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Arendal

Arendal is a municipality in Agder county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the region of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Arendal (which is also the seat of Agder county). Some of the notable villages in Arendal include Rykene, Eydehavn, Færvik, Strengereid, Kongshavn, Kilsund, Brattekleiv, Torsbudalen, Longum, Saltrød, Staubø, Vrengen, and Kolbjørnsvik. The offices of UNEP/GRID-Arendal are also located in the city of Arendal.

The 270 km2 municipality is the 273rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Arendal is the 24th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 45,891. The municipality's population density is 179.9 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 5.9% over the previous 10-year period.

Municipal history
The town of Arendal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1875, a small area with 22 inhabitants was transferred from the town to the neighboring municipality of Østre Moland and another small area with 52 residents was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Øyestad.

On 1 January 1902, the rural municipality of Barbu (population: 6,787) was merged into the town of Arendal. In 1944, a small area of Moland with a population of 21 inhabitants was transferred to Arendal as well. On 1 January 1992, the town was vastly expanded. The neighboring rural municipalities of Hisøy (pop: 4,026), Moland (pop: 8,148), Tromøy (pop: 4,711), and Øyestad (pop: 8,679) were all merged with the town of Arendal which had a population of 12,478, bringing the total population of the new municipality of Arendal to 38,042.

Origin of the name
The Old Norse form of the name was probably Arnardalr. The first element is the genitive case of which means "eagle". The last element is which means "valley" or "dale", thus meaning the "valley of the eagle".

A link for the name also has been theorized to the Vasconic substrate hypothesis, for similarity to placenames like Val d'Aran and Arundel.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 7 November 1924 (based upon an older seal). The blazon is "Per fess, Azure with a three-masted ship argent over barry wavy of seven argent and azure". This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is an 18th-century, three-masted sailing ship above seven, thin, wavy stripes. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The arms usually have a gold mural crown above the shield. The design was chosen as a symbol for the importance of fisheries and sailing to the local economy. A ship appeared on the oldest known seal of the town, dating back to the 17th century. In the late 19th and early 20th century the arms showed the ship in the upper part and a landscape with the coat of arms of Norway in the base of the shield. The arms were designed by Miss C. Aubert who based it off a draft by Fred Barth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has six parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Arendal. It is part of the Arendal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

History
The village of Arendal was established in the middle of the 16th century, and was then called Arendall. Initially, it had no formal town status.

When the town of Christianssand was founded by King Christian IV in 1641, he granted the citizens a monopoly on all trade in Nedenæs and Lister og Mandal counties (including the area of Arendal). This grant, intended to subsidize Christianssand and its fortifications, placed existing towns in a difficult position. Both towns and the peasants in the rural countryside protested the hardships this caused. As a result, Arendal received royal permission in 1622 to continue as a loading-place for timber until a means could be found to transfer its trade to Christianssand.

The town of Arendal was given market city privileges in 1723. However the peasants in the surrounding district, who by law were to sell their goods only at Arendal, were smuggling their goods out on cutters and selling them in Denmark, in the Baltic, and in Great Britain.

This continued until 1735, when Arendal was granted a full town charter. This charter, combined with Danish imposition of a monopoly on grain imports, caused great poverty and starvation among the peasants in the surrounding districts, leading to several famous rebellions.

As a result of the rebellions, the age of privileges for towns like Christianssand and Arendal came to an apparent end in 1768 by royal proclamation. But the problems did not end then; a farmer, Christian Jensen Lofthuus, in nearby Vestre Moland led a rebellion in 1786 which resulted in the government actually remedying some of the most repressive trade policies, but Lofthus died in prison. The charges against Lofthus were that he dealt in grain and other commodities to the detriment to Arendal's privileges.

Shipping, shipbuilding, and timber trade as well as mining and ironworks were important branches of industry in Nedenæs county for many centuries, especially in the Arendal region. Frequent contacts with the world abroad put their mark on the local culture and traditions. In 1880, it was the country's biggest port in terms of tonnage handled. At the end of the 19th century, Arendal was recognized as a major shipping centre with many wealthy shipowners. However, this came to an end following the 1886 Arendal crash, in which Axel Nicolai Herlofson had defrauded many bank customers in the city, leading to bankruptcies and extreme unemployment. At one point in the middle of the 18th century, Arendal was one of Norway's biggest mining towns. The main production consisted of iron ore and magnetite.

Around the turn of the twentieth century, when thousands of Norwegians sought to take advantage of the more stable economic climate of the United States by emigrating, many of those from Arendal took their economic traditions with them. In New York City and the surrounding areas, a great deal of Americans who claim Norwegian ancestry can trace their roots to Arendal, as a great deal of Norwegian sailors, trimmers, shipbuilders, and carpenters from Arendal settled in areas of New York such as Brooklyn, Port Richmond (Staten Island), and several industrial centers in northern New Jersey such as Jersey City, Bayonne, Perth Amboy, and Elizabeth. In 1939, Arendal had the 4th largest Norwegian tanker fleet; only Oslo, Bergen, and Stavanger were larger.

During the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940, Arendal was captured by the German torpedo boat Greif.

Today, the town has small boat manufacturing, mechanical industry, electronics industry, as well as one of the world's largest silicon carbide refining plants.

The municipality had a prison (Arendal Prison), however Agder Prison opened in 2020; Arendal Prison was sold the next year.

Government
Arendal Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Arendal is made up of 39 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Arendal:

 * 1838–1861: Morten Smith Dedekam
 * 1861–1861: Wilhelm Foss
 * 1862–1862: Johannes Westergaard
 * 1863–1870: Tollef Omholt
 * 1871–1871: Anders D. Geelmuyden
 * 1872–1878: Ole Schrøder (H)
 * 1879–1879: Peter L. Lund
 * 1880–1884: Ole Schrøder (H)
 * 1885–1886: Ove S. Andersen
 * 1887–1895: Thorvald Christian Christensen (H)
 * 1896–1898: Claus Bomhoff Evensen
 * 1899–1901: Johan Henrik Kintzell Frøstrup (H)
 * 1902–1907: Axel Smith (H)
 * 1908–1913: Hans Schrøder
 * 1914–1916: Michael Blom Bakke
 * 1917–1919: Josef Hammer
 * 1920–1924: Ove Andersen (H)
 * 1925–1925: Halvor Løvold (H)
 * 1926–1931: Oscar Lundegaard
 * 1932–1934: Nicolai B. Herlofson
 * 1935–1940: Niels Sødring Barth
 * 1941–1941: Konrad M. Havig
 * 1941–1942: Sigurd Saxlund (NS)
 * 1943–1944: Eystein Knutzon (NS)
 * 1945–1945: Carl Hansen (NS)
 * 1945–1945: Niels Sødring Barth
 * 1946–1947: Ola Solberg (Ap)
 * 1948–1967: Jens T. Thommesen (H)
 * 1968–1971: Stian W. Erichsen (V)
 * 1972–1987: Ørnulf G. Christensen (H)
 * 1988–1991: Ivar Bollmann Pedersen (Ap)
 * 1992–1995: Einar Livolden (Sp)
 * 1996–1999: Sigurd Ledaal (H)
 * 2000–2003: Alf Eivind Ljøstad (KrF)
 * 2003–2011: Torill Rolstad Larsen (Ap)
 * 2011–2015: Einar Halvorsen (H)
 * 2015–present: Robert Cornels Nordli (Ap)

Geography
The municipality is bordered to the southwest by Grimstad, to the northwest by Froland, to the northeast by Tvedestrand, and to the southeast by the Skaggerak. The lake Rore is located on the Grimstad border along with the river Nidelva.

Arendal is the geologic type locality of the mineral Babingtonite, which was first described from specimens discovered here in 1824.

The coastal municipality includes several populated islands such as Hisøya, Tromøya, Merdø, Flostaøya, and Tverrdalsøya as well as many unpopulated or sparsely populated islands such as Ærøya. The island of Merdø was a major export port in the 17th and 18th centuries and now has a museum, a kiosk, and several beaches. There is regular boat service from Arendal to the island every day during the summer season.

Economy
In 2018 the service sector had 82% of the jobs in the municipality. As of 2020, part of the site for Eyde Energipark, an industrial park, has been leveled: 100 maal or 100,000 sq.m. has been leveled for the first phase of construction of a battery factory (for car batteries and ship batteries), scheduled for 2023.

Townscape
In the middle of the town centre of Arendal is an area with wooden houses dating back to the 17th century. This area is called Tyholmen, and is what is left of buildings from before the 19th century. The inner harbour of Arendal is called "Pollen", where the fish market, pubs, and restaurants are located. Trinity Church dominates the skyline of this area.

Arendal has grown from a traditional sleepy summer-town (with culture activities just in the summer) to a more "all year" city. The building of the new library and the combined city hall/concert house has greatly improved culture life.

Lighthouses
The Store Torungen Lighthouse is located on the island of Store Torungen outside Arendal. It was constructed in 1844 and electrified in 1914. It is 34.3 m high and contains a 2nd order lens. It is reachable by a 55-minute boat trip from the town centre. The lighthouse is still in use.

The Lille Torungen Lighthouse is situated on the small island of Lille Torungen outside Arendal. The lighthouse is 28.9 m high. Lille Torungen and Store Torungen were constructed as twin lighthouses, and both are located in the Arendal shipping lane.

The Sandvigodden Lighthouse is also located in Arendal.

Strømsbo gård
Strømsbo gård is a manor house on a historic farm located west of the center of Arendal. The manor dates from the 1760s. From 1804 the manor and farm were owned by members of the Herlofson family. Peter Herlofson took over the farm and gave the building its present form. In 1883, Axel Herlofsen (1845–1910) built the Strømsbo steam sawmill at the head of Strømsbubukt. Nicolai Benjamin Herlofson (1876–1945), former mayor of Arendal, was born and raised at Strømsbo.

