Eigersund is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

in Rogaland county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It is in the traditional district of Dalane. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Egersund. The town was known for its pottery factory (closed in 1979) and it is among Norway's biggest fishing ports. The villages of Helleland, Hellvik, and Hestnes are also in Eigersund. The island of Eigerøya lies just off shore from Egersund. The island has several well-known businesses and attractions including the Eigerøy war memorial from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The municipality is the 228th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Eigersund is the 82nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 14,860. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

is and its population has increased by 2.7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The rural

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

surrounding the town of Egersund was established as the municipality of ''Egersund landdisstrikt'' (Egersund rural district) on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1839, the northwestern district of

Augne Augne (; oc, Ònha) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in central-western France. See also *Communes of the Haute-Vienne department The following is a list of the 195 communes of the Haute-Vienne depa ...

(population: 825) was separated to form its own municipality. On 12 December 1868, a small area of Eigersund municipality (population: 41) was transferred to neighboring Sokndal. In 1947, an area of Eigersund immediately surrounding the town of Egersund (population: 515) was transferred to the town of Egersund and another area in Sokndal (population: 7) was transferred to Eigersund. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers in Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the town of Egersund (population: 3,787) was merged with the surrounding municipalities of Eigersund (population: 4,664), Helleland (population: 851), and the Gyadalen and Grøsfjel areas of Heskestad (population: 114). The new municipality was also called Eigersund. On 1 January 1967, the Tjørn farm (population: 10) was transferred from Eigersund to Sokndal.

Name

The

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

form of the name was ''Eikundarsund''. The first element is the

genitive case In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...

of the name of the island of ''Eikund'' (now Eigerøya) and the last element is ''sund'' which means " strait" or "

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by ...

". The first element in the name of the island is ''eik'' which means " oak" and the last element is the suffix ''-und'' which means "plentiful of" (i.e. "the island covered with oak trees"). ;"Egersund" vs. "Eigersund" The form of the name spelled without the

diphthong A diphthong ( ; , ), also known as a gliding vowel, is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: that is, the tongue (and/or other parts of the speech ...

i(''Egersund'') is the

Danish language Danish (; , ) is a North Germanic language spoken by about six million people, principally in and around Denmark. Communities of Danish speakers are also found in Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and the northern German region of Southern S ...

form of the name which is still preserved in the name of the town Egersund, but the municipality name is spelled using the Norwegian language form.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

was granted on 20 October 1972. The arms show a gold/yellow oak leaf on a green background. The arms are partly a canting since the name is supposedly derived from ''Eikundarsund'' and ''eik'' means oak. Oaks are also very common in the municipality.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. ...

has three parishes () within the municipality of Eigersund. It is part of the Dalane prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or reside ...

) in the Diocese of Stavanger.

History

The place is mentioned in

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...

's writings. Later, Christian IV set up a battery there.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Eigersund, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wiktionary:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physical and menta ...

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usag ...

services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refer ...

and other social services,

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a s ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals a ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. The municipality is governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural coun ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elect a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

. The municipality falls under the Sør-Rogaland District Court and the

Gulating Court of Appeal The Gulating Court of Appeal ( no, Gulating lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Bergen. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestland and Rogaland plus Sirdal Munic ...

Municipal council

The

() of Eigersund is made up of 31 representatives that are elected to four year terms. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:

Geography

Eigersund extends from the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

coast to the border of Agder county. It borders the municipalities of

Hå Hå is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is the southernmost municipality in the traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Varhaug. Other villages in Hå include Brusand, Hæen, ...

and Bjerkreim to the north and Sokndal to the south. The municipality is centered on the town of Egersund, and includes the island of Eigerøya. The landscape includes many rivers and lakes, as well as woods and several barren rocky and heather-clad

moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct o ...

. The lakes

Grøsfjellvatnet Grøsfjellvatnet is a lake in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the municipalities of Eigersund, Lund, and Sokndal. The lake list just north of the lake Eiavatnet, about west of the village of Heskestad in Lund municipality. See ...

, Eiavatnet, Nodlandsvatnet, and Teksevatnet lie in the municipality.

Eigerøya

Eigerøya is an island off the coast of Egersund. The island is connected to the mainland over Eigerøy bridge, which was completed in 1951. The island's coastline is characterized by a number of small bays, as well as Lundarviga. Eigerøya is divided almost in two of the large bay of Lundarviga. The island is surrounded by a number of small islets. Eigerøy Lighthouse and Vibberodden Lighthouse are both located along the shores of Eigerøya.

Climate

Transportation

European route E39 runs through the municipality, passing the village of Helleland. The Sørlandet Line runs through the municipality, stopping at Egersund Station and Hellvik Station.

Notable people

* Michael Birkeland (1830 in Eigersund – 1896) an historian, civil servant and politician * Peter C. Assersen (1839 in Egersund – 1906) civil engineer and Rear Admiral in

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

* Bernt B. Lomeland (1836 in Helleland – 1900) a school teacher and lay minister * Elisabeth Fedde (1850-1921) a Lutheran Deaconess, lived in Egersund from 1895 * Anna Bugge (1862 in Egersund – 1928) a Norwegian & Swedish feminist, lawyer, diplomat and politician *

Jacob Thorkelson Jacob Thorkelson (September 24, 1876 – November 20, 1945) was a Norwegian American politician from the state of Montana who served as the United States Congressman from Montana's 1st congressional district from January 3, 1939 to January 3, 194 ...

(1876 in Egersund – 1945) US Congressman from

Montana Montana () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West List of regions of the United States#Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions, division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North ...

* Jack Nielsen (1896 in Egersund – 1981) Norwegian tennis player, six-time national champion * Paulus Svendsen (1904 in Egersund – 1989) literary historian, wrote biographies of Western philosophers * Thorbjørn Feyling (1907 in Egersund – 1985) a ceramist with

Stavangerflint AS Stavangerflint AS was an earthenware factory that was in operation from 1949 until 1979 in Stavanger, Norway. Company history Production of pottery tableware for households and for the professional market started in 1949 under the name of ''S ...

Johnny Stenberg Johnny Stenberg (born 3 January 1925 in Eigersund, died 17 March 1990) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Nord-Trøndelag in 1973, and was re-elected on one occasion. He had previousl ...

(born 1925 in Eigersund - 1990) politician, Mayor of Meråker, 1966-1973 *

John Olav Larssen John Olav Larssen (7 March 1927 – 2 January 2009) was a Norwegian evangelical preacher and missionary. He was born in Hellvik, and settled in Bryne. He started as a preacher at the age of eighteen, and eventually began touring Norway. He has ...

(1927 in Hellvik – 2009) an evangelical preacher and missionary * Gunnar Kvassheim (born 1953 in Eigersund) a Norwegian journalist and politician * Bengt Sæternes (born 1975 in Egersund) a former footballer with 478 club caps and 7 for

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every ye ...

{{use dmy dates, date=June 2020 Municipalities of Rogaland 1838 establishments in Norway