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Vest-Agder

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Former county of Norway Former County in Norway
Vest-Agder County Vest-Agder fylke
Former County
Lindesnes Lighthouse in September 2011Lindesnes Lighthouse in September 2011
Flag of Vest-Agder CountyFlagCoat of arms of Vest-Agder CountyCoat of arms
Vest-Agder within NorwayVest-Agder within Norway
Vest-Agder County is located in Vest-AgderVest-Agder CountyVest-Agder CountyShow map of Vest-AgderVest-Agder County is located in NorwayVest-Agder CountyVest-Agder CountyShow map of Norway
Coordinates: 58°30′N 7°06′E / 58.5°N 07.1°E / 58.5; 07.1
CountryNorway
CountyVest-Agder
DistrictSouthern Norway
Established1685
 • Preceded byAgdesiden
Disestablished1 Jan 2020
 • Succeeded byAgder county
Administrative centreKristiansand
Government
 • BodyVest-Agder County Municipality
 • Governor (2016-2019)Stein Arve Ytterdahl
 • County mayor
   (2011-2019)		Terje Damman (H)
Area
 • Total7,276.53 km (2,809.48 sq mi)
 • Land6,678.89 km (2,578.73 sq mi)
 • Water597.64 km (230.75 sq mi)
Population
 • Total188,722
 • Density27.4/km (71/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)Increase +12.6%
DemonymVestegde
Official language
 • Norwegian formNeutral
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-10
Income (per capita)137,000 kr (2001)
GDP (per capita)219,928 kr (2001)
GDP national rank#14 in Norway
(2.27% of country)
Data from Statistics Norway

Vest-Agder (Norwegian: [ˈvɛ̂stˌɑɡdər] ; "West Agder") was one of 18 counties (fylker) in Norway up until 1 January 2020, when it was merged with Aust-Agder to form Agder county. In 2016, there were 182,701 inhabitants, around 3.5% of the total population of Norway. Its area was about 7,277 square kilometres (2,810 sq mi). The county administration was located in its largest city, Kristiansand.

Vest-Agder was a major source of timber for Dutch and later English shipping from the 16th century onwards. Historically, the area exported timber, wooden products, salmon, herring, ships, and later nickel, paper, and ferrous and silica alloys. Compared to other counties of Norway, today's exports-intensive industry produces shipping and offshore equipment (National Oilwell Varco), cranes (Cargotec), ships (Umoe Mandal, Flekkefjord Slip), wind turbine equipment, nickel (Glencore), and solar industry microsilica (Elkem). A major tourist attraction is Kristiansand Dyrepark.

Vest-Agder grew to political prominence with the decision of King Christian IV to establish Kristiansand as a key naval base, trading centre, and bishopric in 1641, forcing urban citizens and merchants from all over Agder to settle in the city. The county had large-scale emigration to North America from the 1850s onwards.

General information

Name

See also: Aust-Agder § Name

The meaning of the name is "(the) western (part of) Agder".

Lister og Mandal amt was created on 1 January 1662 and it consisted of the two old lens of Lister and Mandal. This name continued until 1 January 1919, when the name was changed to Vest-Agder.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 12 December 1958. They show an oak tree in yellow on a green background, representing the historic rich nature and oak woods in the area.

Geography

Vest-Agder county house in Kristiansand

Vest-Agder is the western and southernmost part of the current county of Agder, extending inland from the North Sea and its arm, the Skagerrak, to the southern fringes of Setesdalen, surrounded by the mountain range Setesdalsheiene. It includes the southernmost point of the entire country, Pysen island south of Mandal, and the southernmost part of continental Norway, Lindesnes. It has a very broken and hilly surface. From the coast there are six valleys that stretch north into the county: Audnedalen, Lyngdalen, Kvinesdalen, Mandalen, Sirdalen, and Otradalen (which continues into Aust-Agder where it is called Setesdalen).

Most of the habitation lies along the coast, including the towns Kristiansand, Mandal, Flekkefjord, and Farsund. About 31 fjords are located there. The northern portion is mountainous and sparsely settled, while the central upland moors are used for pasturing of cattle and sheep. Since the Gulf Stream touches the coast of Vest-Agder, it is also called "the Norwegian Riviera", and Agder as a whole is also called "The California of Norway".

History

Historical population
YearPop.±%
195196,942—    
1961109,083+12.5%
1971124,171+13.8%
1981136,718+10.1%
1991145,091+6.1%
2001156,878+8.1%
2011172,408+9.9%
Source: Statistics Norway.
Religion in Vest-Agder
religion percent
Christianity   85.66%
Islam   1.29%
Buddhism   0.33%
Other   12.72%

The oldest ever remains of an 8,000+ year old human in Norway has been found at Søgne, she endured an almost exclusively marine diet. In Kristiansand, a Sarup-style Neolithic funeral site from 3,400 BC has been excavated. Just before and after the onset of the common era, the region was uniquely rich in sites dedicated to the God Ull (Ullr), and also had a semi-urban settlement at Oddernes (Kristiansand). Norway's first possible all-national king, Halvdan Svarte, was raised probably in the Kvinesdal valley at a matrimonial manor, his mother was presumably the daughter of King Harald of Agder. He was followed by his son King Harald Fairhair, who had his easternmost manor at Kongsgård near Kristiansand. Churches are known since Viking ages. Vest-Agder was not particularly preeminent in the later Viking and Medieval Ages. Mandal (Vesterrisør) and Kristiansand (Ottrunes) had semi-urban trading centers from the 1300s onwards, but did not enjoy urban economic privileges until the 1632 (Mandal) and 1641 (Kristiansand). A general lack of agricultural fertility made the region remaining a relatively poor part of Norway through the centuries.

