Åseral

Infobox_Kommune
name = Åseral
idnumber = 1026
county = Vest-Agder
landscape = Sørlandet
capital = Kyrkjebygda
demonym = Åsdøl
language = Nynorsk


munwebpage = www.aseral.kommune.no
governor = Jørgen Åsland (Sp)
governor_as_of = 2003
arearank = 126
area = 887
arealand = 798
areapercent = 0.27
population_as_of = 2008
populationrank = 412
population = 905
populationpercent = 0.02
populationdensity = 1
populationincrease = 10.0
lat_deg = 58 | lat_min = 42 | lat_sec = 7 | lon_deg = 7 | lon_min = 23 | lon_sec = 37
utm_zone = 32V | utm_northing = 6507999 | utm_easting = 0406925 | geo_cat = adm2nd

Åseral is a municipality in Vest-Agder county, Norway.

The parish of Bjelland had to be divided into two formannskapsdistrikts on 1 January 1838. This is because the main part of Bjelland belonged to the county of Vest-Agder, while the annex "Aaseral" belonged to the county of Aust-Agder. Åseral was transferred from the county of Aust-Agder to the county of Vest-Agder on 1 September 1880.

It is an inland municipality, bordering on the county of Aust-Agder in the east and north. In the south, it borders on the municipality of Audnedal, in the south-east on Hægebostad, and in the west on Kvinesdal.

General information

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was "Ásaráll". The first part of the word is probably the genitive case of "áss" (m.), meaning "mountain ridge". The last part, "áll" (m.) means "long strip", probably referring to the long and narrow lake Øre.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1989). It shows a horseshoe (to represent agriculture, forestry, and good luck).

Attractions

Åseral is a popular tourist destination with three ski resorts: Bortelid, Ljosland, and Eikerapen. Eikerapen is also the site of the annual Eikerapen Roots Festival, an international music festival attracting thousands of people from all over Europe.

References