Music festivals

 * Canal Street is Arendals yearly jazz and blues festival during the summer. It has been arranged since 1996, at that time by the name of Arendal Jazz and Blues Festival. The popularity of the arrangement has been steadily increasing.
 * From 2007 until 2014, the Hove Festival was located on the island of Tromøy just outside Arendal town. It was the largest festival scene in Norway the debut year, and it has an audience capacity of up to 25,000.

Transport
The European route E18 highway is a major transportation route through Arendal heading to Oslo in the northeast and Kristiansand to the southwest. Other main roads in Arendal include the Norwegian County Road 407, Norwegian County Road 408, and Norwegian County Road 410. The local railway line Arendalsbanen runs to Nelaug where it connects with the main Sørlandsbanen railway line, which runs between the cities of Oslo and Stavanger.

The Setesdal Bilruter (on behalf of public transit authority AKT) provides bus connections throughout the Arendal area, the Setesdal region including Froland, as well as to the neighboring towns of Grimstad, Lillesand and Kristiansand, and a handful of their suburbs and outlying villages. A few more destinations can be reached with other bus operators (namely Agder Buss, Nettbuss, Konkurrenten.no, and Lavprisekspressen), including places such as Risør, Tvedestrand, Oslo, and Stavanger. There is also a bus connection to Kristiansand Airport operated by Agder Flyekspress and Nettbuss express (the latter on behalf of Flybussen.no). Ferries run between the city center and the islands of Hisøya and Tromøya. Arendal does also have an airport, Arendal Airport, Gullknapp, although it does not have any commercial airlines regularly stopping here.

Healthcare
The municipality organises general practitioner services, such as the primary doctor scheme, accident and emergency departments, physiotherapy, public health centers and school medical services, home nursing care, midwifery services and nursing homes or living arrangements for around-the-clock nursing and care. Sørlandet Hospital has a visiting location in Arendal and offers specialist health services in somatics, psychiatry and addiction treatment.

Climate
The climate along the southern coast is temperate. Arendal has a significant amount of rainfall during the year. This is true, even for the driest month. The climate here is classified as temperate oceanic (Cfb by the Köppen-Geiger system). The all-time low is from January 1942, and the all-time high is from June 1995. The average date for the last overnight freeze (low below 0 °C) in spring is 11 April and average date for first freeze in autumn is 17 November giving a frost-free season of 219 days (1981-2010 average for Torungen). The data is from Torungen, a coastal station. Only slightly further inland, the winters get colder and the summer days get warmer. With southeasterly airflow in winter, the area can get heavy snowfall, which can interrupt traffic. However, the snow rarely lasts long along the coast.

Twin towns — sister cities
Arendal has sister city agreements with the following places:

In fiction
The area around Arendal was the location for the 1997 Lille Lørdag series "Min drømmeserie" starring Harald Eia and Bård Tufte Johansen. The 2013 Disney film Frozen is set in a fictional kingdom named Arendelle, which is derived from and loosely based on the city of Arendal.

Public service and public thinking

 * Jens Munk (1579–1628), a Dano-Norwegian navigator and explorer who searched for the Northwest Passage to India
 * Andreas Frederik Krieger (1817–1893), a politician, government minister, and supreme court judge
 * Anton Christian Houen (1823–1894), a teacher, philanthropist, and businessman
 * Yngvar Nielsen (1843–1916), a historian, politician, and geographer
 * Sam Eyde (1866–1940), an engineer and industrialist who founded Norsk Hydro
 * Magnus Olsen (1878–1963), a philologist who specialized in Old Norse studies
 * Lucy Pedersen, a climate change activist
 * Alf Dannevig (1886–1960), a marine biologist and mayor of Hisøy from 1948 to 1960
 * Sigrid Stray (1893–1978), a barrister and proponent of women's rights
 * Sigurd Anderson (1904–1990), the 19th Governor of South Dakota (1951 to 1955)
 * Ebba Lodden (1913–1997), a civil servant and politician who was the first female county governor in Norway
 * Lilly Bølviken (1914–2011), a judge, women's rights advocate, and first woman Norwegian Supreme Court Justice from 1968 to 1984
 * Aksel Lydersen (1919–1995), an engineer and professor of chemical engineering
 * Svenn Stray (1922–2012), a politician who served twice as Foreign Minister of Norway
 * Magnhild Lien (born ca.1955), a mathematician specializing in knot theory
 * Grete Faremo (born 1955), a politician, lawyer, and business leader
 * Hege Storhaug (born 1962), a political and human rights activist, journalist, and author

Arts

 * Ole Nilsen Weierholt (1718–1792), a wood carver and pattern maker for ironworks
 * Sophie Dedekam (1820–1894), a composer and diarist
 * Louis Moe (1857–1945), a painter, illustrator, and writer
 * Tillie Baldwin (1888–1958), an American rodeo contestant and performer in Wild West shows
 * Trygve Thorsen (1892–1965), a sculptor of busts and reliefs
 * Bård Torstensen (born 1961), a guitarist for rap metal band Clawfinger
 * Karl Ove Knausgård (born 1968), a writer who was raised on Tromøya in Arendal
 * Finn Iunker (born 1969), a playwright
 * Kristin Danielsen (born 1972), a dancer, choreographer, and cultural administrator
 * Øyvind Sauvik (born 1976), a hip hop musician

Sport

 * Dan Evensen (born 1974), a mixed martial arts fighter
 * Monica Knudsen (born 1975), a former footballer with 87 caps with Norway women and team gold medallist at the 2000 Summer Olympics
 * Øystein Grødum (born 1977), a speedskater who competed in the 2006 Winter Olympics
 * Sisters Annette Bjelkevik (born 1978) and Hedvig Bjelkevik (born 1981), speed skaters who competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics
 * Twins Roger Risholt and Kai Risholt (born 1979), retired footballers
 * Marit Fiane Christensen (born 1980), a footballer with 86 caps with the Norwegian women's national football team
 * Glenn Andersen (born 1980), a retired footballer with 437 club caps
 * Jan Gunnar Solli (born 1981), a footballer with 350 club caps and 40 for the Norwegian men's national football team
 * Håvard Vad Petersson (born 1984), a curler who was a team silver medallist at the 2010 Winter Olympics
 * Marte Olsbu Røiseland (born 1990), a biathlete and silver medallist at the 2018 Winter Olympics

title: Arendal


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Risør

is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located on the Skagerrak coast in the traditional region of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of Risør municipality is the town of Risør. There are many villages in Risør such as Akland, Bossvika, Fie, Hødnebø, Krabbesund, Moen, Nipe, Røysland, Sandnes, Sivik, Søndeled, and Stamsø.

Risør is a tourist destination, and the surrounding area includes many small lakes and hills. Together with its coastline, Risør is known for its tourist attractions such as the wooden boat festival which is staged during the first week of August every year. It also has a growing reputation as the regional capital of arts and crafts, which culminates in the "Villvin-festival" during the summer holiday.

The 193 km2 municipality is the 302nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Risør is the 147th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,806. The municipality's population density is 38 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 0.6% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The town of Risør was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1901, a part of the neighboring Søndeled municipality (population: 658) was transferred to Risør. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the rural municipality of Søndeled (population: 3,134) was merged into the town of Risør (population: 3,002) to form a new municipality of Risør which had a population of 6,136. On 1 January 1984, the uninhabited Folevatnet area of neighboring Tvedestrand was transferred to Risør.

Name
The town and municipality is named after the small island of Risøya which is located on the sea, just off the coast of the town. The name likely comes from the Old Norse name Ríseyjar. The first element is which means "thicket" or "brush". The last element is which means "islands". The relatively more modern Danish language version of eyjar is øer, hence the current spelling of "Risør". The old name of the town (prior to 1909) was Øster Riisöer or Østerrisør (with meaning "eastern" Risør). After 1909, it was simply called Risør. The prefix was added in the 16th century to distinguish this town from the town of Vesterrisør, the old name of the nearby town of Mandal. After Vesterrisør was renamed Mandal, the prefix was dropped as it was no longer needed.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 18 July 1891. The blazon is "Azure, per fess a rocky island sable with lighthouse and two stars argent over barry wavy azure and argent". This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a black rocky island coming out of blue waves with a lighthouse on the island and two stars in the sky. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The arms often have a mural crown over the shield. The lighthouse was chosen to symbolize the Holmen fortress built in 1788. The history of these arms is quite curious. It is said that on 18 July 1891 King Oscar II visited the town of Risør so a menu had to be printed. It was printed with a coat of arms on the top, which was probably designed by the printer. That afternoon the King approved the new arms, mainly because his name was printed under the arms on the menu. The municipal flag does not has the same design as the coat of arms. The blue flag has one white star in the top left corner and three jagged horizontal white stripes.

Churches
The Church of Norway has two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Risør. It is part of the Aust-Nedenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

History
The village of Risør was a small fishing village in the prestegjeld of Søndeled when Dutch vessels began to call there to purchase timber around the year 1570. By 1607, two inns had been opened to serve Dutch sailors. In 1630, Risør became a privileged port (ladested). The town has a timber church, Risør Church which was built in the Baroque style in 1647.

In 1723, Risør was granted town status which granted it a number of commercial privileges. By the end of the 18th century, 96 sailing vessels were owned by Risør merchants. It was the sixth largest shipping town and one of four shipbuilding centers in Norway.

In Letters on Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, Mary Wollstonecraft wrote extensively while visiting Risør in 1783, including the following remarks:
 * On entering Risør: "We were a considerable time entering amongst the islands, before we saw about two hundred houses crowded together under a very high rock—still higher appearing above."
 * While at Risør: "...seaports are not favorable to improvement. The captains acquire a little superficial knowledge by traveling, which their indefatigable attention to the making of money prevents their digesting; and the fortune that they thus laboriously acquire is spent, as it usually is in towns of this description, in show and good living."
 * While departing Risør: "The view of the town was now extremely fine. A huge rocky mountain stood up behind it, and a vast cliff stretched on each side, forming a semicircle. In a recess of the rocks was a clump of pines, amongst which a steeple rose picturesquely beautiful."

Risør played a role in the Napoleonic Wars in 1807–1814, when Denmark–Norway took France's side, and therefore became the enemy of Norway's most important trading-partner: Great Britain. (It is from this period that Henrik Ibsen took his subject, when he created his famous poem Terje Vigen.) It was south of Risør, in Lyngør (now in the neighboring Tvedestrand municipality) that several British warships, headed by HMS Dictator of the English navy pursued and sank the last major vessel and the pride of Norway: the frigate HDMS Najaden.

On 1 January 1838, the new formannskapsdistrikt law came into effect, granting each parish and town in Norway the rights to have a self-governing council. Thus, Risør was a small town with a council to run it.

Risør was almost wiped off the map in 1861. A great fire swept across the small town leaving just 85 houses and the 1647 Risør Church. The entire road network was re-worked after the fire to remove the small streets and alleys and have wider roads that are there today. The city was redesigned and rebuilt and today it presents a positive impression of a well kept town with white, wooden houses. White was chosen because it was an expensive paint and the residents wanted to give an expression of prosperity. Still today, most houses have white paint, although some have other colors on the sides and back of their houses.

By the second half of the 19th century, over 100 sailing vessels were based at their home port in Risør and more than 1,000 sailors called Risør home. The transition to steamships and the economic damage of World War I, however, destroyed Risør's shipping industry.

On 1 January 1901, an area of the neighboring municipality of Søndeled (population: 658) was transferred to the city, greatly expanding Risør. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the town of Risør (population: 3,002) and the entire municipality of Søndeled (population: 3,134) were merged to form a new, much larger municipality of Risør, with the town being the administrative centre.

Geography
Risør is the easternmost coastal municipality in Agder county, located on the peninsula between the mouths of the Søndeledfjorden and Sandnesfjorden, providing ready access to the Skagerrak. Risør municipality is bordered to the southwest by Tvedestrand, to the northwest by Vegårshei and Gjerstad, and to the northeast by Kragerø in Telemark county. The Nordfjorden is a branch of the Søndeledfjorden that flows to the north of the large island of Barmen.

Government
Risør Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Risør is made up of 29 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Risør (incomplete list):

 * 1845-1845: Jacob Wetlesen Prebensen
 * 1851-1851: Jacob Wetlesen Prebensen
 * 1862-1866: Jacob Wetlesen Prebensen
 * 1871-1876: Peder Christian Bjørnsgaard
 * 1877-1880: Søren Hille
 * 1880-1909: Jacob Christian Wetlesen Prebensen
 * 1922-1922: Andreas Hansson (V)
 * 1988-1995: Laila Amalie Skarheim (Ap)
 * 1995-2007: Lars Lauvhjell (Sp)
 * 2007-2011: Knut Henning Thygesen (R)
 * 2011-2023: Per Kristian Lunden (Ap)
 * 2023-present: Kai Strat (H)

Politics
In the 2007 municipal elections, Risør had the highest vote for the Red Electoral Alliance in Norway at 13.7 per cent. Also, Knut Henning Thygesen was elected as the only mayor from the Red Party through a direct mayor election.

Transportation
Risør is located along the Skaggerak coast. The Stangholmen Lighthouse sits just offshore, marking a shipping channel leading to the town harbour. The European route E18 highway runs along the western edge of the municipality. The Norwegian County Road 416 connects the E18 highway with the town centre in the eastern side of the municipality. Other main roads in Risør include Norwegian County Road 411 and Norwegian County Road 418.

Economy
Risør was a town built as a result of shipping and industrial interests. The historic timber and fishing industries thrived for a few hundred years, but now they have mostly vanished. Paper production served as an economic basis for a time, until the pulp factory was closed in 1970. Today Risør is more of a tourist destination with a burgeoning art colony and music festivals. Summer vacationers account for a major part of the economy.

Attractions
Risør has many tourist attractions.
 * A world class chamber music festival, is held in late June
 * A bluegrass music-festival every mid-July. Norway's only festival of its kind.
 * A popular artists’ market (Villvinmarked or "Villvin-festival") is held in July
 * A wooden boat festival (Trebåtfestival) is held in August. During the festival the population swells to 20,000 people.
 * Den Hellige Ånds Church, built in 1647
 * The citadel at Tangen, a fortification from the Napoleonic Wars (with modifications from the German occupation period)
 * Risør Akvarium, salt water aquarium with over 100 different species. The only salt water aquarium in the south region of Norway.
 * Risør Underwater Post Office, is established in 2004.

Notable people

 * Isak Lauritssøn Falck (1601–1669), a land-owner and timber merchant who developed the growing town of Risør
 * Christian Jensen Lofthuus (1750-1797), a peasant who led a revolt in 1786 called Lofthusreisingen
 * Henrik Carstensen (1753–1835), a timber merchant, shipowner, rep. Norwegian Constituent Assembly
 * Carsten Henrik Bruun (1828–1907), a shipmaster of whaling vessels, also involved in sealing
 * Nikolai Prebensen (1850–1938), a politician and County Governor of Finnmark & Aust-Agder
 * Dikken Zwilgmeyer (1853–1913), a fiction writer of children's literature
 * Isak Martinius Skaugen (1875–1962), a sea captain who founded I. M. Skaugen a shipping co.
 * Ove Ansteinsson (1884–1942), a journalist and author
 * Per Sunderland (1924–2012), a stage and film actor
 * Victor D. Norman (born 1946), a politician & professor of economy and rector at NHH
 * Carl Magnus Neumann (born 1944), a jazz saxophonist who lived in Risør starting in 2000
 * Knut Henning Thygesen (born 1953), an author, politician, and mayor of Risør in 2007
 * Erik Mykland (born 1971), a footballer with 371 club caps and 78 for Norway

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Risør


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Grimstad

Grimstad is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It belongs to the geographical region of Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of Grimstad. Some of the villages in Grimstad include Eide, Espenes, Fevik, Fjære, Håbbestad, Hesnes, Homborsund, Jortveit, Kroken, Landvik, Nygrenda, Prestegårdskogen, Reddal, Roresand, Rønnes, Skiftenes, Tjore, Vik, and Østerhus.

The municipality is centered around the little maritime town of Grimstad which is surrounded by many small islands (Skjærgård). There is a harbor, a main street, a small market square, Grimstad Church, and a museum dedicated to the early life of Henrik Ibsen, who served as an apprentice to Grimstad's local pharmacist Reimann, from 1844 to 1847, before leaving Grimstad in 1850. Ibsen's intimate knowledge of the local people and surroundings can be seen in his poem Terje Vigen. The majority of the inhabitants live in and around the town, while the rest of the municipality is rural and heavily forested.

The 304 km2 municipality is the 264th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Grimstad is the 50th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 24,587. The municipality's population density is 90.3 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 13.9% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The town of Grimstad was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1878, part of the neighboring municipality of Fjære (population: 948) was transferred to Grimstad. Again, on 1 January 1960, another part of Fjære (pop: 344) was transferred to Grimstad. On 1 January 1971, the rural municipalities of Fjære (pop: 6,189) and Landvik (pop: 2,781) were merged with the town of Grimstad (pop: 2,794) to form a significantly larger municipality of Grimstad with a total population of 11,764 at the time of the merger.

Name
The municipality is named after the historic town of Grimstad (Grómstǫð). The first element is the name of after the old Grøm farm. The farm name is the combination of two items. First, the old local river name Gróa which comes from the word which means "to grow" and the second part is  which means "home" or "abode". The last element of the name is which means "landing place" or "harbour". The town's name was originally spelled Grømstad, when Norway was part of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway. At some point, the spelling of the name was misunderstood and became spelled as "Grimstad" during the registration of Norwegian cities and small places.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted in 1899 and was based upon a seal of the city dating back to 1847. The blazon is "Azure, a brig above three barrulets wavy Or". This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a two-masted brig, a type of sailing ship, on top of three wavy lines which symblize the ocean. The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The arms usually have a mural crown above the shield. The design was chosen as a symbol for the importance of fishing and shipping.

Churches
The Church of Norway has four parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Grimstad. It is part of the Vest-Nedenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

History
Grimstad lies within the boundaries of the ancient parish of Fjære. It is reportedly first mentioned as a harbor in the 16th century. Eight years after he was deposed, Christian II of Denmark–Norway (1513–1523) attempted to recover his kingdoms. A tempest scattered his fleet off the Norwegian coast, and on 24 October 1531, they took refuge at Grimstad. On 1 July 1532, he surrendered to his rival, King Frederick I of Denmark, in exchange for a promise of safe conduct. King Frederick failed to honor his promise and imprisoned Christian until he died.

An inn is recorded at Grimstad as early as 1607. In 1622, Grimstad became a recognized harbor under the town of Arendal. By 1747, Grimstad was identified as a sailing community and a recognized haunt of smugglers. During the Napoleonic Wars, England blockaded Norway. In 1811, an English brig entered the harbor to capture blockade runners, but was vigorously repulsed and did not return.

John Frederik Classen, who owned the Frolands Værk (an ironworks), obtained concessions to export and import through Grimstad and bypass Arendal with its customs dues. Grimstad was awarded market town status in 1816.

The Nørholm farm in Grimstad was the home of Knut Hamsun in the early 20th century.