In the 16th century, Dutch merchant vessels began to visit ports in southern Norway to purchase salmon and other goods. Soon thereafter the export of timber began, as oak from southern Norway was exceptionally well suited for shipbuilding. As the Netherlands developed in the 17th century, it began to suffer from a severe labor shortage, and many families from Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder emigrated to the Netherlands, especially the coastal areas.

In the 19th century, emigration to the United States started. One of the most important causes of this emigration was the emergence of steamships. While Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder historically had very strong positions in the manufacture and repair of sailing ships, the shift to steamships was poorly utilised and resulted in a cyclical slope for the shipbuilding and shipping industries. Emigration to the United States was a means of escaping from the high unemployment that followed. Many Americans returning to the county after Norway became prosperous. This feature is particularly predominant in Kvinesdal and Farsund in the west, which maintains strong cultural links with the United States.

During World War II the area had substantial fortifications and German personnel, with major bases and airfields in Lista, Mandal and Kristiansand. Batterie Vara near Kristiansand was constructed as one out of two 40 cm coastal artillery forts covering the Skagerrak Sea in conjunction with a similar fort in northern Denmark. After the war, Kristiansand grew considerably whereas other cities lost much of their relative economic and demographic importance.

Municipalities

On 1 January 1838, all the counties were divided into local administrative units each with their own governments (see formannskapsdistrikt). The number and borders of these municipalities were based on the parishes of the Church of Norway. Over time the number and locations of these have changed, and at present there are 15 municipalities in Vest-Agder. The municipality of Åseral was part of the neighboring county of Nedenes until 1880, when it was moved to Vest-Agder.

Municipalities before 2020

Rank Name Inhabitants Area km
1 Kristiansand kommune Kristiansand 90,000 261
2 Mandal kommune Mandal 14,696 212
3 Vennesla kommune Vennesla 13,116 363
4 Søgne kommune Søgne 12,509 144
5 Farsund kommune Farsund 9,310 252
6 Flekkefjord kommune Flekkefjord 9,003 482
7 Lyngdal kommune Lyngdal 7,739 372
8 Songdalen kommune Songdalen 5,940 207
9 Kvinesdal kommune Kvinesdal 5,776 893
10 Lindesnes kommune Lindesnes 4,661 299
11 Marnardal kommune Marnardal 2,231 379
12 Sirdal kommune Sirdal 1,790 1,555
13 Audnedal kommune Audnedal 1,670 251
14 Hægebostad kommune Hægebostad 1,624 426
15 Åseral kommune Åseral 917 801
Total Vest-Agder 182,377 7,281
Municipalities in Vest-Agder before 2020.

Cities

Main article: list of towns and cities in Norway

Parishes

Villages

Main article: list of villages in Vest-Agder

Former Municipalities

Main article: list of former municipalities of Norway

Notable residents

Category:People from Vest-Agder

See also

References

  1. "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  2. "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  3. Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (26 January 2023). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
  4. "Kommunevåpen". Flags of the World. 28 June 2002. Archived from the original on 19 April 2008. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
  5. "Projected population - Statistics Norway". Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  6. Statistics Norway - Church of Norway.
  7. Statistics Norway - Members of religious and life stance communities outside the Church of Norway, by religion/life stance. County. 2006-2010 Archived November 2, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  8. Follesdal, John. "Vest-Agder genealogy resources". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  9. Jukvam, Dag (1999). Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen (PDF) (Report) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå.

External links

Agder county, Norway
Towns and cities
Municipalities
Østre Agder
Setesdal
Kristiansand
Lister and Mandal
Former Municipalities in Agder
Aust-Agder  
Vest-Agder  
Southern Norway
County
Cities and towns
Larger urban areas
(not towns or cities)
Municipalities
Regions
Counties of Norway
Current counties
Østfold
(Est. 1662) 		Akershus
(Est. 1662) 		Oslo
(Est. 1842) 		Innlandet
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(Est. 1821) 		Telemark
(Est. 1662) 		Agder
(Est. 2020)
Østfold Akershus Oslo Innlandet Buskerud Agder
Rogaland
(Est. 1662) 		Vestland
(Est. 2020) 		Møre og Romsdal
(Est. 1662) 		Trøndelag
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(Est. 1662) 		Troms
(Est. 1866) 		Finnmark
(Est. 1662)
Rogaland Vestland Møre og Romsdal Trøndelag Nordland Troms Finnmark
Former counties
Aust-Agder
(1685–2019) 		Bergen
(1831–1972) 		Hedmark
(1781–2019) 		Hordaland
(1763–2019) 		Oppland
(1781–2019) 		Sogn og Fjordane
(1763–2019)
Aust-Agder Bergen Hedmark Hordaland Oppland Sogn og Fjordane
Sør-Trøndelag
(1804–2017) 		Troms og Finnmark
(2020–2024) 		Nord-Trøndelag
(1804–2017) 		Vest-Agder
(1685–2019) 		Vestfold og Telemark
(2020–2024) 		Viken
(2020–2024)
Sør-Trøndelag Troms og Finnmark Nord-Trøndelag Vest-Agder Vestfold og Telemark Viken (county)
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