Editing Vindafjord (section)

==General information==
[[File:E134 Skjold Vindafjord.jpg|thumb|left|View of the E134 highway in Skjold, Vindafjord]]
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the [[Schei Committee]]. On 1 January 1965, the new municipality of Vindafjord was created from several areas in northern [[Rogaland]] county:<ref name="Dag">{{Cite book |last=Jukvam |first=Dag |url=http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/90/rapp_9913/rapp_9913.pdf |title=Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen |publisher=[[Statistics Norway|Statistisk sentralbyrå]] |year=1999 |isbn=9788253746845 |language=no}}</ref>
*all of [[Sandeid]] municipality (population: 876) 
*the Liarheim og Langeland areas of [[Skjold (municipality)|Skjold]] municipality on the north side of the Skjoldafjorden (population: 1,262)
*all of [[Vats (municipality)|Vats]] municipality except for the Breidal and Stølsvik farms (population: 1,128)
* all of [[Imsland]] municipality located north of the [[Vindafjorden]] (population: 372)
* all of [[Vikedal (municipality)|Vikedal]] municipality except for the Hapnes and Dokskar farms (population: 978)

Initially, Vindafjord had 4,616 residents. On 1 January 1969, the Sponevik farm (population: 6) was transferred from Vindafjord to the neighboring municipality of [[Tysvær]]. Then on 1 January 1978, the Vormestrand area along the southern shore of the [[Vindafjorden]] (population: 13) was transferred to neighboring [[Suldal]] municipality.<ref name="Dag" />

On 1 January 2006, Vindafjord merged with the neighboring municipality of [[Ølen]] (population: 3,420). Ølen had transferred from [[Hordaland]] county to [[Rogaland]] county 2002. After the merger, the municipal centre of Vindafjord was moved from [[Sandeid]] to the village of [[Ølensjøen]], which had been the [[administrative centre]] of [[Ølen]].<ref name="snl1">{{Cite web |last=Store norske leksikon |author-link=Store norske leksikon |title=Ølen |url=https://snl.no/%C3%98len |access-date=2015-08-19 |language=no}}</ref>

===Name===
The municipality (created in 1965) is named after the [[Vindafjorden]] ({{langx|non|Vindafjǫrðr}}), a [[fjord]] that runs through the eastern part of the municipality. The first element is derived from the verb {{wikt-lang|non|vinda}} which means "to turn" or "to twist", referring to the sharp turn of the fjord at Dragneset. The last element is {{wikt-lang|non|fjǫrðr}} which means "[[fjord]]".<ref name="snl">{{Cite web |last=Store norske leksikon |author-link=Store norske leksikon |title=Vindafjord |url=https://snl.no/Vindafjord |access-date=2015-08-19 |language=no}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rygh |first=Oluf |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u4pBAAAAIAAJ |title=Norske gaardnavne: Stavanger amt |date=1915 |publisher=W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri |edition=10 |location=Kristiania, Norge |page=347 |language=no |authorlink=Oluf Rygh}}</ref>

===Coat of arms===
The original [[coat of arms]] was granted on 12 December 1986 and it was in use until a new coat of arms was approved on 10 March 2006. The official [[blazon]] is ''"[[Gules (heraldry)|Gules]], five [[Chevron (heraldry)|chevrons]] [[argent]] two over two over one"'' ({{langx|no|På raud grunn fem svevande kvite sparrar, 2-2-1}}). This means the arms have a red [[field (heraldry)|field]] (background) and the [[charge (heraldry)|charge]] is a set of five [[Chevron (heraldry)|chevrons]]. The charge has a [[tincture (heraldry)|tincture]] of [[argent]] which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The design was meant to give the appearance of a collection of ''[[rorbu]]er'' or ''nauster'' (these are typical Norwegian boat houses that are often painted red and white). There were five shapes used in order to represent the five predecessor municipalitites that were merged into Vindafjord in 1965: [[Sandeid (municipality)|Sandeid]], [[Vikedal (municipality)|Vikedal]], [[Imsland]], [[Vats (municipality)|Vats]], and [[Skjold (municipality)|Skjold]]. The arms were designed by John Digernes. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.<ref name="NK">{{Cite web |title=Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen |url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Vindafjord |access-date=2023-07-01 |publisher=Heraldry of the World}}</ref><ref name="FW">{{Cite web |title=Vindafjord, Rogaland (Norway) |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/no-11-60.html |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=Flags of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1986-12-12 |title=Godkjenning av våpen og flagg |url=https://lovdata.no/dokument/LF/forskrift/1986-12-12-2287 |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=Lovdata.no |publisher=Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet |language=no}}</ref>

A new [[coat of arms]] was granted on 10 March 2006, shortly after the merger of [[Ølen]] with Vindafjord. The new arms were a mix of the arms of the two municipalities which were merged. The swirling design is taken from the old coat of arms of [[Ølen]] and the colours (red and silver/white) are from the old arms of Vindafjord. The official [[blazon]] is ''"[[Gyronny]] [[embowed]] [[argent]] and [[gules]]"'' ({{langx|no|Åttedelt av kvitt og raudt ved virvelsnitt}}). This means the arms are a whirl design that divides the shield into 8 curved sections. The [[field (heraldry)|field]] (background) alternates colors, with half having a [[tincture (heraldry)|tincture]] of green and the other half have a tincture of [[argent]] which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The design was chosen to symbolise the way that several major roads come together in the municipality, making it an important centre of trade. The arms were designed by Vigdis Viland. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.<ref name="NK" /><ref name="FW" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-03-10 |title=Godkjenning av våpen og flagg |url=https://lovdata.no/dokument/LF/forskrift/2006-03-10-317 |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=Lovdata.no |publisher=Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet |language=no}}</ref> 
<gallery mode="packed">
Vindafjord komm.svg|Current arms since 2006
Vindafjords_kommunevåpen_1986.svg| Old arms of Vindafjord (1986-2005)
Ølen komm.svg|Old arms of Ølen (1986-2005)
</gallery>

===Churches===
The [[Church of Norway]] has eight parishes ({{lang|no|sokn}}) within the municipality of Vindafjord. It is part of the [[Haugaland prosti]] ([[deanery]]) in the [[Diocese of Stavanger]].

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ style="font-size:medium"|'''''Churches in Vindafjord'''''
!Parish ({{lang|no|sokn}})!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built
|-
|rowspan="1"|Bjoa||[[Bjoa Church]]||[[Bjoa]]||1895
|-
|rowspan="1"|Imsland||[[Imsland Church]]||[[Imslandsjøen]]||1861
|-
|rowspan="1"|Sandeid||[[Sandeid Church]]||[[Sandeid]]||1904
|-
|rowspan="1"|Skjold||[[Skjold Church (Rogaland)|Skjold Church]]||[[Skjold, Rogaland|Skjold]]||1999
|-
|rowspan="1"|Vats||[[Vats Church]]||[[Vats, Rogaland|Vats]]||1855
|-
|rowspan="1"|Vikebygd||[[Vikebygd Church]]||[[Vikebygd]]||1937
|-
|rowspan="1"|Vikedal||[[Vikedal Church]]||[[Vikedal]]||1881
|-
|rowspan="1"|Ølen||[[Ølen Church]]||[[Ølensjøen]]||1874
|}