Barbu is a
former municipality in the old
Aust-Agder county in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. Today, it is part of the is part of the
town of Arendal in
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. The municipality existed from 1878 until 1902 when it was merged into the town of Arendal. The municipality was located just to the north of what was then the town of Arendal. The
administrative centre
An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgi ...
of the small, urban municipality was called Barbu as well.
Barbu Church was the church for the municipality.
Today, the name Barbu refers to the village-like place located in head of the
Galtesundet strait
A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...
within the town of Arendal. Barbu is also a
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 ...
() in the
Arendal prosti (deanery) within the
Diocese of Agder og Telemark.
History
Originally, Barbu was a part of the municipality of
Østre Moland that was created 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). On 1 May 1878, Østre Moland was divided to form three municipalities: Barbu (population: 4,874), Østre Moland (population: 2,524), and
Tromøy (population: 2,320). On 1 January 1902, Barbu was merged with the neighboring
town of Arendal, vastly increasing the size of the town. Before the merger, Barbu had a population of 6,787.
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 ''Barbu'' farm (). The first element is likely derived from the female name . Another theory is that the first element is the old name for a local river. The last element is which means "dwelling" or "farm".
Government
During its existence, this 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, 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 ...
was
indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.
See also
*
List of former municipalities of Norway
References
External links
*
{{use dmy dates, date=December 2020
Arendal
Former municipalities of Norway
1878 establishments in Norway
1902 disestablishments in Norway