Åmli 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' ...

Agder Agder is a counties of Norway, county () and districts of Norway, traditional region in the southern part of Norway and is coextensive with the Southern Norway region. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Au ...

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

, Norway. It is located in the

traditional region A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

Sørlandet Southern Norway (; lit. "The Southland") is the geographical List of regions of Norway, region (''landsdel'') along the Skagerrak coast of southern Norway. The region is an informal description since it does not have any governmental function ...

. The main population centre and administrative center is the village of Åmli which lies along the river

Nidelva Nidelva is a river in Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. The name of the long river translates to "the River Nid" since the suffix ''elva'' is the Norwegian language, Norwegian word for "the river". Location The Nidelva starts at the Hytt ...

. Other villages in Åmli include

Askland Askland is a village in Åmli municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located in the Gjøvdal valley, just north of the river Gjøv. The village of Homdrom lies about to the southeast and the municipal centre of Åmli lies about ...

Dølemo Dølemo is a village in the municipality of Åmli in Agder county, Norway. The village has a population of about 200. It is home to the municipal kindergarten, an elementary school, a shop, and many thriving clubs and organizations. Dølemo is oft ...

, Eppeland, Flaten,

Hillestad Hillestad may refer to: Places * Hillestad, Agder, a village in the municipality of Åmli in Agder county, Norway *''Hillestad Church'', an old name for Tovdal Church in Åmli municipality in Agder county, Norway * Hillestad, Vestfold, a village i ...

, Homdrom, Lauveik,

Nelaug Nelaug is a village in the southern part of the municipality of Åmli in Agder county, Norway. The population (2001) was 161. The village lies at east of the Nelaug lake, which is regulated by a hydroelectric power plant. The most notable featu ...

, Øvre Ramse, Skjeggedal,

Tveit Tveit is a village and surrounding district in Oddernes borough in the city of Kristiansand in Agder county, Norway. The Tveit district is located in the northeastern part of Kristiansand, northeast of the Topdalsfjorden along the lower part of t ...

Vehus Vehus is a village in Åmli municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located just east of the river Nidelva Nidelva is a river in Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. The name of the long river translates to "the River Nid" sin ...

, and Ytre Ramse. The municipality is the 98th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Åmli is the 292nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,786. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

is and its population has decreased by 1.6% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Aamli IMG 1921 nidelva rv41 gjermundsnes southwards

Name

The municipality (originally the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

) is named after the old ''

Åmli Åmli is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The main population centre and administrative cen ...

'' farm () since the first Åmli Church was built there. The first element is which means "

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical- montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ...

tree" or "elm wood". The last element is which means "slope" or "hillside". Historically, the name was historically spelled ''Omlid'' before being changed to ''Aamli''. On 21 December 1917, a royal resolution enacted the 1917 Norwegian language reforms. Prior to this change, the name was spelled ''Aamli'' with the

digraph Digraph, often misspelled as diagraph, may refer to: * Digraph (orthography), a pair of characters used together to represent a single sound, such as "nq" in Hmong RPA * Ligature (writing), the joining of two letters as a single glyph, such as " ...

" Aa", and after this reform, the name was spelled ''Åmli'', using the letter Å instead.

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 last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted on 23 October 1987. 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 an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

is " Azure, a beaver

rampant In heraldry, the term attitude describes the ''position'' in which a figure (animal or human) is emblazoned as a Charge (heraldry), charge, a Supporter (heraldry), supporter, or as a Crest (heraldry), crest. The attitude of a heraldic figure alwa ...

regardant In heraldry, the term attitude describes the ''position'' in which a figure (animal or human) is emblazoned as a charge, a supporter, or as a crest. The attitude of a heraldic figure always precedes any reference to the tincture of the figure an ...

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

" (). This means the arms have a blue

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

beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

. The beaver has 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 ...

which means it is commonly colored white or gray, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The beaver was chosen because the Åmli area was one of the few remaining beaver

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s in Europe. By the late 19th century, only about 100 beavers were left in Europe, mostly in the Åmli area. They were protected and after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the beavers from this area have been used to help re-populate other areas in Europe where the beaver had gone extinct in the wild. The arms were designed by Odd Einar Ufsvatn who won a competition for designing the arms. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

has two parishes () within the municipality of Åmli. It is part of the Aust-Nedenes prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the 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 residence of ...

