Dirdal

Dirdal is a village in Gjesdal municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located where the Frafjorden joins the main Høgsfjorden. The village lies at the end of the Dirdalen valley, which stretches to the southeast from Dirdal. The village of Gilja lies about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) into the valley. The village of Oltedal lies about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) west of Dirdal. Dirdal Church is located in the village.

Dirdal
Village
View of the village and the Høgsfjorden
Dirdal Location in Rogaland county Show map of Rogaland Dirdal Dirdal (Norway) Show map of Norway
Coordinates: 58°50′02″N 06°10′51″E
Country	Norway
Region	Western Norway
County	Rogaland
District	Jæren
Municipality	Gjesdal
Elevation [1]	10 m (30 ft)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Post Code	4335 Dirdal

The Dirdalen valley is about 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) long, following the Dirdalsåna river. The valley is connected to the neighboring valley of Frafjord by the Frafjord Tunnel which runs through the mountains and ends at the village of Gilja.^[2]

History

Prior to 1 January 1965, the village (and valley) were part of the municipality of Forsand. This area was moved to Gjesdal because there was no road connection from Dirdal to the rest of Forsand, but there was a road connection to the rest of Gjesdal.^[3]

Dirdal was the scene of fierce fighting between Norwegian and German soldiers during Nazi Germany's assault on Norway (Operation Weserübung) in April 1940.

References

1. "Dirdal, Gjesdal (Rogaland)" (in Norwegian). yr.no. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
2. Store norske leksikon. "Dirdalen" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2016-03-01.
3. Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå.