Leirvik Stord | |
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 View of the town harbour area | |
  Leirvik Location of the town Show map of Vestland Leirvik Leirvik (Norway) Show map of Norway | |
| Coordinates:59°46′47″N5°30′02″E / 59.7798°N 5.5005°E /59.7798; 5.5005 | |
| Country | Norway |
| Region | Western Norway |
| County | Vestland |
| District | Sunnhordland |
| Municipality | Stord Municipality |
| Established as | |
| By (town) | 1997 |
| Area | |
• Total | 9.8 km2 (3.8 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 2 m (6.6 ft) |
| Population (2019)[1] | |
• Total | 14,126 |
| • Density | 1,441/km2 (3,730/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Stordabu |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Post Code | 5417 Stord |
Leirvik is atown and theadministrative centre ofStord municipality inVestland county,Norway. The town lies along the southern coast of the largeisland of Stord, along theHardangerfjorden. The town gained "town status" in 1997. The town includes theEldøyane peninsula where the large Kværner Stord industrial area is located.[3]
Leirvik is the regional centre of thetraditional district ofSunnhordland, and has many public services and offices such as the SunnhordlandDistrict court and theSunnhordland Museum, as well as many shops and restaurants.Stord Church and several schools such asStord Upper Secondary School andWestern Norway University of Applied Sciences are all located in the town.[3]
The 9.8-square-kilometre (2,400-acre) town has a population (2019) of 14,126 and apopulation density of 1,441 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,730/sq mi).[1] The entire municipality has about 18,700 residents in it (2019), so Leirvik has about 75% of the total population of the municipality. Leirvik is also the largest urban area that is located in a municipality whereNynorsk is the preferred language form.
The town lies along theEuropean route E39 highway, just east of theStord Bridge which is part of theTriangle Link which connects a number of islands to the mainland via road bridges and an undersea tunnel. There is a ferry quay at Skjersholmane in the western part of the town which has regular ferry connections to the nearby islands ofHalsnøya,Fjelbergøya, andBorgundøya which lie to the east in theHardangerfjorden. A regular ferry connection to the nearby island ofHuglo departs just north of Leirvik at the quay at Jektavik. In the main harbour of Leirvik, there are several daily expressboat departures to nearby islands of Halsnøy, Fjellbergøy and Borgundøy as well as the villages ofHusnes,Skånevik andØlen and the county capital ofBergen.Stord Airport is located approximately 12 kilometers west of Leirvik center close to the village ofSagvåg. From the main bus terminal of Leirvik, there are local busses, as well as regional express busses towards Bergen to the north and Stavanger to the south.
The newspaperSunnhordland is published in Leirvik,[4] as well as the online newspaperStord24.NRK also has a local office in Leirvik.
Confusingly, when the municipality ofStord declared that Leirvik was a town in 1997, they decided to name the town "Stord", with the village of Leirvik being the central part of the town. This was done because theNorwegian government required a populated place to have at least 5,000 residents in order to be called atown. Leirvik alone did not have enough residents unless the whole surrounding areas were also included, so the name "Stord" would represent the whole area. Even though this is the official name, the public acceptance of this has been minimal and controversial, and the name of the urban community remains "Leirvik".[5][6]
The name Leirvik (Leirvík) translates into "clay bay". The word "leire" meaning "clay" and "vik" meaning "bay".[7] The name comes from the high concentration of clay in the ground. The locals oftencolloquially refer to Leirvik by the name "Vikjo", meaning "the bay" in local dialect, rather than "Leirvik".
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As of 1 January 2024, according toStatistics Norway[1] | ||
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