Demonym(s) Hægdøl Area 461.3 km² Local time Saturday 12:19 PM | County Vest-Agder Area rank 219 in Norway Time zone CET (UTC+1) Population 1,702 (2016) | |
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Weather 4°C, Wind NW at 16 km/h, 53% Humidity | ||
Hægebostad is a municipality in Vest-Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tingvatn. Other villages in Hægebostad include Eiken, Haddeland, and Snartemo. The municipality encompasses the northern end of the Lyngdalen valley which follows the river Lygna.
Contents
- Map of HC3A6gebostad Norway
- General information
- Name
- Coat of arms
- Churches
- Government
- Municipal council
- Geography
- References
Map of H%C3%A6gebostad, Norway
The Sørlandet Line runs through the municipality from east to west, stopping at Snartemo Station in Snartemo. To get into and out of the valley in which Hægebostad is located, the trains must go through two of the longest railway tunnels in Norway: Hægebostad Tunnel and Kvineshei Tunnel.
General information
The parish of Hægebostad was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). On 1 January 1915, the municipality was divided into two municipalities: Eiken (population: 932) in the north and Hægebostad (population: 867) in the south. On 1 January 1963, the two municipalities were merged back together as the municipality of Hægebostad once again. Prior to the merger, Hægebostad had 813 residents and Eiken had 784 residents.
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Hægebostad farm (Old Norse: Helgabólstaðir), since the first Hægebostad Church was built there. This farm is now on the north side of the village of Snartemo. The first element of the name is helg- which means "holy" and the last element is the plural form of bólstaðr which means "homestead" or "farm". Before 1889, the name was written Hegebostad.
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times; they were granted on 4 April 1986. The arms show the two gold swords pointing downwards on a red background. The swords represent the two swards of Snartemo and Eiken dating from the 4th–6th century that were found in the municipality. The swords were highly decorated with silver and gold.
Churches
The Church of Norway has two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Hægebostad. It is part of the Lister deanery in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.
Government
All municipalities in Norway, including Hægebostad, 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 Hægebostad is made up of 15 representatives that are elected to every four years. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:
Geography
Hægebostad is an inland municipality, with Åseral municipality to the northeast, Kvinesdal to the west, Lyngdal to the south, and Audnedal to the east. The municipality covers the upper Lyngdalen valley from the mountains in the north, along the river Lygna to Lyngdal municipality in the south. The lake Lygne lies in the central part of the municipality.