Birkenes 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,

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 ...

. It is located in the traditional district of

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

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 municipality is the village of Birkeland, where about half the municipal population lives. Other villages in Birkenes include Ås,

Engesland Engesland is a village in Birkenes municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located along the Norwegian County Road 405, just west of the lake Ljosevatnet and just a short distance north of the village of Ås. The Vegusdal Church ha ...

, Flakk,

Håbbesland Håbbesland is a village in Birkenes municipality in Agder county, 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 ...

Herefoss Herefoss is a village in Birkenes municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located on the northeastern end of the Herefossfjorden which is a large lake on the river Tovdalselva. The Norwegian National Road 41 runs through the village ...

Mollestad Mollestad is a village in Birkenes municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located on both sides of the river Tovdalselva, just south of the municipal centre of Birkeland, Agder, Birkeland. The Birkenes Church is located in eastern Mo ...

Oggevatn Oggevatn is a village in Birkenes municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located on the western shore of the large lake Ogge, just north of the municipal border with Iveland. The Sørlandsbanen railway line runs through the village ...

Rugsland Rugsland is a village in Birkenes municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located on the western shore of the river Tovdalselva, about south of the village of Mollestad Mollestad is a village in Birkenes municipality in Agder count ...

Senumstad Sennumstad or Senumstad is a village in Birkenes municipality in Agder county, Norway, on the western shore of the river Tovdalselva, at the junction of the Norwegian National Road 41 and the Norwegian County Road 406. The Senumstad Bridge crosse ...

Søre Herefoss Søre Herefoss is a village in Birkenes municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located on the southeastern shore of the lake Herefossfjorden, at the junction of the Norwegian National Road 41 and the Norwegian County Road 404. The v ...

Svaland Svaland is a village in Birkenes municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located in a very rural area about southwest of the village of Birkeland and about the same distance northeast of the village of Vennesla Vennesla is a Li ...

Tveide Tveide is a village in Birkenes municipality in Agder county, 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 ...

, and

Væting Væting is a village in Birkenes municipality in Agder county, 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 ...

. The municipality is the 183rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Birkenes is the 175th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 5,390. 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 increased by 9.2% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Birkeland fv41 Have Gaard rugsland IMG 2282

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 ''Birkenes'' farm () since the first

Birkenes Church Birkenes Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Birkenes Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the village of Mollestad, about southwest of the municipal centre of Birkeland. It is the church for the Birkenes pa ...

was built there. The first element is which means "

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

wood". The last element is which means "

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Jo ...

". This farm is located on the south side of what is now the village of

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 5 December 1986. 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 ''"

Vert Vert or Verts may refer to: * Vert (heraldry), the colour green in heraldry * Vert (music producer) (born 1972), pseudonym of Adam Butler, an English music producer * Vert (river), in southern France * Vert (sport), a competition in extreme versio ...

, a birch branch with three leaves

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 ...

issuant from the base"'' (). 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

tree branch with three leaves. The branch and leaves 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 ...

which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The green color in the field symbolizes the importance of

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

in the municipality. The arms are a

canting ' (International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: , Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, VOS Spelling: , ) is a pen-like tool used to apply liquid hot wax () in the batik-making process in Indonesia, more precisely (). Traditional consists of copper wax-con ...

of the Norwegian word which means

(it is canting since ''bjørk'' is similar to "birk-" in the name Birkenes). The three leaves symbolize the three main areas in the municipality: Birkenes in the south,

in the northeast, and Vegusdal in the northwest. The arms were designed by Daniel Rike who based it off an idea by Knut Øvensen. 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 three parishes () within the municipality of Birkenes. It is part of the

Vest-Nedenes prosti Several Church of Norway churches are in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark in Norway. This list includes all of the parishes in Agder and Telemark counties. The diocese is based at the Kristiansand Cathedral in the city of Kristiansand in Kristian ...

(

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 historic parish of

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 ...

had to be divided into two

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 ...

s on 1 January 1838 because the main part of Tveit belonged to the county of Lister og Mandal and the annex of ''Birkenæs'' belonged to the county of Nedenæs and the new law said a municipality could only exist in one county, not two. Therefore, the parish was split and Birkenæs municipality was created in Nedenæs county. On 1 January 1883, an uninhabited part of Birkenes was transferred to the control of neighboring

Landvik Landvik is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1971. The municipality's area is now located in the western and central part of the present-day municipality of ...

municipality. Starting in the 1960s, Norway enacted many municipal reforms such as mergers and border adjustments stemming from 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 1967, the neighboring municipalities of

(population: 585) and

Vegusdal Vegusdal is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1877 until its dissolution in 1967. It was located in the northwestern part of the present-day munic ...

