Sør-Audnedal (former name: Søndre Undal or Sør-Undal) is a former municipality that was 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 the ...

. The municipality existed from 1845 until its dissolution in 1964. It was located in the present-day municipality of

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 ...

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. The administrative centre was the village of Vigeland where Valle Church is.

Name

The municipality was named Sør-Audnedal, which means "southern Audnedal", since it is the southern part of the old Audnedal municipality, which encompassed the

Audnedalen Audnedalen is the shortest of the six main north-south valleys in Agder county, Norway. The long river valley runs through the municipalities of Audnedal and Lindesnes. The river Audna runs through the valley, ending in Snigsfjorden in the sou ...

valley. The name Audnedal ( non, Auðnudalr) is from the

Audna Audna or Audnedalselva is a river in Agder county, Norway. The long river runs from the lake Grindheimsvatnet, just north of the village of Byremo in Lyngdal municipality, south through the Audnedalen valley to its mouth at the Snigsfjorden i ...

river ( non, Auðna), which runs through the

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or 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 or streams ove ...

("''-dalr''") and empties into the

Snigsfjorden Snigsfjorden or Sniksfjorden is a fjord in Lindesnes municipality in Agder county, Norway. The long fjord begins at the mouth of the river Audna by the small village of Snig, about south of the municipal centre of Vigeland. The fjord heads so ...

. The river name means "destruction". Historically, the municipality was named ''Sør-Undal'' or ''Søndre Undal'', which uses an older version of the valley name (and an alternate way of spelling "southern").

History

The municipality of ''Søndre Undal'' was established in 1845 when the old Undal municipality was divided into Nordre Undal (population: 802) and Søndre Undal (population: 3,893). The name was later changed to ''Sør-Audnedal''. On 1 January 1899, the western part of Sør-Audnedal (population: 1,734) was separated to become the new municipality of

Spangereid Spangereid is a former municipality that was located in the old Vest-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1889 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality was located in the southwestern part of the present-day municipali ...

. The split left Sør-Audnedal with 2,958 inhabitants and an area of . 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, Sør-Audnedal municipality (population: 2,323) was merged with the neighboring municipalities of Vigmostad (population: 589) and

(population: 899) to create the new municipality of

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Sør-Audnedal, are responsible for primary education (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 during the refere ...

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 ...

, 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 counc ...

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 ...

Municipal council

The

of Sør-Audnedal 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 featur ...

breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sor-Audnedal Lindesnes Former municipalities of Norway 1845 establishments in Norway 1964 disestablishments in Norway