Eigersund

General information

The rural parish surrounding the town of Egersund was established as the municipality of Egersund landdisstrikt (Egersund rural district) on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). In 1839, the northwestern district of Augne (population: 825) was separated to form its own municipality. On 12 December 1868, a small area of Eigersund municipality (population: 41) was transferred to neighboring Sokndal. In 1947, an area of Eigersund immediately surrounding the town of Egersund (population: 515) was transferred to the town of Egersund and another area in Sokndal (population: 7) was transferred to Eigersund.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers in Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the town of Egersund (population: 3,787) was merged with the surrounding municipalities of Eigersund (population: 4,664), Helleland (population: 851), and the Gyadalen and Grøsfjel areas of Heskestad (population: 114). The new municipality was also called Eigersund. On 1 January 1967, the Tjørn farm (population: 10) was transferred from Eigersund to Sokndal.

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was Eikundarsund. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the island of Eikund (now Eigerøya) and the last element is sund which means "strait" or "sound". The first element in the name of the island is eik which means "oak" and the last element is the suffix -und which means "plentiful of" (i.e. "the island covered with oak trees").

The form of the name spelled without the diphthong [ei] (Egersund) is the Danish language form of the name which is still preserved in the name of the town Egersund, but the municipality name is spelled using the Norwegian language form.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms are relatively modern; they were granted on 20 October 1972. The arms show a gold/yellow oak leaf on a green background. The arms are partly a canting since the name is supposedly derived from Eikundarsund and eik means oak. Oaks are also very common in the municipality.

Churches

The Church of Norway has three parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Eigersund. It is part of the Dalane deanery in the Diocese of Stavanger.

History

The place is mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's writings. Later, Christian IV set up a battery there.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Eigersund, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Eigersund is made up of 31 representatives that are elected to every four years. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:

Geography

Eigersund extends from the North Sea coast to the border of Vest-Agder county. It borders the municipalities of Hå and Bjerkreim to the north and Sokndal to the south. The municipality is centered on the town of Egersund, and includes the island of Eigerøya. The landscape includes many rivers and lakes, as well as woods and several barren rocky and heather-clad moors. The lakes Grøsfjellvatnet, Eiavatnet, Nodlandsvatnet, and Teksevatnet lie in the municipality.

Eigerøya

Eigerøya is an island off the coast of Egersund. The island is connected to the mainland over Eigerøy bridge, which was completed in 1951. The island's coastline is characterized by a number of small bays, as well as Lundarviga. Eigerøya is divided almost in two of the large bay of Lundarviga. The island is surrounded by a number of small islets. Eigerøy Lighthouse and Vibberodden Lighthouse are both located along the shores of Eigerøya.

Transportation

European route E39 runs through the municipality, passing the village of Helleland. The Sørlandet Line runs through the municipality, stopping at Egersund Station and Hellvik Station.