Government
Grimstad Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Grimstad is made up of 35 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Grimstad:

 * 1838-1841: Bendix Ebbell
 * 1841-1842: Christian Fredrik Bonnevie
 * 1843-1843: Christian Holst
 * 1844-1844: Mathias Gundersen
 * 1845-1845: Christian Holst
 * 1846-1846: Mathias Gundersen
 * 1847-1848: Axel Christian Pharo
 * 1848-1849: J.C. Falsen
 * 1849-1850: Fredrik Crawfurd
 * 1851-1851: Morten Smith Petersen
 * 1852-1852: C. Crawfurd
 * 1853-1853: Morten Smith Petersen
 * 1854-1854: Christian Holst
 * 1855-1855: Morten Smith Petersen
 * 1856-1856: H. Frisak
 * 1856-1857: Morten Smith Petersen
 * 1857-1857: M.S. Tveten
 * 1858-1859: Morten Smith Petersen
 * 1859-1859: M.S. Tveten
 * 1860-1860: H. Frisak
 * 1860-1862: Morten Smith Petersen
 * 1863-1864: H. Frisak
 * 1865-1866: Henning J. Bie
 * 1867-1867: Morten Smith Petersen
 * 1867-1867: A. Frivold
 * 1868-1868: Morten Smith Petersen
 * 1868-1872: H. Frisak
 * 1873-1874: Fr. Crawfurd
 * 1875-1878: H. Frisak
 * 1879-1901: Fr. Smith Petersen
 * 1902-1907: Bernt Einersen
 * 1908-1910: Peter Berg
 * 1911-1914: Bernt Einersen
 * 1915-1916: Hans P. Hansen
 * 1917-1917: Alfred Johnsen
 * 1918-1919: J.A. Gundersen
 * 1920-1920: Daniel Gundersen (H)
 * 1921-1922: O.T. Tønnevold (H)
 * 1923-1925: P.B. Einersen (H)
 * 1926-1928: Daniel Gundersen (H)
 * 1929-1931: P.B. Einersen (H)
 * 1932-1934: Carsten Assev (H)
 * 1935-1936: Thomas O. Tønnevold (H)
 * 1937-1937: M. Fuhr (H)
 * 1938-1938: G.E. Gundersen
 * 1939-1945: M. Fuhr (H)
 * 1945-1945: G.E. Gundersen
 * 1945-1945: L.B. Smith
 * 1946-1947: Trygve Skretting (H)
 * 1948-1948: G.E. Gundersen
 * 1949-1949: Trygve Skretting (H)
 * 1950-1950: G.E. Gundersen
 * 1951-1961: Trygve Skretting (H)
 * 1962-1963: H. Stifoss Hanssen
 * 1964-1970: Trygve Skretting (H)
 * 1970–1971: Johan Jørgen Ugland (H)
 * 1972–1975: Gudmund Hytten (H)
 * 1976–1977: Trygve Skretting (H)
 * 1978–1981: Reidar Aslaksen (KrF)
 * 1982–1983: Gunnar Edvard Gundersen (H)
 * 1984–1985: Reidar Aslaksen (KrF)
 * 1986–1987: Hallstein Gauslaa (H)
 * 1988–1989: Jon Sørland (KrF)
 * 1990–1991: Bent Sætra (H)
 * 1992–1995: Oddvar Skaiaa (KrF)
 * 1995–2003: Per Svenningsen (Ap)
 * 2003–2007: Svein Harberg (H)
 * 2007–2015: Hans Antonsen (V)
 * 2015–2019: Kjetil Glimsdal (KrF)
 * 2019–present: Beate Skretting (H)

Education
Grimstad is home to Drottningborg, a private Lutheran boarding preparatory school. It is also the location of the Bibelskolen in Grimstad (BiG), a private Lutheran bible school. The University of Agder has its faculty of engineering seated here. A student dorm called "Grøm" is also in Grimstad.

Geography
Grimstad is a coastal municipality in Agder county bordering on the Skagerrak. The municipality is bordered by Arendal in the east, Froland and Birkenes in the north, and Lillesand in the west. The lakes Syndle and Rore are found in the northern part of the municipality. Landviksvannet and Reddalsvannet lakes are found in the southern part of the municipality, near Reddal. The rivers Nidelva and Tovdalselva run through parts of the municipality. The Rivingen Lighthouse and Homborsund Lighthouse both sit on small islands just off the coast.

Climate
Grimstad has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb, marine west coast), with autumn and early winter as the wettest season and April - July as the driest season. The all-time high temperature 32.2 °C was 11 August 1975; the all-time low is -30.3 °C recorded 8 February 1966. The March record high 23.1 °C recorded 27 March 2012 was new national heat record for March. Most of the record lows are old; 8 of 12 record lows from before 1970 (November 2021). In February and March 1970 a snow depth of 172 cm was recorded at Landvik. In recent times, snow usually melts fast along the coast, but the right weather setup can sometimes give large snowfalls. The weather station in Landvik, 5 km inland from the town of Grimstad, has been recording since 1957.

Attractions
The Maritime Museum, the comprehensive City Museum and the Norwegian Horticultural Museum, are all popular among tourists, as are the wealth of exhibitions and concerts that the town hosts. The town is also a popular destination for summer vacationers, and supports a robust shopping milieu during the Christmas season. During summer, Grimstad plays host to the Norwegian Short Film Festival, which attracts film enthusiasts from far and near. Another popular attraction is the Agder Teater at Fjæreheia, an open-air stage located in a disused stone quarry. Shopping is also available in Oddensenteret along the harbour. (The view from Oddensenteret is seen in the panorama photo above.)

The Homborsund lighthouse is located within the municipality. Grimstad is also home to the Nøgne Ø brewery.

Sports
The 1997 World Orienteering Championships were held in Grimstad. The FK Jerv is the most important football club, and plays for first time at the top division in 2022.

The Arts

 * Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906), a playwright who wrote his first drama, Catalina in Grimstad in 1848/49
 * Andreas Isachsen (1829-1903), an actor and playwright
 * Knut Hamsun (1859–1952), a Nobel lauriate author who lived in Norholm from 1918
 * Clara Thue Ebbell (1880–1971), an author of young adult fiction
 * Roald Dahl (1916–1990), an author who visited his grandparents and summered at the Strand Hotel in Fevik in Grimstad
 * Lillian Müller (born 1951), a model and actress
 * Even Benestad (born 1974), a documentary film director
 * Kjetil Mørland (born 1980), a singer and songwriter who competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015

Public service & public thinking

 * Bent Salvesen (1787-1820), a ship's captaina, lieutenant in the Royal Danish Navy, and privateer
 * Elisabeth Helmer (1854–after 1912), a professional photographer and women's rights activist
 * Sverre Hassel (1876–1928), a polar explorer who accompanied Roald Amundsen to the South Pole
 * Marius Nygaard Smith-Petersen (1886–1953), an American physician and orthopaedic surgeon
 * Tryggve Gran (1889–1980), a polar explorer, flight pioneer, and author
 * Christopher Grigson (1926-2001), a developer of the scanning electron microscope
 * Thor Tjøntveit (1936–2017), a Norwegian-American aviator and convicted fraudster
 * Esben Esther Pirelli Benestad (born 1949), a physician, sexologist, and prominent trans person
 * Gunhild Vehusheia (born 1975), a lawyer and women's rights leader

Sport

 * Jacob Gundersen (1875–1968), a Norwegian-American freestyle wrestler and silver medallist (for Norway) at the 1908 Summer Olympics
 * Dag Otto Lauritzen (born 1956), a road bicycle racer, bronze medallist at the 1984 Summer Olympics, and the first Norwegian to win a stage in the Tour de France in 1987
 * Thor Hushovd (born 1978), a road bicycle racer, 2010 World Road Race Champion, and the first Norwegian to wear the yellow jersey and win the green jersey in the Tour de France

Twin towns – sister cities
Grimstad is twinned with:
 * 🇫🇮 Asikkala, Finland
 * Billund, Denmark
 * 🇸🇪 Köping, Sweden

title: Grimstad


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Gjerstad

Gjerstad is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional region of Sørlandet, in the southeastern part of the county, along the border with Telemark county. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Gjerstad. Other villages in the municipality include Ausland, Eikeland, Fiane, Gryting, Østerholt, Rød, Sundebru, and Vestøl.

The 322 km2 municipality is the 256th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Gjerstad is the 260th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,421. The municipality's population density is 7.9 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 2.5% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The parish of Gjerstad was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The borders have not changed since that time.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Gjerstad farm (Geirreksstaðir) since the first Gjerstad Church was built there. The meaning of the first element is uncertain. One possibility is that it is the genitive case of the male name Geirrekr. Another possibility is that it comes from the word which means "spear". The last element of the name is the plural form of which means "place", "abode", or "town". Historically, the name of the parish was spelled Gerikstadum (c. 1400), Gierestat (c. 1567), Gierrestad, and Gjerrestad.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 18 April 1986. The official blazon is "Gules, three knives argent in fess palewise points to the base" (På raud grunn tre opprette sølv knivar). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is three knives pointing downwards. The knives 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 knife was chosen as a symbol for the smithies and knife makers in the municipality. Knife making has long been a local tradition for which Gjerstad is well known. The arms were designed by Odd Kjell Mostad. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Gjerstad. It is part of the Aust-Nedenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

History
Until about 1650, the prestegjeld of Gjerstad (the precursor to today's municipality) was named Vissedal (from vidr-ser-dalr meaning "wood-sea-dale"), a very proper description of the area. Gjerstad has been inhabited from the Stone Age and Viking Age through modern times. Agriculture has long been important, and until only decades ago the more marginal outfields in Upper Gjerstad were still utilized. Forestry also provided an important historic economic contribution, and logs were driven on rivers and streams in the municipality. To aid log transport by floating, numerous dams were constructed. Eikeland Ironworks were a significant contribution to the economy as well.

Geography
Gjerstad municipality has numerous glacially formed features, including a U-shaped valley, tarns, and lakes, most notably the large lake Gjerstadvatnet. It located in Agder county and it is bordered to the north by Nissedal and Drangedal municipalities (both in Telemark county); to the east by Kragerø municipality (also in Telemark); to the south by Risør municipality; and to the southwest by Vegårshei municipality. There are several larger roads that traverse Gjerstad: European route E18, Norwegian County Road 417, and Norwegian County Road 418.

