Undal

Undal Municipality
Undal herred
Former municipality
Vest-Agder within Norway
Vest-Agder within Norway
Undal within Vest-Agder
Undal within Vest-Agder
Coordinates: 58°17′07″N 07°21′21″E / 58.28528°N 7.35583°E / 58.28528; 7.35583
CountryNorway
CountyVest-Agder
DistrictSørlandet
Established1 Jan 1838
 • Created asFormannskapsdistrikt
Disestablished1 Jan 1845
 • Succeeded byNordre Undal and
Søndre Undal municipalities
Area
 (upon dissolution)[1]
 • Total
368 km2 (142 sq mi)
Population
 (1845)
 • Total
4,695
 • Density13/km2 (33/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-1027[2]
Data from Statistics Norway

Undal is a former municipality that was located in the old Vest-Agder county in Norway. The 368-square-kilometre (142 sq mi) municipality[1] existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1845. It encompassed parts of the present-day municipalities of Lyngdal and Lindesnes. The municipality encompassed most of the Audnedalen valley which follows the river Audna southwards to the sea.[3]

History

The parish of Undal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The municipality was short-lived and it existed only until 1845, when it was divided into the new municipalities of Nordre Undal (population: 802) in the north and Søndre Undal (population: 3,893) in the south. Prior to the split Undal had a population of 4,695.[4]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Audnedalen valley (Old Norse: Auðnudalr), but over time the name was shorted due to a corruption of the language. The first element is the genitive case of the river name Auðna (now Audna). The river name is derived from the word auðn which means "destruction" or "wasteland" (because of the flooding that often happens along the river). The last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale". The municipality was dissolved in 1848, but the name lived on. In the early 20th century, the name Undal was Norwegianized to Audnedal, bringing back its more original spelling.[5][6]

Government

During 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.[7]

Mayors

The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Undal:[8]

  • 1837–1841: Rev. Lassen
  • 1841–1844: Bertel Person Roland

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Norges land og folk: Lister og Mandals amt (in Norwegian). Kristiania, Norge: H. Aschehoug & Company. 1903. pp. 338 and 355.
  2. ^ Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (26 January 2023). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
  3. ^ Store norske leksikon. "Undal" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  4. ^ Jukvam, Dag (1999). Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
  5. ^ Rygh, Oluf (1912). Norske gaardnavne: Lister og Mandals amt (in Norwegian) (9 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 155.
  6. ^ Store norske leksikon. "Audnedal" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  7. ^ Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  8. ^ Bergstøl, Tore (1960). "Tilhøve til statsmakta". Vigmostadboka. 2 : Nærings- og kulturlivet (in Norwegian). Mandal: Trykki Salvesen. p. 363.