Hægebostad is a

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

in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Lister Region, Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tingvatn. Other villages in Hægebostad include Eiken, Agder, Eiken, Haddeland, Agder, Haddeland, and Snartemo. The municipality encompasses the northern end of the Lyngdalen valley which follows the river Lygna. The Sørlandet Line railroad runs through the municipality from east to west, stopping at Snartemo Station in Snartemo. To get into and out of the valley in which Hægebostad is located, the trains must go through two of the longest railway tunnels in Norway: Hægebostad Tunnel and Kvineshei Tunnel. The municipality is the 215th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Hægebostad is the 295th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,704. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 2.3% over the previous 10-year period. Economy: nine units of Sheltered housing are under construction (as of 2022); the previous ones were demolished.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old ''Hægebostad'' farm ( non, Helgabólstaðir), since the first Hægebostad Church was built there. This farm is now on the north side of the village of Snartemo. The first element of the name is ''helg-'' which means "sacred, holy" and the last element is the plural form of ''bólstaðr'' which means "homestead (buildings), homestead" or "farm". Before 1889, the name was written ''Hegebostad''.

History

The prestegjeld, parish of Hægebostad was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1915, the municipality was divided into two municipalities: Eiken, Norway, Eiken (population: 932) in the north and Hægebostad (population: 867) in the south. On 1 January 1963, the two municipalities were merged back together as the municipality of Hægebostad once again. Prior to the merger, Hægebostad had 813 residents and Eiken had 784 residents.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 4 April 1986. The arms show the two gold swords pointing downwards on a red background. The swords represent the two swards of Snartemo and Eiken dating from the 4th–6th century that were found in the municipality. The swords were highly decorated with silver and gold.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Hægebostad, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient Health care, health services, old age, senior citizen services, unemployment and other Social work, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a Municipal council (Norway), municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor. The municipality falls under the Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The Municipal council (Norway), municipal council () of Hægebostad is made up of 15 representatives that are elected to four year terms. Currently, the Political party, party breakdown is as follows:

Geography

Hægebostad is an inland municipality, with Åseral municipality to the northeast, Kvinesdal to the west and Lyngdal to the south and east. The municipality covers the upper Lyngdalen valley from the mountains in the north, along the river Lygna to Lyngdal municipality in the south. The lake Lygne lies in the central part of the municipality.

Climate

Culture

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes () within the municipality of Hægebostad. It is part of the Lister og Mandal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

Notable people

* Johan Arnt Wenaas (1941 in Hægebostad – 2015) a Norwegian priest and writer

References

External links

*
Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway
Municipal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haegebostad Hægebostad, Municipalities of Agder 1838 establishments in Norway