Marnardal is a former municipality 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,

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 existed from 1964 until 2020 when it was merged into

Lindesnes Municipality Lindesnes ( en, the Naze) is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Mandal. Other villages in Lindesnes include Åvik, Hølle ...

in what is now

Agder Agder is a county (''fylke'') and traditional region in the southern part of Norway. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties were merged. Since the early 1900s, the term Sørlandet ("south ...

county. It was located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. 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

Heddeland Heddeland is a village in Lindesnes municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located about northeast of the village of Øyslebø along the river Mandalselva. The Sørlandet Line The Sørlandet Line ( no, Sørlandsbanen) is a railwa ...

. Other villages in Marnardal include

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 ...

Breland Breland is a village in Lindesnes municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located just over the border from the neighboring Kristiansand municipality. The village of Øyslebø lies about to the southwest of Breland. There are about ...

Koland Koland is a village in Lindesnes municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located between the villages of Bjelland and Hægeland Hægeland or Hægelandskrossen is a village in Vennesla municipality in Agder county, Norway. The villa ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. The Sørlandet Railway Line runs through the municipality stopping at

Breland Station Breland Station ( no, Breland stasjon) is a railway station on the Sørlandet Line situated in the village of Breland in Lindesnes municipality in Agder county, Norway. Located from Oslo Central Station, it is served by a single long-distance t ...

and

Marnardal Station Marnardal Station ( no, Marnardal stasjon) is a railway station of the Sørlandet Line situated just north of the village of Heddeland in Lindesnes municipality in Agder county, Norway. Located from Oslo Central Station, it is served by long-di ...

. At the time of its dissolution in 2020, the municipality is the 240th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Marnardal is the 306th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,309. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

is and its population has increased by 7.5% over the last decade.

General information

Marnardal was established as a new municipality on 1 January 1964 through the merger of several municipalities. These areas that became Marnardal included all

municipality except for the Midtbø and Ågedal areas (population: 535), all of the municipality of

, the Kleveland bru area of Finsland (population: 34), and all of

municipality except for the Brunvatne area (population: 1,068). On 1 January 2020, the three neighboring municipalities of

Mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

, Marnardal, and

Lindesnes Lindesnes ( en, the Naze) is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Mandal. Other villages in Lindesnes include Åvik, Hølle ...

were merged into one large municipality called ''Lindesnes'' with its

being the town of

Name

The name of the municipality is a revival (from 1964) of 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 ...

name of the valley: ''Marnardalr''. 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 al ...

of the river name ''Mǫrn'' (now called

Mandalselva Mandalselva or Mandalsåni or Marna (English: Mandal River, non, Mǫrn) is a river in Agder county in Norway. The river has its origins in the mountains between Ose in Setesdal and the Upper Sirdal valley. The river flows south to its mouth at ...

) and the last element is ''dalr'' meaning 'dale' or 'valley'. The meaning of the river name is unknown (maybe derived from ''marr'' which means '

sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

').

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

was granted on 19 June 1987 until the municipality was dissolved on 1 January 2020. The official

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

is ''" Vert, three pine cones in

pall Pall may refer to: * Pall (funeral), a cloth used to cover a coffin * Pall (heraldry), a Y-shaped heraldic charge * Pall (liturgy), a piece of stiffened linen used to cover the chalice at the Eucharist * Pall Corporation, a global business * Pall. ...

stems conjoined Or"'' ( no, I grønt tre gull furukongler forent i trepass). This means the arms have a green

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

(background) and the

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * ''Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

is a

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

cone A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines con ...

. The pine cones have a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The green color in the field and the choice of pine cones on the arms symbolize the importance of the forests which cover areas of the municipality. There are three conjoined pine cones to represent each of the three former municipalities of

, and

which were merged into Marnardal in 1964. The arms were designed by Ulf Dreyer using an idea by Kjersti Tveit Nilsen.

Churches

The Church of Norway has three parishes () within the municipality of Marnardal. It is part of the

Mandal prosti This list of churches in Agder og Telemark is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark in Agder and Vestfold og Telemark counties in southern Norway. The diocese is based at the Kristiansand Cathedral in the cit ...

(

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 residenc ...

) in the

Diocese of Agder og Telemark The Diocese of Agder og Telemark ( no, Agder og Telemark bispedømme) is a diocese of the Church of Norway, covering all of Agder county and most of Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. The cathedral city is Kristiansand, Norway's fifth larges ...

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Marnardal, 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,

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 usage ...

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,

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 ...

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

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 ...

. The municipality fell under the

Kristiansand District Court Kristiansand District Court ( no, Kristiansand tingrett) was a district court in Agder county, Norway. The court was based in the town of Kristiansand. The court existed until 2021. It had jurisdiction over the southern part of the county which ...

and the

Agder Court of Appeal The Agder Court of Appeal ( no, Agder lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the town of Skien. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestfold og Telemark and Agder (except for Si ...

Municipal council

The

of Marnardal was made up of 21 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:

Geography

Marnardal is an inland municipality which follows the

river through the

Mandalen Mandalen is a river valley in Agder county, Norway. The long valley runs from the lake Øre in Åseral municipality south through the municipality of Lindesnes and it ends at the sea at the town of Mandal in the south. The river Mandalselva ...

valley. The municipality borders

Evje og Hornnes Evje og Hornnes is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Setesdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Evje. Other villages in the municipality include Åneland, Dåsnes ...

municipality to the north in Aust-Agder county;

Audnedal Audnedal is a former municipality in the old Vest-Agder county, Norway. It was located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Konsmo. Other villages in Audnedal include Byremo ...

municipality to the west;

, and

Søgne Søgne is a former municipality in the old Vest-Agder county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until 2020 when it was merged with the municipalities of Songdalen and Kristiansand into the "new" Kristiansand municipality in what is no ...

municipalities to the south; and

Songdalen Songdalen is a former municipality in the old Vest-Agder county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1964 until 2020 when it was merged with Søgne and Kristiansand municipalities to form a new, much larger Kristiansand municipality in what i ...

and

Vennesla Vennesla is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vennesla. Other villages in Vennesla include Grovane, Hægeland, Hom ...

municipalities in the east.

Climate

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 yea ...

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