Hidra 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 1893 until its dissolution in 1965. It encompassed the islands and southern coastal part of the present-day municipality of

Flekkefjord is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Flekkefjord. The villages of Sira, Gyland, Rasvåg, Kirkehavn, and Åna-Sira are ...

in what is now

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 municipality included the islands of Hidra and

Andabeløya Andabeløya or Andabeløyna is a populated island in Flekkefjord municipality in Agder county, Norway. The island lies at the mouth of the Fedafjorden, just east of the island of Hidra. The one village on the island is called Andabeløy. The ...

as well as 56 other islands, plus the mainland coast from Abelsnes to the river Sira. The administrative centre was the village of

Kirkehavn Kirkehamn or Kirkehavn (literally: ''Church harbour'') is a fishing village in Flekkefjord municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is one of two harbor, harbours on the Norway, Norwegian island Hidra (island), Hidra. Kirkehamn lies on ...

where

Hidra Church Hidra Church ( no, Hidra kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in the large Flekkefjord Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the village of Kirkehamn on the island of Hidra. It is the church for the Hidra parish whi ...

is located. Hidra was home to Olav Omland (1909–1998), a landscape and coastal painter. He was also a poet and songwriter, and composed the song about Hidra "Hidrasangen". Hidra was also home to the eccentric personality and artist Tatjana Lars Kristian Guldbrandsen.

Name

The

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

form of the name was . The name is probably derived from a word with the meaning "split" or "cleft" (referring to the fact that the island is almost split in two by the Rasvåg

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Förden and East Jutland Fjorde, Germany, ...

). Prior to 1918, the name was spelled ''Hitterø''.

History

The parish of '' Nes og Hitterø'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). However, on 8 October 1893, this municipality was split into two municipalities: Hitterø (population: 2,075) and

Nes The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

(population: 1,704). 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 1965, Hidra municipality (formerly called ''Hitterø'') was merged with the municipalities of Nes,

Gyland Gyland is a village in the municipality of Flekkefjord in Agder county in Norway. It is located in the northeastern part of Flekkefjord along the river Gylandselva, just a short distance north of the lake Kumlevollvatnet. The Sørlandet Line runs ...

, most of Bakke, and the town of

to form the new municipality of

. Prior to the merger, Hidra had a population of 1,277.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Hidra, 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 Hidra 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

{{use dmy dates, date=November 2020 Flekkefjord Former municipalities of Norway 1893 establishments in Norway 1965 disestablishments in Norway