Government
Gjerstad Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Gjerstad is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Gjerstad (incomplete list):

 * 1856-1859: Nils T. Ulltveit
 * 1860-1861: Gunder Hansen Ulltveit
 * 1864-1867: Nils T. Ulltveit
 * 1868-1869: Gunder Hansen Ulltveit
 * 1870-1873: Knut N. Ausland
 * 1874-1879: Nils Larsen Røed
 * 1880-1881: Lars Th. Røed
 * 1882-1883: Jens O. Trydal
 * 1884-1884: Nils Larsen Røed
 * 1892-1895: Nils Larsen Røed
 * 1896-1898: Kittil Th. Moe
 * 1899-1901: Peder K. Eikeland
 * 1902-1907: Svend Tellefsen Kveim
 * 1908-1916: Lars Th. Eskeland
 * 1917-1922: Anders O. Moe
 * 1923-1928: G.M. Skomedal
 * 1929-1931: Kristen Fløgstad
 * 1931-1934: Isak K. Strat
 * 1934-1937: Torkjell Imenes
 * 1937-1940: Isak K. Strat
 * 1941-1945: Samuel Johannessen (NS)
 * 1945-1946: Isak K. Strat
 * 1947-1947: Olav Hegna (Ap)
 * 1948-1955: Teodor Moen
 * 1956-1957: Olav Hegna (Ap)
 * 1958-1965: Torje Vehus
 * 1966-1973: Knut H. Ulltveit (Ap)
 * 1975-1979: Arthur Løite (Ap)
 * 1980-1983: Finn Birkedal (KrF)
 * 1984-1991: Knut H. Ulltveit (Ap)
 * 1992-1999: Jan Olav Olsen (H)
 * 1999-2003: Kjell Arild Haugen (Sp)
 * 2003-2007: Odvar Voie Eikeland (Sp)
 * 2007-2011: Rune Hagestrand (H)
 * 2011-2015: Kjell Trygve Grunnsvoll (Sp)
 * 2015-2022: Inger Løite (Sp)
 * 2022-present: Steinar Pedersen (H)

Attractions

 * The remains of Eikeland Ironworks can still be seen in the upper valley. Gjerstad was known for its handmade knives and the coat-of-arms recognizes this heritage.
 * Horga was a former pagan place of sacrifice which was destroyed by Olav Trygvason, during the introduction of Christianity to Gjerstad. It lies 300 m from Holmen Gård.
 * Holmen Gård in Gjerstad (Holmen Gård i Gjerstad) is the site of a former farm. It was a Norwegian national center for folk art and handicraft until it was sold into private ownership in 2013. The site has been awarded the St. Olaf's Rose (Olavsrosa), a hallmark for Norwegian Heritage which designates especially distinguished places.

Notable people

 * Hans Mathias Abel (1738–1803), the priest at Gjerstad Church from 1785 to 1804
 * Søren Georg Abel (1772–1820), a politician and also priest at Gjerstad from 1804 to 1821
 * Niels Henrik Abel (1802–1829), a distinguished mathematician who spent his boyhood in the rectory at Gjerstad and died young of TB
 * Svenum Jensen Vævestad (1849 in Gjerstad – 1898), a farmer and politician
 * Morten Ansgar Kveim (1892 in Gjerstad – 1966), a pathologist who described the Kveim test
 * Magnhild Hagelia (1904 in Gjerstad – 1996), a politician
 * Jan Olav Olsen (born 1950), a politician who was mayor of Gjerstad from 1991 to 1999
 * Inger Løite (born 1958 in Gjerstad), a politician
 * Knut Magne Valle (born 1974 in Gjerstad), a heavy metal guitarist, songwriter, composer, recording studio owner, record producer, and music arranger
 * Torbjørn Urfjell (born 1977), a politician

title: Gjerstad


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Vegårshei

Vegårshei is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative center is the village of Myra. Other villages in Vegårshei include Mo and Ubergsmoen.

The 356 km2 municipality is the 249th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Vegårshei is the 272nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,143. The municipality's population density is 6.7 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 7.9% over the previous 10-year period.

History
The parish of Vegaardsheien was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The borders of the municipality have not changed since that time.

The population was at its largest in 1930, population 2161.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old name for the area (Vigisheiðr) since the first Vegårshei Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the lake Vegår. The meaning of the lake name is uncertain. One theory is that it comes from the word which means "pagan sanctuary". Another theory is that it comes from the verb which means "to consecrate" or "to dedicate". The last element is which means "heath" or "moor". Historically, the name was spelled as Wegaardsheien or Vegaardsheien, and sometimes it was abbreviated as simply Heien. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Vegaarshei. On 21 December 1917, a royal resolution enacted the 1917 Norwegian language reforms. Prior to this change, the name was spelled Vegaarshei with the digraph "aa", and after this reform, the name was spelled Vegårshei, using the letter å instead.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 30 April 1987. The official blazon is "Gules, a fox sejant argent" (I rødt en sittende sølv rev). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a fox. The fox has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The fox was chosen as a representative of the local wildlife and also for the fox farming in the municipality. The arms were designed by Daniel Rike. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Vegårshei. It is part of the Aust-Nedenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

Geography
Vegårshei is bordered on the north by the municipalities of Nissedal (in Telemark county) and Gjerstad, on the east by Risør, on the south by Tvedestrand, and on the west by Åmli. The lake Vegår dominates the northern part of the hilly and forested municipality.

Government
Vegårshei Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Vegårshei is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Vegårshei (incomplete list):

 * 1907-1919: Torjus Værland (V)
 * 2003-2011: Maya Twedt Berli (Ap)
 * 2011-2015: Kjetil Torp (KrF)
 * 2015-2019: Kirsten Helen Myren (Sp)
 * 2019-present: Kjetil Torp (KrF)

Economy
As of 2019, public administration and the service sector, are most important in regard to employment; the retail industry and entities that have hotel services and those that serve food and beverages, constitute 11% of employment; agriculture and forestry accounts for 9% of employment; manufacturing accounts for 7% of employment—21% including those employed in construction and those employed in the energy sector and [water supply]vannforsyning/ [garbage collection or] renovasjon. Of the inhabitants that are employed, 55% have employment outside the municipal borders.

It is well-suited for hunting and fishing for residents and tourists alike.

Transportation
The Sørlandsbanen railway line runs through the municipality, stopping at Vegårshei Station, just north of the village of Myra. There are several Norwegian county roads that cross the municipality, connecting it to its neighbors. Some of the roads include Norwegian County Road 414, Norwegian County Road 415, Norwegian County Road 416, and Norwegian County Road 417.

Notable people

 * Lars Vegard (1880 in Vegårshei – 1963), a physicist and researcher of the aurora borealis
 * Ole Colbjørnsen (1897in Vegårshei – 1973), a journalist, economist, and politician
 * Tjostolv Moland (1981 in Vegårshei – 2013 in Kinshasa), a former Norwegian army officer and security contractor

title: Vegårshei


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Tvedestrand

is municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative center is the town of Tvedestrand. There are many villages in the municipality including Dypvåg, Fiane, Gjeving, Gødderstad, Grønland, Kilen, Klåholmen, Krokvåg, Laget, Lyngør, Nesgrenda, Østerå, Sagesund, Sandvika, and Songe.

The town of Tvedestrand has a white-painted town center with irregular streets climbing steep hills around the harbor. The natural environment of the area makes it a tourist destination. The municipality includes numerous islands, which makes it popular in the summer for boaters. The number of people in the municipality practically doubles in the summer, due to vacationers. There are approximately 1,700 summer cottages ("hytter") around the fjord and coastal areas. Tvedestrand has over 2,000 buildings that are more than 100 years old.

The 215 km2 municipality is the 298th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Tvedestrand is the 154th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,184. The municipality's population density is 30.3 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 2% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The town of Tvedestrand was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1960, the rural municipalities of Dypvåg (population: 1,805) and Holt (population: 3,759) were merged with the town of Tvedestrand (population: 868) to form a new municipality named Tvedestrand.

On 1 January 1962, the Strengereid area (population: 375) of Tvedestrand was transferred to neighboring Moland municipality. Then on 1 January 1964, the Holtegården area (population: 5) was transferred from Moland to Tvedestrand. The uninhabited Folevatnet area in Tvedestrand was transferred to the municipality of Risør on 1 January 1984.

Name
The town and municipality is named after the old Tveite farm (Þveitar) since that is the location of the present town of Tvedestrand. The first element is the farm name which is the genitive case of the word which means "clearing" or "small farm". The last element is which means "beach" or "strand". Thus this is the beach of the Tveit farm.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 4 April 1986. The official blazon is "Azure, a tern volant argent" (I blått en oppflyvende sølv terne). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a tern, a type of local seabird. The tern has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The blue color in the field and the tern were chosen to represent the sea since the municipality was historically dependent on it for its economy. The arms were designed by Daniel Rike. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has three parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Tvedestrand. It is part of the Aust-Nedenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

History
Holt Church probably dates from the twelfth century and it has an ancient baptismal font. The interior was decorated by Torsten Hoff.

Around 1600, Tvedestrand was mainly a harbour for the Berge and Tveite farms’ boats, hence the name Tvedestrand (strand means beach or coast in Norwegian).

Lyngør was the site of the Battle of Lyngør between English and Dano-Norwegian forces during the Napoleonic Wars resulting in the sinking of the frigate of the Dano-Norwegian forces, Najaden by the British ship-of-the-line Dictator in 1812.

The town, as it now exists, was built in the 19th century as a harbour for Norway's longest existing iron works, Næs jernverk. Lying in the parish of Holt, Næs jernverk has one of the largest and most significant of the surviving mansions in Sørlandet, built by Ulrich Schnell. Schnell bought up various iron works in the neighborhood and set up several sawmills in the district. He obtained a special license to export timber directly from Tvedestrand, establishing the basis for an international harbor.

