Vestre Moland is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Møglestu where the Vestre Moland Church is located. The 103-square-kilometre (40 sq mi) municipality existed from 1838 until 1962 when it was merged into the municipality of Lillesand. Today, the area of Vestre Moland covers the northern part of the present-day municipality of Lillesand in Agder county.[1]
Vestre Moland Municipality
Vestre Moland herred | |
|---|---|
 View of the Vestre Moland Church which was built of stone in the 12th century | |
 Aust-Agder within Norway | |
 Vestre Moland within Aust-Agder | |
| Coordinates: 58°15′31″N 08°21′54″E / 58.25861°N 8.36500°E | |
| Country | Norway |
| County | Aust-Agder |
| Established | 1 Jan 1838 |
| • Created as | Formannskapsdistrikt |
| Disestablished | 1 Jan 1962 |
| • Succeeded by | Lillesand Municipality |
| Administrative centre | Møglestu |
| Area (upon dissolution)[1] | |
| • Total | 103 km2 (40 sq mi) |
| Population (1962) | |
| • Total | 2,454 |
| • Density | 24/km2 (62/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | NO-0926[2] |
Vestre Moland included the island of Justøy and the area surrounding the ladested of Lillesand. It features the lake Østre Grimevann found in the northern part of Vestre Moland and the Blindleia inland waterway which is located along the coast of Vestre Moland.
History
edit
The municipality (originally the parish) of Vestre Moland was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1865, the municipality was divided into two separate municipalities of Vestre Moland (population: 2,167)—the northern part and Høvåg (population: 2,069) the southern part. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, Vestre Moland (population: 2,454) was merged with the municipality of Høvåg, the ladested of Lillesand, and the Gitmark farm area in the municipality of Eide to form a new, enlarged Lillesand municipality.[3]
Name
editThe municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Moland farm (Old Norse: Móðguland), since the first Vestre Moland Church was built there. The prefix vestre (which means "western") was added to differentiate the place from Austre Moland which was located a little further north along the coast of Norway in present-day Arendal. The first element of the name is derived from the river Móðga. The river name comes from the Old Norse word móðigr which means "brave" or "courageous". The last element is land which means "land" or "district".[4]
Government
editDuring its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.[5]
Municipal council
editThe municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Vestre Moland was made up of 21 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 7 | |
| Conservative Party (Høyre) | 3 | |
| Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 2 | |
| Centre Party (Senterpartiet) | 3 | |
| Liberal Party (Venstre) | 6 | |
| Total number of members: | 21 | |
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 7 | |
| Conservative Party (Høyre) | 3 | |
| Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 3 | |
| Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 3 | |
| Liberal Party (Venstre) | 5 | |
| Total number of members: | 21 | |
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 8 | |
| Conservative Party (Høyre) | 2 | |
| Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 2 | |
| Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 3 | |
| Liberal Party (Venstre) | 5 | |
| Total number of members: | 20 | |
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 6 | |
| Conservative Party (Høyre) | 3 | |
| Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 3 | |
| Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 2 | |
| Joint list of the Liberal Party (Venstre) and the Radical People's Party (Radikale Folkepartiet) | 6 | |
| Total number of members: | 20 | |
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 7 | |
| Conservative Party (Høyre) | 2 | |
| Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 3 | |
| Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 2 | |
| Joint list of the Liberal Party (Venstre) and the Radical People's Party (Radikale Folkepartiet) | 6 | |
| Total number of members: | 20 | |
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 5 | |
| Conservative Party (Høyre) | 4 | |
| Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 3 | |
| Liberal Party (Venstre) | 8 | |
| Total number of members: | 20 | |
| Note: Due to the German occupation of Norway during World War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945. | ||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Thorsnæs, Geir, ed. (23 July 2015). "Vestre Moland – kommune". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
- ^ Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (26 January 2023). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
- ^ Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
- ^ Rygh, Oluf (1905). Norske gaardnavne: Nedenes amt (in Norwegian) (8 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 146.
- ^ Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
- ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1959" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1960. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938. Retrieved 21 December 2020.