The 643-square-kilometre (248 sq mi) municipality is the 177th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Lyngdal is the 107th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 10,751. The municipality's population density is 17.7 inhabitants per square kilometre (46/sq mi) and its population has increased by 10.4% over the previous 10-year period.[4][5]
General information
Satellite view of LyngdalView of Fleseland on the Rosfjorden
The parish of Aa was established as the municipality of Lyngdal on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1909, the municipality was split into three: Austad in the south (population: 1,263), Kvås in the north (population: 736) and Lyngdal in the central area (population: 2,698). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the municipalities of Austad (population: 608), Kvås (population: 493), Lyngdal (population: 2,916) as well as the Gitlevåg area (population: 103) in Spangereid municipality, west of Lenesfjorden, were all merged to form one large municipality of Lyngdal. On 1 January 1971, the Ytre Skarstein and Indre Skarstein areas of Lyngdal (population: 21) was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Farsund. On 1 January 2001, the municipality of Lyngdal declared that the municipal centre of Alleen would be a town called Lyngdal.[6]
On 1 January 2020, the neighboring municipality of Audnedal was merged into Lyngdal municipality.[7]
Name
The municipality is named after the Lyngdalen valley (Old Norse: Lygnudalr) 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 logn which means "quietness" or "calm". The last element is dalr 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.[8]
Coat of arms
Arms from 1987 to 2019Current arms since 2020
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 statantargent" (Norwegian: I grønt en stående sølv ku). 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 (lyngdalsku) 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.[9][10][11]
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.[12]
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.[13]
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.[14]
Panorama of Lyngdal, Vest-Agder
Geography
Agnefest in the south of Lyngdal has since 1771 an approved natural harbor on the Rosfjord
Lyngdal is a coastal municipality that and borders Lindesnes municipality to the east, Evje og Hornnes and Åseral to the north, Hægebostad and Kvinesdal and Farsund 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 Lenesfjorden, Grønsfjorden, and Rosfjorden also are located in the southern part of Lyngdal. As part of Lyngdal village there is Agnefest on site in the south with a natural harbour at Rosfjorden; the harbour is registered since 1771.
Climate
Climate data for Lyngdal 1991-2020 (6 m, precipitation 1961-90)
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Lyngdal 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.
