Vegusdal is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1877 until its dissolution in 1967. The area is now part of Birkenes Municipality in Agder county. The administrative centre was the village of Engesland where Vegusdal Church is located.
Prior to its dissolution in 1967, the municipality was the 261st largest by area out of the 460 municipalities in Norway. Vegusdal Municipality was the 455th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 21.9% over the previous 10-year period.
General information The municipality of Vegusdal was established on 1 January 1877 when the old Evje og Vegusdal Municipality was divided into two: the southeastern district (population: ) became the new Vegusdal Municipality and the northwestern district (population: ) became the new Evje Municipality. In 1900, the municipality had 985 inhabitants distributed among 141 farms.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1967, Herefoss Municipality was dissolved and the following areas were merged to form an enlarged Birkenes Municipality: all of Vegusdal Municipality (population: ) all of Birkenes Municipality (population: ) all of Herefoss Municipality (population: )
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Vegusdal farm () since the first Vegusdal Church was built there. The first element is derived from the old male name, Veikolfr. The male name itself was a compound name with the first component Veik- coming from which means "weak" and the second component -olfr was a variant form of the more common male name Úlfr (also spelled Ulfr, from Old Norse úlfr, "wolf"; cf. Icelandic Úlfur and Faroese ). The last element of the name is which means "valley" or "dale". Thus this is the "valley of Weak-Ulfr (or Weak-Wolf)".
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Vegusdal Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Herefoss prestegjeld and the Vest-Nedenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder.
Churches in Vegusdal MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtVegusdalVegusdal ChurchEngesland1867
Geography The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Himmelsyna, located on the northern border of the municipality. Mykland Municipality was located to the north and east, Herefoss Municipality was located to the southeast, Birkenes Municipality was located to the south, Iveland Municipality was located to the southwest, and Evje Municipality was located to the northwest.
Government While it existed, Vegusdal 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 Nedenes District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Vegusdal Municipality was made up of 13 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 Vegusdal Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1877–1877: Ole Gundersen Skrædderaas 1878–1881: Eilef Taraldsen Fjermedal 1882–1885: Gunder Osmundsen Dovland 1886–1916: Jens Klepsland 1917–1922: Theodor Holm 1923–1934: Gunnuf Engesland 1935–1942: Gunnar Kateraas 1942–1944: Erling Vegusdal (NS) 1945–1951: Gunnar Kateraas 1952–1955: Bernhard Kateraas 1956–1959: Gunnar Kateraas 1960–1966: Peder Aas
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References
External links Map of the old municipality 1960 census and map of the municipality (page 4)