighburing 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 town offers a variety of routes for everyday riders and tourists.

The town also holds a vibrant industry mainly in the Ganddal area in the south and the Lura and Forus area in the north towards the Stavanger boundary. It is a significant activity towards the oil exploration in the North Sea and also a large cluster of IT related companies. In this suburban region between Stavanger and Sandnes large malls and department stores have also established. On the outskirts of the town the internationally renowned, professional china manufacturer Figgjo is situated.

Unfortunately Sandnes do not have history to brag about regarding sport. However, their best footballteam (Sandnes Ulf) is fighting among the best in their league (Norwegian 2nd Division).

Sandnes is the only town in Norway that is a member of the World Health Organisation’s network of Healthy Cities.

External links

• [Tourist Information (English)]
• [Street map of Sandnes (You may zoom in and out)]
• [Pictures from Sandnes]

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