Gjesdal municipality is a mountain district, at the west coast of Norway, in the crossing between Jæren and Dalane, approximately 30 km southeast of Stavanger.
Photo: Geir Einarsen
The municipality border on several other municipalities, such as Forsand, Sandnes, Time, Bjerkreim and Sirdal.
The population of Gjesdal is growing up to almost 10 000, spread along an area of 620 km². Ålgård is the main village of Gjesdal, with its 8000 inhabitants. Other villages are Oltedal, Gilja and Dirdal.
One of Rogaland’s main roads, E39, passes through Ålgård. E39 leads to Sandnes and Stavanger in the north direction and to Kristiansand in south, and the road is used by thousands of motorists and lorries every day, as it is the main connection between the east coast and west coast of Norway.
Gjesdal has also one of Norway’s youngest populations, and the municipality has a strong focus on the wellbeing of children. There’s a place in kindergarden for everyone, good schools and a high focus for a healthy environment for everybody.
In Gjesdal you also find one of Norway’s highest densities of sheep, and woollen goods and textiles were for many years the most important industry in Gjesdal. The municipality symbol is a ram, which represents Gjesdal’s former dominating industry of wool and textiles.