Government
Tvedestrand Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Tvedestrand is made up of 23 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Tvedestrand:

 * 1838-1840: Christian Holm
 * 1841-1842: Mads H. Smith
 * 1843-1846: Christian Holm
 * 1847-1848: Mads H. Smith
 * 1849-1849: Even Jørgensen
 * 1850-1851: Henrik Schäffer
 * 1852-1852: Even Jørgensen
 * 1853-1853: Mads H. Smith
 * 1854-1856: Johannes Holm
 * 1857-1864: S. Lund
 * 1865-1882: Fritz Smith
 * 1882-1885: A.M. Arntsen
 * 1886-1894: Ole Reiersen Lilleholt (V)
 * 1894-1895: Severin Jorkjend
 * 1896-1896: Andreas Biering Olsen
 * 1897-1897: Godtfred Milberg
 * 1898-1898: Andreas Biering Olsen
 * 1899-1900: Lars Grundesen
 * 1901-1904: Th. Hegland
 * 1905-1906: Godtfred Milberg
 * 1906-1909: Peder Christoffersen
 * 1909-1910: Sv. Svensen
 * 1910-1910: A.H. Grundesen
 * 1911-1917: Jakob Ørbæk
 * 1918-1919: A.H. Lindland
 * 1920-1923: Johan W. Wroldsen
 * 1924-1925: Kristen Bråten
 * 1926-1930: Andreas Bjelland
 * 1931-1931: Johan W. Wroldsen
 * 1932-1934: Andorf Bjørnlund
 * 1935-1940: Arnfinn Eskild
 * 1945-1945: Halvor Slotta
 * 1946-1946: Oluf Olsen
 * 1947-1947: Birger Jorkjend
 * 1948-1949: Egil Eide
 * 1950-1954: Arnold Jorkjend
 * 1955-1955: Egil Rosland
 * 1956-1957: Olaf R. Walle
 * 1958-1959: Egil Rosland
 * 1960–1967: Albert Albretsen (V)
 * 1968–1971: Jens Marcussen (H)
 * 1972–1973: Albert Albretsen (V)
 * 1974–1979: Erich Mørch (H)
 * 1980–1983: Per B. Marcussen (H)
 * 1984–1987: Karl Løhaugen (KrF)
 * 1988–1991: Per Tveite (Sp)
 * 1992–1995: May Britt Lunde (Ap)
 * 1995–2003: Torleif Haugland (KrF)
 * 2003-2019: Jan Dukene (LL)
 * 2019-present: Marianne Landaas (H)

Geography
Tvedestrand municipality lies between the towns of Arendal to the southwest and Risør to the northeast. The municipality also borders the municipalities of Arendal, Risør, Froland, Åmli, and Vegårshei.

Tvedestrand belongs to the geographical region of Sørlandet in the Østre Agder area of Agder county. The town itself lies at the end of a picturesque fjord, Tvedestrandfjorden, which is the name for the inner part of the Oksefjorden (originally Ufsefjorden, meaning the fjord with steep, rocky sides). The municipality also encompasses the islands Borøy, Sandøy, and Askerøya as well as the unique village of Lyngør which lies on several small islands. Lyngør was acclaimed "Europe's best preserved village" by Europa Nostra in 1991. Lyngør Lighthouse is located by the village. Tvedestrand municipality includes 162 islands, with a collected coastline of 214 km.

The river Storelva, one of the Southern Coast's best salmon and sea trout rivers, flows past the Næs jernverk and ultimately out into the Sandnesfjorden.

Climate
Tvedestrand has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb, marine west coast), with autumn as the wettest season and spring as the driest. The weather station in Lyngør, about 13 km from the town of Tvedestrand, has been recording since 1920. The all-time high at Lyngør lighthouse is 29.8 C from 12. August 1975.

Geology
A number of rare minerals are found in Tvedestrand:
 * Sunstone, a rare feldspar exhibiting in certain directions a brilliant spangled appearance, which has led to its use as a gemstone.
 * A rare yttrium phosphate mineral Xenotime.
 * Thulite (also called rosaline), an opaque, massive pink variety of the mineral zoisite.

Attractions

 * The 18th century Næs jernverk are 7 km from the town center.
 * Tvedestrand is recognized as a book town, a small village with a large number of second-hand or antiquarian book shops.
 * Interesting Places in Tvedestrand municipality:
 * Lyngør, a cluster of offshore islands which have been described as the 'Skagerrak Venice' and proclaimed by the European Commission to be “Europe’s best preserved village.”
 * Sagesund village
 * Sandøya island, including the villages of Kilen and Klåholmen
 * Borøya island

Notable people

 * Peder Johnsen (1783 in Tvedestrand – 1836), a sailor who was a representative at the Norwegian Constituent Assembly
 * Knud Knudsen (1812 in Tvedestrand – 1895), an educator, author, linguist, and philologist
 * Elise Wærenskjold (1815 in Dypvåg – 1895), a Norwegian-American writer, temperance leader, and early pioneer in Texas
 * Erik Eriksen (1820 in Lyngør - 1888), a polar captain
 * Arne Garborg (1851–1924), an author who founded and edited the Tvedestrandsposten newspaper (still published in 2019)
 * Jens Holmboe (1880 in Tvedestrand – 1943), a botanist, professor, and author
 * Theo Findahl (1891 in Tvedestrand – 1976), a teacher, journalist, and foreign correspondent
 * Alfred Engelsen (1893 – 1966 in Tvedestrand), a gymnast and diver who was team gold medallist at the 1912 Summer Olympics
 * Kristian Vilhelm Koren Schjelderup Jr. (1894 in Dypvåg – 1980), a Norwegian Lutheran theologian, author, and bishop of the Diocese of Hamar 1947 to 1964
 * Harald K. Schjelderup (1895 in Dypvåg – 1974), a physicist, philosopher, and psychologist; Norway's first professor of psychology
 * Rolv Werner Erichsen (1899 in Holt – 1988), a newspaper editor
 * Trond Bergh (born 1946 in Tvedestrand), a economic historian, writer, and academic
 * Ketil Bjørnstad (born 1952), a pianist, composer, and author who lived in Tvedestrand in the 1970s and 1980s (his psychological thriller Twilight is based there)
 * Gina Lund (born 1962), a civil servant and politician who was brought up in Tvedestrand
 * Jenny Hval (born 1980), a singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and novelist

Twin towns — Sister cities
The following cities are twinned with Tvedestrand:
 * 🇸🇪 Lysekil, Västra Götaland County, Sweden

title: Tvedestrand


text:
Froland

Froland is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Sørlandet. The administrative center is the village of Blakstad, which along with Osedalen form the main population center of the municipality. Other villages in Froland include Bøylefoss, Bøylestad, Froland, Frolands verk, Heldalsmo, Hinnebu, Hynnekleiv, Jomås, Lauvrak, Libru, Løvjomås, Mjåvatn, Mjølhus, Mykland, and Risdal.

The 645 km2 municipality is the 176th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Froland is the 155th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,174. The municipality's population density is 10.3 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 13.8% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The municipality of Froland was established when it was separated from the municipality of Øyestad in 1850. The new municipality had an initial population of 1,976. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1967, the neighboring municipality of Mykland (population: 604) was merged into the municipality of Froland. The newly enlarged municipality had a population of 3,372. On 1 January 1968, the Flateland area of neighboring Åmli municipality (population: 6) was transferred to Froland.

On 1 January 1970, the two uninhabited areas of Neset and Råbudal were separated from Froland and transferred to neighboring Birkenes municipality. Then on 1 January 1979, the uninhabited Landheia area was transferred from Froland to Birkenes municipality. On 1 January 1991, the Dalen area in Birkenes municipality (population: 60) was transferred from Birkenes to Froland municipality.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Froland farm (Fróðaland) since the first Froland Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the male name Fróði. The last element is which means "land" or "district".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 17 January 1986. The official blazon is "Vert, a squirrel sejant erect argent" (I grønt et sølv ekorn). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is a squirrel sitting on its haunches with its front paws raised. The squirrel has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The green color in the field and the squirrel was chosen as a symbol for the forests and wildlife in the municipality. The arms were designed by David Rike. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Froland. It is part of the Arendal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

History
The iron production facility, Frolands verk, was founded in 1763 and continued in production through 1867. After that the facility became a sawmill. Today the main building from 1791 is a historically protected building, and the old stables are used as a cultural center.

Geography
The municipality is bordered on the north by the municipality of Åmli; on the east by Tvedestrand; on the south by Arendal, Grimstad, and Birkenes; and on the west by Evje og Hornnes and Bygland.

The large rivers Nidelva and Tovdalselva both run through Froland. There are also many lakes in Froland, including Homstølvatnet, Nelaug, Nystølfjorden, and Uldalsåna.

Government
Froland Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Froland is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Froland (incomplete list):

 * 1983-2003: Aadne K. Mykland (Ap)
 * 2003-2015: Sigmund Pedersen (Sp)
 * 2015-2023: Ove Gundersen (KrF)
 * 2023-present: Inger-Lene Håland (Ap)

Transportation
The Arendalsbanen railway which runs from Nelaug to Arendal connects Froland and Arendal to the railway system in Norway. Blakstad Station is in the municipal centre of Blakstad, Froland Station is located in the village of Froland, and Bøylestad Station is in the village of Bøylestad.

There are also several highways in Froland including the Norwegian National Road 41, Norwegian County Road 408, and Norwegian County Road 413.

Media
The newspaper Frolendingen is published in Froland.

Notable people

 * Niels Henrik Abel (1802–1829 in Froland), a distinguished mathematician who was buried at Froland cemetery
 * Iver Steen Thomle (1812 in Froland – 1889), a jurist and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Norway from 1878–86
 * Gotfred Kvifte (1914 in Froland – 1997), a physicist and academic
 * Marte Olsbu Røiseland (born 1990), a biathlete who was a triple gold medalist at the 2022 Winter Olympics and team silver medalist at the 2018 Winter Olympics who resides in Froland.

title: Froland


text:
Lillesand

Lillesand is municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of Lillesand. Some of the larger villages in Lillesand municipality include Åkerøyhamn, Brekkestø, Gamle Hellesund, Helldal, Høvåg, Ribe, Skottevik, Trøe, Ulvøysund, and Vesterhus.

