Country Norway County Vest-Agder Municipality ID NO-1042 | Region Southern Norway District Lister Adm. Center Nes | |
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Weather 6°C, Wind W at 16 km/h, 75% Humidity | ||
Nes og Hitterø or Hitterø og Nes is a former municipality in Vest-Agder county, Norway. It is located in the southwestern part of the present-day municipality of Flekkefjord encompassing the Nes peninsula and the island of Hidra (formerly called Hitterø). The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1893. The administrative centre of the municipality was the small village of Sunde in Nes parish, located just outside the town of Flekkefjord (which was its own separate municipality).
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Name
The municipality was originally named Flekkefjord landdistrikt because it was the rural area surrounding the town of Flekkefjord. In 1864, the municipal name was changed to Nes og Hitterø. The new name is a combination of the names of the two parishes in the municipality: Nes and Hitterø. Nes is named after the old Nes farm (Old Norse: Næs) where the town of Flekkefjord now stands. The name is identical with the word nes which means "peninsula", since Nes is located on a peninsula. The other name, Hitterø, comes from the name of the island of Hitterø and it surrounding parish. The Old Norse form of that name was Hitr, which is probably derived from a word with the meaning "split" or "cleft" (referring to the fact that the island is almost split in two by the Rasvåg fjord). The name Hitterø was later changed to Hidra due to Norwegian spelling reforms.
History
The municipality of Flekkefjord landdistrikt was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). According to the 1835 census, the municipality had a population of 3,155. The name was changed to Nes og Hitterø in 1864. On 8 October 1893, Nes og Hitterø was divided to create two new municipalities: Nes (population: 1,704) and Hitterø (population: 2,075). These two municipalities were later merged into the municipality of Flekkefjord during the 1960s.