is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Alleen (also known as Lyngdal). Some of the main villages in Lyngdal include Austad, Byremo, Fleseland, Hæåk, Konsmo, Korshavn, Kvås, Skomrak, Svenevik, and Vivlemo.
The municipality is the 177th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Lyngdal Municipality is the 108th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of . The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 6.6% over the previous 10-year period.
The municipal economy centers around wood processing, agriculture, and commerce. Tourism is also central to the community, with the beaches along the Lyngdalsfjorden and Rosfjorden being popular resorts during the summer.
General information
The historic parish of Aa was established as Lyngdal Municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law).
On 1 January 1909, Lyngdal Municipality was divided into three municipalities:
the southern coastal area (population: 1,263) became the new Austad Municipality the northern area (population: 736) became the new Kvaas Municipality the central area (population: 2,698) continued as a smaller Lyngdal Municipality
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1963, the following areas were merged to form a new, larger Lyngdal Municipality:
all of Lyngdal Municipality (population: 2,916) all of Austad Municipality (population: 608) all of Kvås Municipality (population: 493) the Gitlevåg area west of Lenesfjorden in Spangereid Municipality (population: 103)
On 1 January 1971, the Ytre Skarstein and Indre Skarstein areas of Lyngdal Municipality (population: 21) was transferred to the neighboring Farsund Municipality.
On 1 January 2001, the municipal council of Lyngdal Municipality declared that the municipal centre of Alleen would be a town () called Lyngdal.
In 2020, there were many municipal and county mergers across Norway due to the work of the Solberg cabinet. Historically, this municipality was part of the old Vest-Agder county. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became a part of the newly-formed Agder county (after Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder counties were merged). Also on 1 January 2020, Lyngdal Municipality (population: ) and Audnedal Municipality (population: ) were merged to form an enlarged Lyngdal Municipality.
Name The municipality is named after the Lyngdalen valley () since it is the valley in which the municipality is located. The first element is the genitive case of the river name Lygna. This name comes from the word which means "quietness" or "calm". The last element is which means "valley" or "dale". Prior to 1908, the parish (but not the municipality) of Lyngdal was called Aa, named after the vicarage. The name of the vicarage was first mentioned in 1312 as "a Am", the dative plural of á which means "(small) river". The farm lies between two rivers.
Coat of arms
The original coat of arms was granted on 27 March 1987 and in use until 1 January 2020 when the municipality was enlarged. The official blazon was "Vert a cow statant argent" (). This means the arms had a green field (background) and the charge was a cow that was facing to the left. The cow had a tincture of argent which meant it was commonly colored white, but if it was made out of metal, then silver was used. The cow was chosen since the local breed of cows () has been very well known across Norway since the 19th century. The yearly cattle fair traders from all over Southern Norway and Western Norway visit the municipality to get cows. The arms were designed by Torgeir Schjølberg.
The current coat of arms was approved for use starting on 1 January 2020. The arms have a green field (background) and the charge is a tree on top of three wavy lines. The tree and wavy lines have a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The tree symbolizes growth. It has nine leaves symbolizing the nine main population centres within Lyngdal. The wavy lines represent waves and meadows. There are three white lines to represent the three large rivers in the municipality: Lygna, Audna, and Mandalselva. The two green wavy lines (between the white wavy lines represent the two valleys in the municipality: Lyngdalen and Audnedalen. The arms were designed by Richard Haugland.
Churches
The Church of Norway has five parishes () within Lyngdal Municipality. It is part of the Lister og Mandal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.
Churches in Lyngdal MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtAustadAustad ChurchAustad1803Korshamn ChapelKorshavn1906GrindheimGrindheim ChurchByremo1783KonsmoKonsmo ChurchKonsmo1802KvåsKvås ChurchKvås1836LyngdalLyngdal ChurchLyngdal1848
History
The island of Sælør on the southern coast of the municipality is mentioned in Snorre, as the king Saint Olav spent a winter here in 1028. Based around the port of Agnefest, Lyngdal prospered on maritime trade, and in 1771 an application was made for status as a small coastal town. Its coastal location also facilitated emigration; in the 17th and 18th century largely to the Dutch Republic, and in the 19th century to the United States.
Even before the merger of the municipalities in 1964, the parishes of Austad and Kvås, together with Å (or Aa - Lyngdal proper), made up the greater Lyngdal parish. A census from 1801 showed 3529 inhabitants in the area that today makes up Lyngdal: 1850 in Å, 929 in Austad, 585 in Kvås and 165 in the eastern part of Spangereid. The number today is approximately 8000 inhabitants.
