Audnedal is a former municipality in the old Vest-Agder county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1964 until its dissolution in 2020. The area is now part of Lyngdal Municipality in the traditional district of Sørlandet in Agder county. The administrative centre was the village of Konsmo. Other villages in the municipality included Byremo and Vivlemo.
Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the municipality was the 302nd largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Audnedal Municipality was the 338th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 9.2% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The old Undal Municipality was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). That municipality was short-lived and only existed for seven years. In 1845 it was split into two new municipalities: the rural northern district (population: 802) became the new Nordre Undal Municipality and the southern district (population: 3,893) became the new Søndre Undal Municipality. Those two municipalities were later divided as well. Søndre Undal Municipality was divided into Spangereid Municipality and Sør-Audnedal Municipality in 1899 and Nordre Undal Municipality was divided into Konsmo Municipality and Vigmostad Municipality in 1911.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. Audnedal Municipality was established on 1 January 1964 when the following areas were merged to form it. This new Audnedal Municipality mostly corresponded to the historical borders of the old Nordre Undal Municipality.
all of Konsmo Municipality (population: 712) all of Grindheim Municipality (population: 701) the Ågedal and Midtbø areas (population: 96) of Bjelland Municipality
On 1 January 2020, Audnedal Municipality was merged with the neighboring Lyngdal Municipality to form a new, larger Lyngdal Municipality.
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Audnedalen valley (). The first element is the genitive case of the river name Auðna (now Audna). The river name is derived from the word which means "destruction" or "wasteland" (because of the flooding that often happens along the river). The last element is which means "valley" or "dale".
Coat of arms The coat of arms was granted on 30 August 1991 and in use until 1 January 2020 when the municipality was dissolved. The official blazon is "Vert, a circular sawblade argent" (). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is a circular sawblade. The sawblade 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 sawblade was chosen to represent the importance of the timber and forestry industries in the municipality. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.
Churches The Church of Norway had two parishes () within Audnedal Municipality. It is part of the Mandal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.
Churches in Audnedal MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtGrindheimGrindheim ChurchByremo1783KonsmoKonsmo ChurchKonsmo1802
Government While it existed, Audnedal Municipality was 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 was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Kristiansand District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Audnedal Municipality was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
Mayors The mayor () of Audnedal Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1964–1971: Nils Øydna (Sp) 1971–1975: John Seland (Sp) 1975–1979: Peder Birkeland (LL) 1979–1983: Knut B. Strisland (Ap) 1983–1987: Ragnvald Heåk (Sp) 1987–1991: Torkel Mydland (KrF) 1991–1995: Magne Bråtveit (Sp) 1995–1999: Sigrid Bendixen (Ap) 1999–2003: Torkel Mydland (KrF) 2003-2015: Tønnes Seland (Sp) 2015-2019: Reidun Bakken (KrF)
Geography Audnedal Municipality was an inland municipality, located in the Audnedalen valley which follows the river Audna. Åseral Municipality bordered it to the north, Hægebostad Municipality to the west, Lyngdal Municipality and Lindesnes Municipality to the south, and Marnardal Municipality to the east. To the northeast, Audnedal Municipality bordered Evje og Hornnes Municipality in neighboring Aust-Agder county.
Audnedal Municipality had two large lakes: Ytre Øydnavatnet and Øvre Øydnavatnet. The Mandalselva river also passed through the northern part of the municipality. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Ørnemyrfjellet.
Climate
Attractions "Blomliknuten" hiking trail Sveindal museum Fishing for salmon in the Mandalselva river
References