Sandnes is a town and a municipality on Nord-Jæren and in Ryfylke
in Rogaland county. The municipality borders Gjesdal, Time,
Stavanger, Klepp, Sola, Strand and Hjelmeland in Rogaland county, as
well as Sirdal in Agder county. On 1 January 2020, Forsand and
Sandnes municipalities were merged into the current Sandnes
municipality.
With its 78,439 inhabitants (2020), Sandnes is
Norway's 11th largest municipality. The municipality contains nine
settlements (population in brackets): part of Stavanger / Sandnes
(63 375), Hommersåk (6 495), part of Ålgård / Figgjo (2 141), Vatne
(903), Sviland (745), Forsand ( 509), Høle (404), Malmheim (247) and
part of Kvernaland (40).
The town of Sandnes is located in
the heart of the Gandsfjord and is the municipality's administration
center. The city was originally best known for its bricklaying and
pottery industry, while the production of textile products and
bicycles has put the city on the map in recent times. The business
community today is characterized by a lot of oil and gas-related
activities. Sandnes has historically had a close connection to
cycling, when Den Beste Sykkel (DBS) started its production of
bicycles here in 1892. The "cycling town of Sandnes" is important,
and there is a lot of cycling in the town. The North Sea race has
its finish in the city. Every summer, the Blink Festival is held in
the city center, where the world elite in skiing and biathlon
gather. The city also houses the Science Center, a museum that,
among other things, disseminates knowledge about science and
technology through various exhibitions.
Sandnesgauken is a
clay hawk made in Sandnes since the 19th century, originally
distributed as an advertising product for the extensive brick and
ceramics industry which from 1783 was established there. Gaukene has
since become a trademark and symbol for the city, the municipality
and the inhabitants. In Sandnes' municipal coat of arms, there is a
sandnesgauk "in silver on a green background". The mark was designed
by Johannes Haukland in the 1950s and officially approved in 1972.