Religious life and missionary work have always had a strong position in Lyngdal, and worthy of special note is the minister Gabriel Kielland (1796–1854), who served in the parish from 1837 to 1854, and his wife Gustava (1800–1889). Known today as a missionary pioneer and a popular songwriter, Gustava also wrote one of the first autobiographies by a woman in Norway: her "Reminiscence from my Life" from 1880.
Geography
Lyngdal is a coastal municipality that and borders Lindesnes Municipality to the east; Evje og Hornnes Municipality and Åseral Municipality to the north; and Hægebostad Municipality, Kvinesdal Municipality, and Farsund Municipality to the west. Lyngdal Municipality includes the southern portion of the Lyngdalen valley which follows the river Lygna to the Lyngdalsfjorden in the west. The northern part of the municipality includes the Audnedalen valley which follows the river Audna
The Lenesfjorden, Grønsfjorden, and Rosfjorden also are located in the southern part of Lyngdal. The lake Ytre Øydnavatnet is located in the municipality. The village of Agnefest has a large natural harbour on the south side of the town of Lyngdal. This harbour is on the Rosfjorden and it has been in use since 1771. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Ørnemyrfjellet in the northern part of the municipality.
Climate
Government Lyngdal Municipality is 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 is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council () of Lyngdal Municipality is made up of 29 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
Mayors The mayor () of Lyngdal Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1838–1841: Capt. Abraham Severin Holbye 1842–1843: Abraham T. Kvelland 1844–1857: Aanen Olsen Bergsager 1858–1861: Lars Tallaksen Foss 1862–1877: Aanen Olsen Bergsager 1878–1881: Eilert Paulsen Tjersland 1882–1893: Erik Jaabæk 1894–1901: Nils Tobias Larsen Foss 1902–1904: Erik Jaabæk 1905–1907: Nils Tobias Larsen Foss 1907–1908: Andreas O. Vegge 1909–1913: Gabriel A. Svenevig 1914–1916: Karl P. Lehne 1917–1919: Jørgen Aarnæs 1920–1931: Olaus Kvaavik 1932–1934: Abel Fidjeland 1935–1937: Olaus Kvaavik 1938–1941: Abel Fidjeland 1942–1943: Olav Harveland (NS) 1943–1945: Torleiv Seland (NS) 1945–1947: Abel Fidjeland 1948–1955: Mikal Grøvan 1956–1959: Olav Drangeid 1960–1963: Thorvald Hagen 1964–1967: Olav Benestvedt 1968–1975: Thorvald Hagen (Sp) 1976–1979: Carl Johan Lehne (H) 1979–1983: Oluf Opsahl (KrF) 1983–1995: Anders Nøkland (H) 1995–2007: Hans Fredrik Grøvan (KrF) 2007–2013: Ingunn Foss (H) 2013–2023: Jan Kristensen (H) 2023–present: Unni Nilsen Husøy (FrP)
Transportation Bus lines from/through Lyngdal Bus Terminal: LineDestination451Lyngdal - Flekkefjord/Kvinesdal781Lyngdal - Snartemo S900Kristiansand - Mandal - Farsund900Kristiansand - Mandal - Lista900Lyngdal - Farsund - Lista
Notable people
Teis Lundegaard (1774 in Austad – 1856), a farmer, shipowner, and politician Abraham Berge (1851 in Lyngdal – 1936), a politician who was Prime Minister of Norway from 1923 to 1924 Kristian Andvord (1855 in Lyngdal – 1934), a physician and medical researcher into tuberculosis Theodore Abrahamson (1900 in Lyngdal - 1978), a dairy farmer and politician; Mayor of Tigerton, Wisconsin Kjell Elvis (born 1968), a professional Elvis Presley impersonator, lives in Lyngdal Frostskade (born 1992), a dungeon synth artist originally from Algarve in Portugal
Sport Ingvild Stensland (born 1981), a footballer, 144 caps for Norway women, grew up in Lyngdal Stefan Strandberg (born 1990 in Lyngdal), a footballer with 230 club caps and 12 for Norway Zlatko Tripić (born 1992), a Norwegian-Bosnian footballer with over 200 club caps, grew up in Lyngdal Julian Ryerson (born 1997), a Norwegian-American footballer playing for Borussia Dortmund in Germany, born in Lyngdal.
References
External links Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway Municipal website