) in the

Diocese of Agder og Telemark The Diocese of Agder og Telemark () is a diocese of the Church of Norway, covering all of Agder county and Telemark county in Norway. The cathedral city is Kristiansand, Norway's fifth largest city. Kristiansand Cathedral serves as the seat of t ...

History

The parish of ''Omlid'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...

law). In 1876, the southwestern district of Åmli (population: 663) was separated from it to become the municipality of Mykland. This left Åmli with 2,564 inhabitants. On 1 January 1908, Åmli was split into three municipalities: the northern area surrounding the river Gjøv (pop: 590) became the municipality of Gjevedal, the southwestern area surrounding the

Tovdalselva Tovdalselva (also known as the ''Tofdalselva'', ''Tovdalsåna'', ''Tovdalsåni'', literally: the ''Tov valley river'') is long and is one of the longest rivers in Southern Norway. The river flows through Agder county from the mountains on the nor ...

river (pop: 389) became Lille Topdal, and the remainder of the old municipality (population: 2,024) continued as Åmli municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee () was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a ...

. On 1 January 1960, the neighboring municipality of

Gjøvdal Gjøvdal (historic: ''Gjevedal'') is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1908 until its dissolution in 1960. It covered the Gjøv river valley and the surrounding moors. It is currently pa ...

(pop: 362) was merged with Åmli to form a new, larger municipality called Åmli. The combined population was 2,309. On 1 January 1962, the Espestølsgrenda area (pop: 7) was transferred from Åmli (and Aust-Agder county) to neighboring

Nissedal Nissedal is a rural Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark region of Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional regions of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative centr ...

municipality (in

Telemark Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...

county). Several uninhabited areas (the Espestøl, Reinefoss, and Espestølstykket farms) were transferred to Nissedal municipality in Telemark county on 1 January 1965. Then on 1 January 1967, the neighboring municipality of Tovdal (pop: 161) was merged back into the municipality of Åmli. Åmli then had a total of 2,211 inhabitants. On 1 January 1968, the Flateland farm (pop: 6) was transferred to the municipality of

Froland Froland is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative center is the village of Blakst ...

Geography

Åmli is located in northern

county. It is bordered on the north by

Fyresdal Fyresdal is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Moland. Other villages in Fyresdal include Kilegrend, Øvre Bir ...

and

municipalities (in

county), on the east by

Vegårshei Vegårshei is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative center is the village of Myra. Other villages in Vegårshei include Mo and Ubergsmoen. The municipality is the ...

municipality, on the south by

municipality, and on the west by

Bygland Bygland is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Setesdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bygland ...

municipality. The most densely populated area is around the municipal center of

, which lies on the banks of the river

. The village has about 682 residents (in 2017). Side valleys which join the main valley include Gjøvdal and Tovdal. The rivers Nidelva and

flow through the valleys. In the southern part of the municipality the Sørlandsbanen railway line passes through the area, stopping at the Nelaug Station. The largest villages in Åmli include

, and

. The rest of the population is scattered among the valleys. The Åmli hills are wooded and typically range from above sea level. At , the highest point is Trongedalsfjell, which lies between the Tovdal and Gjøvdal valleys. Several lakes are located in Åmli including

Måvatn Måvatn is a lake in the municipality of Åmli in Agder county, Norway. It is located about northeast of the village of Askland in the Gjøvdal valley and about south of the municipal border with Nissedal in Telemark county. See also *List ...

, Nasvatn, and

. There are several protected areas, for instance, the Årdalen nature reserve, bordering on the Rukkevatn nature reserve, and the Furubuhei marsh reserve, provide approximately of nature reserves.

Climate

Situated inland in Agder, Nelaug in Åmli has a humid continental climate or temperate oceanic climate, depending on winter threshold used ( or . The all-time high is set 10 August 1975, a month with 8 days above . The warmest month on record is July 2018 with mean . The all-time low is recorded 10 February 1966.

Government

Åmli Municipality is responsible for

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

(through 10th grade), outpatient

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

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

services,

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

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. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

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

economic development In economics, economic development (or 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 object ...

, and municipal

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s and utilities. 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, borough cou ...

of directly elected representatives. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

() of Åmli is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, 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 oft ...

