Laudal is a former municipality located in the old

Vest-Agder Vest-Agder (; "West Agder") was one of 18 counties (''fylker'') in Norway up until 1 January 2020, when it was merged with Aust-Agder to form Agder county. In 2016, there were 182,701 inhabitants, around 3.5% of the total population of Norway. I ...

county in

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 ...

. The municipality existed from 1899 until 1964. The

administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

of the municipality was the village of

Laudal Laudal is a village in Lindesnes municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located on the western shore of the Mandalselva river, about south of the village of Bjelland and about north of the village of Øyslebø. The village of Lau ...

where

Laudal Church Laudal Church ( no, Laudal kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Lindesnes Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the village of Laudal. It is one of the churches for the Marnardal parish which is part of the Liste ...

is located. The municipality encompassed part of what is now the municipality of Lindesnes in Agder county.

History

The municipality was established on 1 January 1899 when the old municipality of Øyslebø og Laudal was divided into two municipalities:

Øyslebø Øyslebø is a village in Lindesnes municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located in the Mandalen valley along the Mandalselva river, about north of the town of Mandal. The Sørlandet Line passes the village to the north, stoppin ...

(population: 991) and Laudal (population: 836). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee ( no, Schei-komitéen) was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II. It convened in 1946, and its formal name was (The 1946 Committee on Municip ...

. On 1 January 1964, Laudal municipality was dissolved and its land was merged with parts of the neighboring municipalities of

Bjelland Bjelland is a village in Lindesnes municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located along the river Mandalselva, about southeast of the village of Byremo (in Lyngdal) and about west of the village of Hægeland (in Vennesla). The vil ...

, and

Finsland Finsland or Finnsland is a village in Kristiansand municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located about northwest of Nodeland and about southeast of the village of Bjelland. The village is very small and it is located in a very ru ...

to create the new municipality of

Marnardal Marnardal is a former municipality in the old Vest-Agder county, Norway. It existed from 1964 until 2020 when it was merged into Lindesnes Municipality in what is now Agder county. It was located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The ...

. Prior to the merger, Laudal had a population of 560.

Name

The municipality (originally the

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 m ...

) is named after the old ''Laudal'' farm ( non, Laugardalr), since that is the location of

. The first element of the name of the farm comes from the old name for the river, ''Laug'', (now the Lågåna river) and the last element ( non, dalr) means "

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

". Therefore, the name means "Laug river valley".

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Laudal, are responsible for

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first ...

(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 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 (human activity), w ...

and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

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 si ...

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 and o ...

, 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 was 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 counci ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elected 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 a ...

Municipal council

The

of Laudal was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

References

{{use dmy dates, date=November 2020 Lindesnes Former municipalities of Norway 1899 establishments in Norway 1964 disestablishments in Norway

History

Name

Government

Municipal council

See also

References