The 190 km2 municipality is the 306th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Lillesand is the 100th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 11,419. The municipality's population density is 63.3 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 13.8% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The town of Lillesand was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, the following areas were merged into a new, larger municipality of Lillesand:
 * the town of Lillesand (population: 1,041)
 * the rural municipality of Høvåg (population: 1,330)
 * the rural municipality of Vestre Moland (population: 2,454)
 * the Gitmarkgårdene area of Eide municipality (population: 22)

Name
The municipality was named after the town of Lillesand, originally just Sand (Sandr). The name is identical to the word which means "sand" or "sandy beach". The prefix is, which means "little", was added after the founding of Christianssand in 1641 to distinguish it from the greater and more important town nearby.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 11 September 1987. The official blazon is "Azure, three anchors argent in pall annulets conjoined" (I blått tre sølv ankere forent i trepass). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is three anchors. The anchors 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 blue color in the field and the anchors were chosen to symbolize the connection that the municipality has with the sea. There are three anchors to symbolize the three smaller municipalities that were merged in 1964 to form the present municipality. The arms were designed by Daniel Rike. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

The previous coat of arms for Lillesand was approved on 15 December 1954 and in use until 10 September 1987. The blazon was "Azure, an anchor under a tern volant argent". This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is an anchor with a arctic tern flying above it. The anchor and tern have a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. Both symbols refer to the long coastline of the municipality and the importance of fishing and shipping for the local economy. The arms were designed by Jens T. Thommasen and Kjell Westermark Mørch.

Churches
The Church of Norway has two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Lillesand. It is part of the Vest-Nedenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

History
Sanden, which consisted of the small area near the harbor, was the original name for the municipality of Lillesand. Lillesand is built on the ancient estate of Lofthus. Christian Jensen Lofthuus was captured on his Lofthus estate around 1780.

In 1821, when Lillesand became a privileged port, it had a population of only 300 and had nine shipyards. By 1895 the merchant fleet was 95 vessels strong. But the death of the sailing ship caused severe economic difficulties for Lillesand. Sailing ships had been inexpensive and could be built from local timber. Steamers were built of steel, were expensive and required more capital than locals could muster. Shipyards were closed. Many of the residents emigrated from there to the United States. Lillesand remained a fishing village, though even this area suffered when the herring left the coast.

The Saltholmen Lighthouse, located on an island off Lillesand, is a nineteenth century lighthouse with a slate roof and a concrete tower for the light. It operated as a staffed lighthouse from 1882 to 1952. Saltholmen (lit. "Salty Islet") is named after the salt extraction industry once there, established by Hans Nielsen Hauge.

The Lillesand-Flaksvandbanen operated between Lillesand and Flaksvann from 1896 to 1953.

ORP Orzeł (1938), a Polish submarine, sank the German troopship SS Rio de Janeiro (1914) on 8 April 1940 off Lillesand. Rio de Janeiro was on its way to take part in the initial landings of Operation Weserübung the next day, the invasion of Norway.

Geography
Lillesand is bordered in the north by Birkenes municipality, to the east by Grimstad municipality and to the south by Kristiansand municipality. The lake Østre Grimevann is a large lake in the northern part of the municipality and the river Tovdalselva runs through the municipality, too. The Blindleia is an inland waterway that starts in Gamle Hellesund in Høvåg near Kristiansand in southern Norway, and continues past Lillesand. It is a salt water passage protected from the open sea by the offshore archipelago. The island of Justøy lies just south of the town of Lillesand, along the Blindleia. The Kvåsefjorden lies along the southwestern border of Lillesand municipality.

Navigation through the Blindleia passage requires attention to detail, but is not difficult as there are no tides, and very little current. The minimal tidal change in the skerries is due to its geographical location; the tidal flow that comes in from the Atlantic Ocean splits on the British Isles. One tidal stream goes through the English Channel, while the other goes around the north of the British Isles. The stream of the English Channel reaches the coast of Norway before the wave traveling around the British Islands. These two tidal "waves" are completely out of phase when they meet here, neutralizing the tidal effect.

Government
Lillesand Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Lillesand is made up of 27 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Lillesand (incomplete list):

 * 1907-1937: Noan Christian Gauslaa (V)
 * 1938-1945: Henrik Rønnevig
 * 1946-1951: Kristoffer Knudsen
 * 1952-1955: Ole Grimnes (H)
 * 1956-1957: Sigurd Aanonsen (H)
 * 1958-1961: Kjell Rosenberg (V)
 * 1962-1963: Birger Gauslaa (V)
 * 1964-1967: Daniel Steen Varen (V)
 * 1968-1973: Håkon A. Østberg (H)
 * 1974-1975: Eigil Bjørk Knudsen (KrF)
 * 1976-1983: Bjørgulf Aune (H)
 * 1984-1987: Kristian Sundtoft (H)
 * 1988-1991: Gunnar Oftedahl (H)
 * 1992-1995: Ragnhild Omdal Mollatt (H)
 * 1995-1999: Kristian Sundtoft (H)
 * 1999-2003: Odd Steindal (H)
 * 2003-2019: Arne Thomassen (H)
 * 2019-present: Einar Holmer-Hoven (H)

Attractions
The Norwegian National Park Skjærgårdsparken lies between Risør and Lillesand. Skjærgårdsparken, "the Park of Archipelago" is a paradise of islands, skerries, and rocks. Blindleia is a 12 kilometers Inland waterway between Lillesand and Ulvøysund with much small boat traffic in the summertime. The village of Brekkestø is tourist area on the island of Justøya.

Lillesand Town- and Maritime Museum is a local, culture historic museum, located in the centre of the town. The museum is also called Carl Knudsen-gården.

The Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder refers to this town in several of his books, for example in Sophie's World, where The Solitaire Mystery refers to Lillesand.

Churches
Lillesand Church is a wooden church which was built in 1887–1889 in Gothic Revival/Swiss style. The architect was Henrik Thrap-Meyer who also designed the pulpit, altarpiece and baptismal font. The altarpiece was done by Abraham Tønnessen. Lillesand Church is perched high above the city on a hill at Kirkeheia.

In the current Lillesand municipality are also the medieval stone churches Vestre Moland Church and Høvåg Church, both of which are listed cultural heritage sites.

Notable people

 * Christian Jensen Lofthuus (1750-1797), the owner of Lofthus farm and leader of the peasant revolt Lofthusreisingen which was commemorated with a monument at the harbour in Lillesand
 * Mads Langaard (1815 in Lillesand – 1891), a brewery owner who founded Frydenlunds bryggeri, now a division of Ringnes
 * N. O. Nelson (1844 in Lillesand – 1922), the founder of N. O. Nelson Manufacturing Company in St. Louis, Missouri, and founder of the village of LeClaire as a model company town
 * Knut Hamsun (1859–1952), a writer and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature bought Nørholm, a dilapidated manor house between Lillesand and Grimstad where he lived and worked
 * Gabriel Scott (1874-1958), a poet, novelist, playwright, and children's writer who was brought up in Høvåg
 * Mathis Mathisen (born 1937 in Lillesand), a teacher, novelist, playwright, and children's writer
 * Liv Stoveland (born 1965 in Lillesand), a soprano and singing teacher
 * Jorunn Gleditsch Lossius (born 1980), a politician and deputy Mayor of Lillesand
 * Jan Trygve Røyneland (born 1981 in Lillesand), a TV and film writer
 * Sophie's World (written in 1991), a book by writer Jostein Gaarder about Sophie Amundsen, a 14-year-old girl who lives in Lillesand
 * Heroes & Zeros (formed in 2003), a rock band from Lillesand whose lead singer is Hans Jørgen Undelstvedt

Twin towns — Sister cities
Lillesand has sister city agreements with the following places:
 * Kalundborg, Region Sjælland, Denmark
 * 🇫🇮 Kimitoön, Southwest Finland, Finland
 * 🇸🇪 Nynäshamn, Stockholm County, Sweden

title: Lillesand


text:
Birkenes

Birkenes is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Birkeland, where about half the municipal population lives. Other villages in Birkenes include Ås, Engesland, Flakk, Håbbesland, Herefoss, Mollestad, Oggevatn, Rugsland, Senumstad, Søre Herefoss, Svaland, Tveide, and Væting.

The 637 km2 municipality is the 183rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Birkenes is the 175th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 5,390. The municipality's population density is 9 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 9.2% over the previous 10-year period.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Birkenes farm (Birkines) since the first Birkenes Church was built there. The first element is which means "birch wood". The last element is which means "headland". This farm is located on the south side of what is now the village of Mollestad.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 5 December 1986. The official blazon is "Vert, a birch branch with three leaves argent issuant from the base" (I grønt en oppvoksende sølv bjørkekvist med tre blader). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is a birch tree branch with three leaves. The branch and leaves 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 green color in the field symbolizes the importance of agriculture in the municipality. The arms are a canting of the Norwegian word bjørk which means birch (it is canting since bjørk is similar to "birk-" in the name Birkenes). The three leaves symbolize the three main areas in the municipality: Birkenes in the south, Herefoss in the northeast, and Vegusdal in the northwest. The arms were designed by Daniel Rike who based it off an idea by Knut Øvensen. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has three parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Birkenes. It is part of the Vest-Nedenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

History
The historic parish of Tveit had to be divided into two formannskapsdistrikts on 1 January 1838 because the main part of Tveit belonged to the county of Lister og Mandal and the annex of Birkenæs belonged to the county of Nedenæs and the new law said a municipality could only exist in one county, not two. Therefore, the parish was split and Birkenæs municipality was created in Nedenæs county. On 1 January 1883, an uninhabited part of Birkenes was transferred to the control of neighboring Landvik municipality.

Starting in the 1960s, Norway enacted many municipal reforms such as mergers and border adjustments stemming from the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1967, the neighboring municipalities of Herefoss (population: 585) and Vegusdal (population: 582) were merged into the municipality of Birkenes, creating a much larger municipality with a population of 3,050.

On 1 January 1970, two uninhabited areas of Neset and Råbudal in the neighboring municipality of Froland were transferred to Birkenes (these areas were formerly in the municipality of Mykland prior to 1967). On 1 January 1979, the uninhabited area of Landheia in Froland was transferred to the control of Birkenes municipality. Later, on 1 January 1986, the Lislevand farm area (population: 8) was transferred from Birkenes to the neighboring municipality of Evje og Hornnes. Then on 1 January 1991, the Dalen area of Birkenes (population: 60) was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Froland. On 1 January 2019, the Hovlandsdalen area (population: 27) was transferred from Birkenes municipality to the neighboring Evje og Hornnes municipality.

