Lyngdal

Infobox_Kommune
name = Lyngdal
idnumber = 1032
county = Vest-Agder
landscape = Sørlandet
capital = Lyngdal
demonym = Lyngdøl
language = Bokmål


munwebpage = www.lyngdal.kommune.no
governor = Ingunn Foss (H)
governor_as_of = 2007
arearank = 240
area = 391
arealand = 370
areapercent = 0.12
population_as_of = 2004
populationrank = 139
population = 7,216
populationpercent = 0.16
populationdensity = 20
populationincrease = 5.1
lat_deg = 58 | lat_min = 10 | lat_sec = 9 | lon_deg = 7 | lon_min = 3 | lon_sec = 21
utm_zone = 32V | utm_northing = 6449215 | utm_easting = 0385650 | geo_cat = adm2nd

Audio|Lyngdal.ogg|Lyngdal is a municipality in Vest-Agder county, Norway. Lyngdal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Austad and Kvås were separated from Lyngdal on 1 January 1909 but they were again merged with Lyngdal on 1 January 1964, together with the area of Spangereid west of Lenesfjorden.

It is a coastal municipality, and borders to the southeast Lindesnes municipality, Audnedal to the northeast, Hægebostad to the north, and Kvinesdal and Farsund to the west. Lyngdal declared township on 1 January 2001.

Major sources of revenue are wood processing, agriculture, and commerce. Tourism is also central to the community, with the beaches of Kvavik and Rosfjord being popular resorts during the summer.

General information

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was "Lygnudalr". The first element is the genitive case of the river name "Lygna" and the last element is "dalr" which means "valley" or "dale". The river name is derived from "logn" which means "quietness" and so the meaning is "the quiet one". Before 1908, the parish (but not the municipality) of Lyngdal was called "Aa".

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 27 March 1987. The arms show a cow. The local breed of cows "(lyngdalsku)" is very well known in Norway and at the yearly cattle fair traders from all over Southern and Western Norway visit the municipality. [cite web|url=http://www.ngw.nl/int/nor/l/lyngdal.htm|author=Norske Kommunevåpen|date=1990|title=Nye kommunevåbener i Norden|accessdaymonth=27 September|accessyear=2008]

History

The island of Sælør on the southern coast of the municipality is mentioned in Snorre, as the king Saint Olav spent a winter here in 1028. Based around the port of Agnefest, Lyngdal prospered on maritime trade, and in 1771 an application was made for status as a small coastal town. Its coastal location also facilitated emigration; in the 17th and 18th century largely to Holland, and in the 19th century to the United States.

Even before the merger of the municipalities in 1964, the parishes of Austad and Kvås, together with Å (or "Aa" - Lyngdal proper), made up the greater Lyngdal parish. A census from 1801 showed 3529 inhabitants in the area that today makes up Lyngdal: 1850 in Å, 929 in Austad, 585 in Kvås and 165 in the eastern part of Spangereid. The number today is approximately double that of 1801: a little over 7000 inhabitants. [cite web|url=http://www.ssb.no/fob/kommunehefte/1032/fob_1032_tabeller.pdf|title=Folkemengde ved folketellingene, 1769-2001|publisher=Statistisk Sentralbyrå|date=2001|accessdate=2008-01-09 no icon]

Religious life and missionary work have always had a strong position in Lyngdal, and worthy of special note is the minister and Gabriel Kielland (1796-1854), who served in the parish from 1837-54, and his wife Gustava (1800-89). Known today as a missionary pioneer and a popular songwriter, Gustava also wrote one of the first autobiographies by a woman in Norway: her "Reminiscence from my Life" from 1880. [cite web|url=http://www.lyngdal.kommune.no/getfile.aspx/document/epcx_id/570/epdd_id/292 |title=History|publisher=Lyngdal Municipality|accessdate=2008-01-09]

Famous residents

*Abraham Berge, politician (1851-1936)
*Teis Lundegaard, politician (1774-1856)
*Trygve Haugeland, politician (1914-1998)
*Ingvild Stensland, international women's footballer (1981-)

References