(population: 582) were merged into the municipality of Birkenes, creating a much larger municipality with a population of 3,050. On 1 January 1970, two uninhabited areas of Neset and Råbudal in the neighboring 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 ...

were transferred to Birkenes (these areas were formerly in the municipality of Mykland prior to 1967). On 1 January 1979, the uninhabited area of Landheia in Froland was transferred to the control of Birkenes municipality. Later, on 1 January 1986, the Lislevand farm area (population: 8) was transferred from Birkenes to the neighboring municipality of

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, Dåsn ...

. Then on 1 January 1991, the Dalen area of Birkenes (population: 60) was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Froland. On 1 January 2019, the Hovlandsdalen area (population: 27) was transferred from Birkenes municipality to the neighboring

municipality.

Geography

The municipality borders

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

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

Iveland Iveland 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 Birketvei ...

Grimstad Grimstad () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It belongs to the geographical region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the Grimstad (to ...

, and

Lillesand Lillesand () is municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of Lillesand. Some of the larger villages in Lillesand municipality include ...

municipalities. Birkenes is home to many lakes, including

Herefossfjorden Herefossfjorden is a lake in the municipality of Birkenes in Agder county, Norway. The lake is about long and it is part of the Tovdalselva river. The Gauslåfjorden and Uldalsåna lakes flow into Herefossfjorden near the village of Herefo ...

, Nystølfjorden, Ogge, and

Uldalsåna Uldalsåna is a lake on the border of the municipalities of Birkenes and Froland in Agder county, Norway. It is part of the Tovdalselva river drainage basin. On the southeastern end of the lake, there is a hydroelectric dam which releases water ...

. The river

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 ...

runs through the municipality as well.

Government

Birkenes 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 The Agder Court of Appeal () 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 Sirdal Municipality which ...

Municipal council

The

() of Birkenes is made up of 21 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 Birkenes (incomplete list): *1856-1863: Andreas Solberg *1868-1869: Andreas Solberg *1876-1879: Andreas Solberg *1972-1991: Kristen K. Flaa ( Sp) *1991-2010: Harald Vestøl ( H) *2010-2011: Arild Espegren ( KrF) *2011-2015: Arild Windsland ( H) *2015-2019: Anders Christiansen ( Ap) *2019-2023: Gyro Heia ( Sp) *2023-present: Arild Windsland ( H)

Economy

Agriculture and

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucksOwens Corning Owens Corning is an American company that develops and produces insulation, roofing, and fiberglass composites and related products. It is the world's largest manufacturer of fiberglass composites. It was formed in 1935 as a partnership between ...

with approximately 180 employees. Other larger businesses include ''Uldal Vinduer og Dører'', ''Foss Bad'', ''Scanflex'', ''KOAB Industrier'', and ''Birkeland Trykkeri''.

Transportation

The

Sørland Line Sørland is a seaside resort, fishing village, and the administrative centre of Værøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the southern side of the island of Værøya. The village is the main population center of the isla ...

provides rail service at Herefoss Station. Prior to 1953, the Lillesand-Flaksvand Line also served Birkenes, but that railway line was closed down and removed.

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 ...

runs north–south through Birkenes, and is one of the main highways in this area of Norway. There are also several other important county roads in Birkenes, such as

Norwegian County Road 404 Norwegian County Road 404 (Fv 404) is a Norwegian county road in Agder county, Norway. The long road runs between the village of Frivoll in Grimstad municipality in the southeast and the village of Søre Herefoss in Birkenes municipality at ...

Norwegian County Road 405 Norwegian County Road 405 (Fv405) is a Norwegian county road which runs between from the village of Engesland in Birkenes municipality in Agder county in the north to the junction with the Norwegian National Road 9 in the village of Mosby in Kri ...

, and Norwegian County Road 406.

Notable people

* Kåre Kolberg (1936 in Birkenes – 2014), a composer, organist, and music critic * Gunhild Hagestad (born 1942 in Birkenes), a retired sociologist and academic *

Gunn Margit Andreassen Gunn Margit Aas Andreassen (born 23 July 1973 in Kristiansand) is a former Norwegian biathlete. Biathlon career She won two Olympic medals, bronze in Nagano 1998 and silver in Salt Lake City 2002, both in the relay. From the Wor ...

(born 1973), a former biathlete, team bronze medallist in the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...

, and team silver medallist at the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...

who lives in Birkenes *

Trude Harstad Trude Harstad (born 17 July 1974) is a former Norwegian biathlete. Life and career Harstad was born in the municipality of Birkenes in the southern part of Norway. Harstad debuted at the Junior World Championships in 1993 in Ruhpolding. The f ...

(born 1974 in Birkenes), a former biathlete

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 ...

*
Welcome to Birkenes - Tourist informationKultur i Birkenes på kart
from Kulturnett.no {{use dmy dates, date=December 2020 Kristiansand region Municipalities of Agder 1838 establishments in Norway