Mayors

The

mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

() of Åmli: *1838-1838: Terje Gunstensen Gjeveland *1839-1853: Iver Anton Rummelhoff *1854-1855: Eivind Salvesen Mjaaland *1856-1857: Petter Øi *1858-1859: Ole Knutsen Tvedt *1860-1861: Ommund Syvertsen Mykland *1862-1863: Even P. Askeland *1864-1866: Ommund Syvertsen Mykland *1867-1868: Nære O. Ramse *1869-1871: Ole Knutsen Tvedt *1872-1877: Peder Samuel Beylegaard *1878-1879: Gunstein P. Tviland *1880-1881: Ommund Omland *1882-1890: Engvald Hansen *1891-1892: Ommund Omland *1893-1894: Kjetil Øi *1895-1897: Ommund Omland *1898-1901: Elling Øi *1902-1910: Aslak Kateraas ( V) *1911-1919: Elling Øi *1920-1925: Aslak Kateraas ( V) *1926-1928: Peder Jensen *1929-1934: Jørgen Tønnesen *1935-1940: Olav Nylund *1941-1941: Jørgen Tønnesen ( NS) *1942-1945: Tallak Dale ( NS) *1945-1947: Gunnar Bakken *1947-1964: Jens Seljås *1965-1971: Gjeruld Homdal *1971-1971: Gunnar Skogby *1972-1975: John S. Eppeland *1975-1979: Karl Johan Tveiten ( KrF) *1979-1983: Gunnar Halvorsen ( Ap) *1983-1991: Sverre Johan Kløvfjell ( Ap) *1991-1995: Tellef Harstveit ( Ap) *1995-1999: Sverre Johan Kløvfjell ( Ap) *1999-2003: Tellef Harstveit ( Ap) *2003-2011: Tellef Olstad ( Sp) *2011-2019: Reidar Saga ( Ap) *2019-2023: Bjørn Gunnar Baas ( Sp) *2023-present: Hans Fredrik Tangen ( Ap)

Economy

Lumbering in Åmli provides for about 12% of the old

Aust-Agder Aust-Agder (, ) was a county (''fylke'') in Norway from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, after it was merged with Vest-Agder to form Agder county. In 2002, there were 102,945 inhabitants, which was 2.2% of Norway's population. Its area was . ...

county's total

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

production making it the third most import source of timber in Aust-Adger (after Froland and Birkenes). Agriculture, including

sheep husbandry Sheep farming or sheep husbandry is the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. It is a branch of animal husbandry. Sheep are raised principally for their meat ( lamb and mutton), milk (sheep's milk), and fiber (wool). They also yield sheepskin ...

, provides a minor contribution to the economy. Electrical power is generated by a

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

plant at Flatefoss, which regulates the level of the lake, Nelaug. The newspaper '' Åmliavisa'' has been published in Åmli since 2008.

Transportation

The main road through Åmli is the north–south

Norwegian National Road 41 Norwegian National Road 41 (''Rv 41''; also known as the ''Telemarksveien'') is a Norwegian national road that runs through Telemark and Agder counties in Norway. The road runs between the village of Brunkeberg (Telemark), Brunkeberg in Kvitese ...

. Other roads include Norwegian County Road 412, Norwegian County Road 413, and

Norwegian County Road 415 Norwegian county road 415 (Fv415) is a Norwegian county road in Agder county, Norway. The long highway runs between the European route E18 highway at Fiane in Tvedestrand municipality and the Norwegian National Road 41 Norwegian National ...

. There are also two railway lines running through southern Åmli: the main Sørlandsbanen railway line which stops at Nelaug Station and the branch line

Arendalsbanen The Arendal Line () is a long railway line between Arendal and Simonstad in Norway. At Nelaug, north of Arendal, the line intersects with the Sørland Line. The southern section is electrified and provides a feeder passenger service. The lin ...

which terminates at Nelaug Station, but also stops at Flaten Station.

Notable people

Engvald Bakkan Engvald Bakkan (20 August 1897 – 3 July 1982) was a Norwegian pharmacist, novelist and children's writer. Biography Bakkan was born at Åmli in Aust-Agder. He graduated as a pharmacist in 1923. During his career, he lived and worked at S ...

(1897 in Åmli – 1982), a pharmacist, novelist, and children's writer * Olav Kjetilson Nylund (1903 in Åmli – 1957), a politician who was Mayor of Åmli from 1934-1940 * Gunnar Halvorsen (1945–2006), a politician who was Mayor of Åmli from 1979–1983 * Jonas Alaska (born 1988), a musician

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, 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 year on its web site. All rele ...

*
Culture in Åmli on the map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aamli Municipalities of Agder 1838 establishments in Norway