Geography
The municipality borders Kristiansand, Vennesla, Iveland, Evje og Hornnes, Froland, Grimstad, and Lillesand municipalities.

Birkenes is home to many lakes, including Herefossfjorden, Nystølfjorden, Ogge, and Uldalsåna. The river Tovdalselva runs through the municipality as well.

Government
Birkenes Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Birkenes is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Birkenes (incomplete list):

 * 1856-1863: Andreas Solberg
 * 1868-1869: Andreas Solberg
 * 1876-1879: Andreas Solberg
 * 1972-1991: Kristen K. Flaa (Sp)
 * 1991-2010: Harald Vestøl (H)
 * 2010-2011: Arild Espegren (KrF)
 * 2011-2015: Arild Windsland (H)
 * 2015-2019: Anders Christiansen (Ap)
 * 2019-2023: Gyro Heia (Sp)
 * 2023-present: Arild Windsland (H)

Economy
Agriculture and logging are important sources of employment, but the municipality also has a small industrial base with about 400 different work sites. The largest enterprise is Owens Corning with approximately 180 employees. Other larger businesses include Uldal Vinduer og Dører, Foss Bad, Scanflex, KOAB Industrier, and Birkeland Trykkeri.

Transportation
The Sørland Line provides rail service at Herefoss Station. Prior to 1953, the Lillesand-Flaksvand Line also served Birkenes, but that railway line was closed down and removed.

Norwegian National Road 41 runs north–south through Birkenes, and is one of the main highways in this area of Norway. There are also several other important county roads in Birkenes, such as Norwegian County Road 404, Norwegian County Road 405, and Norwegian County Road 406.

Notable people

 * Kåre Kolberg (1936 in Birkenes – 2014), a composer, organist, and music critic
 * Gunhild Hagestad (born 1942 in Birkenes), a retired sociologist and academic
 * Gunn Margit Andreassen (born 1973), a former biathlete, team bronze medallist in the 1998 Winter Olympics, and team silver medallist at the 2002 Winter Olympics who lives in Birkenes
 * Trude Harstad (born 1974 in Birkenes), a former biathlete

title: Birkenes


text:
Åmli

Åmli is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional region of Sørlandet. The main population centre and administrative center is the village of Åmli which lies along the river Nidelva. Other villages in Åmli include Askland, Dølemo, Eppeland, Flaten, Hillestad, Homdrom, Lauveik, Nelaug, Øvre Ramse, Skjeggedal, Tveit, Vehus, and Ytre Ramse.

The 1131 km2 municipality is the 98th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Åmli is the 292nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,786. The municipality's population density is 1.7 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 1.6% over the previous 10-year period.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Åmli farm (Almlíð) since the first Åmli Church was built there. The first element is which means "elm tree" or "elm wood". The last element is which means "slope" or "hillside". Historically, the name was historically spelled Omlid before being changed to Aamli. On 21 December 1917, a royal resolution enacted the 1917 Norwegian language reforms. Prior to this change, the name was spelled Aamli with the digraph "Aa", and after this reform, the name was spelled Åmli, using the letter Å instead.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 23 October 1987. The official blazon is "Azure, a beaver rampant regardant argent" (På blå grunn ein oppreist sølv bever med hovudet vendt bakover). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a beaver. The beaver has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white or gray, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The beaver was chosen because the Åmli area was one of the few remaining beaver habitats in Europe. By the late 19th century, only about 100 beavers were left in Europe, mostly in the Åmli area. They were protected and after World War I, the beavers from this area have been used to help re-populate other areas in Europe where the beaver had gone extinct in the wild. The arms were designed by Odd Einar Ufsvatn who won a competition for designing the arms. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Åmli. It is part of the Aust-Nedenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

History
The parish of Omlid was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1876, the southwestern district of Åmli (population: 663) was separated from it to become the municipality of Mykland. This left Åmli with 2,564 inhabitants. On 1 January 1908, Åmli was split into three municipalities: the northern area surrounding the river Gjøv (pop: 590) became the municipality of Gjevedal, the southwestern area surrounding the Tovdalselva river (pop: 389) became Lille Topdal, and the remainder of the old municipality (population: 2,024) continued as Åmli municipality.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1960, the neighboring municipality of Gjøvdal (pop: 362) was merged with Åmli to form a new, larger municipality called Åmli. The combined population was 2,309. On 1 January 1962, the Espestølsgrenda area (pop: 7) was transferred from Åmli (and Aust-Agder county) to neighboring Nissedal municipality (in Telemark county). Several uninhabited areas (the Espestøl, Reinefoss, and Espestølstykket farms) were transferred to Nissedal municipality in Telemark county on 1 January 1965. Then on 1 January 1967, the neighboring municipality of Tovdal (pop: 161) was merged back into the municipality of Åmli. Åmli then had a total of 2,211 inhabitants. On 1 January 1968, the Flateland farm (pop: 6) was transferred to the municipality of Froland.

Geography
Åmli is located in northern Agder county. It is bordered on the north by Fyresdal and Nissedal municipalities (in Telemark county), on the east by Vegårshei municipality, on the south by Froland municipality, and on the west by Bygland municipality.

The most densely populated area is around the municipal center of Åmli, which lies on the banks of the river Nidelva. The village has about 682 residents (in 2017). Side valleys which join the main valley include Gjøvdal and Tovdal. The rivers Nidelva and Tovdalselva flow through the valleys.

In the southern part of the municipality the Sørlandsbanen railway line passes through the area, stopping at the Nelaug Station. The largest villages in Åmli include Dølemo, Nelaug, Hillestad, and Askland. The rest of the population is scattered among the valleys.

The Åmli hills are wooded and typically range from 700 to 800 m above sea level. At 930 m, the highest point is Trongedalsfjell, which lies between the Tovdal and Gjøvdal valleys. Several lakes are located in Åmli including Måvatn, Nasvatn, and Nelaug.

There are several protected areas, for instance, the Årdalen nature reserve, bordering on the Rukkevatn nature reserve, and the Furubuhei marsh reserve, provide approximately 43 km2 of nature reserves.

Climate
Situated inland in Agder, Nelaug in Åmli has a humid continental climate or temperate oceanic climate, depending on winter threshold used (0 C or -3 C. The all-time high is 32 C set 10 August 1975, a month with 8 days above 30 C. The warmest month on record is July 2018 with mean 20.8 C. The all-time low is -35 C recorded 10 February 1966.

Government
Åmli Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Åmli is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Åmli:

 * 1838-1838: Terje Gunstensen Gjeveland
 * 1839-1853: Iver Anton Rummelhoff
 * 1854-1855: Eivind Salvesen Mjaaland
 * 1856-1857: Petter Øi
 * 1858-1859: Ole Knutsen Tvedt
 * 1860-1861: Ommund Syvertsen Mykland
 * 1862-1863: Even P. Askeland
 * 1864-1866: Ommund Syvertsen Mykland
 * 1867-1868: Nære O. Ramse
 * 1869-1871: Ole Knutsen Tvedt
 * 1872-1877: Peder Samuel Beylegaard
 * 1878-1879: Gunstein P. Tviland
 * 1880-1881: Ommund Omland
 * 1882-1890: Engvald Hansen
 * 1891-1892: Ommund Omland
 * 1893-1894: Kjetil Øi
 * 1895-1897: Ommund Omland
 * 1898-1901: Elling Øi
 * 1902-1910: Aslak Kateraas (V)
 * 1911-1919: Elling Øi
 * 1920-1925: Aslak Kateraas (V)
 * 1926-1928: Peder Jensen
 * 1929-1934: Jørgen Tønnesen
 * 1935-1940: Olav Nylund
 * 1941-1941: Jørgen Tønnesen (NS)
 * 1942-1945: Tallak Dale (NS)
 * 1945-1947: Gunnar Bakken
 * 1947-1964: Jens Seljås
 * 1965-1971: Gjeruld Homdal
 * 1971-1971: Gunnar Skogby
 * 1972-1975: John S. Eppeland
 * 1975-1979: Karl Johan Tveiten (KrF)
 * 1979-1983: Gunnar Halvorsen (Ap)
 * 1983-1991: Sverre Johan Kløvfjell (Ap)
 * 1991-1995: Tellef Harstveit (Ap)
 * 1995-1999: Sverre Johan Kløvfjell (Ap)
 * 1999-2003: Tellef Harstveit (Ap)
 * 2003-2011: Tellef Olstad (Sp)
 * 2011-2019: Reidar Saga (Ap)
 * 2019-2023: Bjørn Gunnar Baas (Sp)
 * 2023-present: Hans Fredrik Tangen (Ap)

Economy
Lumbering in Åmli provides for about 12% of the old Aust-Agder county's total timber production making it the third most import source of timber in Aust-Adger (after Froland and Birkenes). Agriculture, including sheep husbandry, provides a minor contribution to the economy.

Electrical power is generated by a hydroelectric plant at Flatefoss, which regulates the level of the lake, Nelaug.

The newspaper Åmliavisa has been published in Åmli since 2008.

Transportation
The main road through Åmli is the north–south Norwegian National Road 41. Other roads include Norwegian County Road 412, Norwegian County Road 413, and Norwegian County Road 415. There are also two railway lines running through southern Åmli: the main Sørlandsbanen railway line which stops at Nelaug Station and the branch line Arendalsbanen which terminates at Nelaug Station, but also stops at Flaten Station.

Notable people

 * Engvald Bakkan (1897 in Åmli – 1982), a pharmacist, novelist, and children's writer
 * Olav Kjetilson Nylund (1903 in Åmli – 1957), a politician who was Mayor of Åmli from 1934-1940
 * Gunnar Halvorsen (1945–2006), a politician who was Mayor of Åmli from 1979–1983
 * Jonas Alaska (born 1988), a musician

title: Åmli