Leirvik is a town and administrative center in Stord municipality
in Vestland. The city has 14,316 inhabitants as of 1 January 2021.
Leirvik is located on the southeast coast of the island of Stord and
is the regional center in Sunnhordland. The center of Leirvik itself
is located in a cove and historically has been a natural harbor at
the mouth of the Hardangerfjord with a central location for the
shipping along the Westland coast. In recent times, the Leirvik
settlement has grown far beyond the central core and now stretches
from the former independent settlement of Valvatna in the south to
Rommetveit in the north, a distance of over 8 kilometres. Most of
the buildings are located along the fjord, which means that the
settlement is long and thin in extent.
Public services and
education
As an administrative center in Stord municipality,
Leirvik has several important public services. Stord town hall is
located here, as are several regional services such as Nav,
Sunnhordland district court and Stord traffic station. The regional
hospital Stord Hospital is located just north of the center of
Leirvik. Stord sheriff's office and Stord Fire and Rescue are also
located in Leirvik
Leirvik has 5 primary schools (1st - 7th
grade) and 2 secondary schools (9th - 10th grade).
Stord
upper secondary school has three departments with a total of 737
students in 2018.
Stord folkehøgskule starts in August 2021
and is centrally located in the center of Leirvik.
The
University of Western Norway has a branch in Leirvik. The campus is
located on Rommetveit and has a history dating back to the
establishment of Stord Seminarium in 1839.
Business life
In recent times, Leirvik has mainly been built on industry, from
boat building to the oil industry. The two largest companies in
Leirvik at the moment, Aker Solutions Stord and Leirvik AS, are both
historically boat builders who have switched to the oil industry.
The two companies together have over 2,000 permanent employees.
Wärtsilä Norway AS is another large company and has an office at
Heiane in Leirvik, where they also have a test center for testing
new technology.
NCE Maritime CleanTech, a national business
cluster for research into clean maritime solutions, has its
headquarters in Heiane.
Transportation
Public transport
Leirvik is an old traffic hub. The coastal bus that connects the
city to Stavanger, Haugesund and Bergen passes here, and fast boats
go east towards Kvinnherad, Skånevik and Ølen, and north towards
Bergen. Leirvik also has a wide route network of buses to
neighboring municipalities and within Leirvik. The main terminal for
both local and regional bus transport is Leirvik Terminal centrally
by the harbor in Leirvik Sentrum. Leirvik speedboat terminal is
approx. 50 meters away.
Stord Airport, Sørstokken is approx.
12 kilometers west of Leirvik and has daily departures to Oslo, as
well as periodic charter traffic both at home and abroad.
Road network
Europavei 39 (E39) runs partly through the outskirts
of Leirvik on its way over the island of Stord, where it connects
Leirvik to the cities of Bergen and Stavanger.
County road
544 runs through the city centre, where it meets the E39 at both
ends. County road 5050 runs from the center of Leirvik north until
it meets the E39 at Førland north of Rommetveit. County road 545
connects Leirvik with the town of Sagvåg.
Culture
Museums
Sunnhordland museum
Stord Maritime Museum
Cultural
monuments
Leirvik has several cultural monuments and several
listed buildings.
The Norwegian University of Applied Sciences on
the Vestlandet campus Stord
Sunnhordlandstunet, Ådlandsstova
Hystadmarkjo burial ground
Leirvik prison
Stord district
court, magistrate's court
Theater and cinema
Stord
kulturhus is located in the center of Leirvik and has a theater hall
with a cinema, as well as a smaller dedicated cinema hall.
Sports
Leirvik has several sports complexes, the two largest of
which are Vikahaugane sports park and Prestegardskogen sports park.
The biggest clubs are Stord IL, which has teams for all ages in
several different sports, and Trott IL, which is a pure football
club. Stord IL is historically the biggest football team in Leirvik
and has its home ground at Stord Stadion. Leirvik otherwise has a
rich selection of clubs in a large selection of sports.
Outdoor areas
There are several outdoor areas and parks in and
around Leirvik. Hystadmarkjo is a nature reserve with several
cultural monuments, swimming beaches and hiking trails.
Vidstenparken is the city park in the center of Leirvik and is
located right next to Sunnhordlandstunet. Landåsen is a popular
hiking area with several swimming pools and lighted dirt roads. Just
south of Leirvik center is a Sponavikjo bathing beach. Ådlandsvatnet
north of the center offers hiking opportunities with a lighted dirt
road around the entire lake, as well as a sandy beach and several
bathing areas.
Media
Sunnhordland and Stord24 are both
newspapers with headquarters in Leirvik. NRK also has a local office
here.