Iveland

Infobox_Kommune
name = Iveland
idnumber = 0935
county = Aust-Agder
landscape = Setesdal
capital = Iveland
language = Neutral
demonym = Ivdøl


munwebpage = www.iveland.kommune.no
governor = Ole Magne Omdal (Sp)
governor_as_of = 2004
arearank = 293
area = 262
arealand = 246
areapercent = 0.08
population_as_of = 2004
populationrank = 396
population = 1,151
populationpercent = 0.03
populationdensity = 5
populationincrease = 4.2
lat_deg = 58 | lat_min = 26 | lat_sec = 28 | lon_deg = 7 | lon_min = 57 | lon_sec = 21
utm_zone = 32V | utm_northing = 6478322 | utm_easting = 0439043 | geo_cat = adm2nd

Iveland is a village and municipality in the county of Aust-Agder, Norway. The old municipality of Hornnes og Iveland was split on 1 January 1886.

It is bordered in the northwest by Evje og Hornnes, in the northeast and east by Birkenes, and in the south and west by Vennesla. The municipality has three population centers: Birketveit, Vatnestrøm, and Skaiå.

General information

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old "Iveland" farm (Old Norse: "Ífuland"), since the first church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the river name "Ífa" (now Frøysåna) and the last element is "land" which means "land" or "farm". The old river name is probably derived from the Norse word "ýr" which means "yew" (Taxus baccata).

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 9 October 1987. The arms show a stonemason's hammer which symbolizes the importance of mining in the area and the green background represents forestry and agriculture. [cite web|url=http://home.no.net/~thuridcs/Kommvpn/Aust-Agder/a-agder-beskr.htm|title=Aust-Agder fylke|accessdate=2008-10-03 no icon]

Geography

Iveland is the smallest municipality in Setesdal. The Otra river which flows through Iveland is the largest river in the Sørlandet district. Towards the east it borders on lake Oggevatn.

The Iveland area includes several hundred old mines. These pegmatite mines and quarries yield more than 100 different minerals, including minerals containing Rare earth elements, beryllium, scandium, uranium, and thorium.

History

Although nothing is found in written sources about Iveland before the 15th century, there is evidence of occupation for thousands of years prior to that. Stone age implements have been found which are four-five thousand years old. A King’s road ( _no. Kongevegen) which allowed for horse travel went in an east-west direction through the area and was in use as early as the 9th century, and perhaps before. But the first written record of farms created by clearing the land goes back 600 years.

The Setesdal Railroad ( _no. Setesdalsbanen) was a narrow gauge steam railway which went across Iveland on its route between Vennesla and Byglandsfjord in Bygland. It was built in 1896. Setesdalsbanen operation was terminated in 1962 and the track was removed between Byglandsfjord and Beihølen. When it was constructed, it revived the lumber industry. Large quantities of planks, poles, and timbers were brought by horse to the Iveland station and forwarded by railroad to Kristiansand. This resulted in better prices since it provided competition with the floated timber.

References

External links

* [http://www.ssb.no/kommuner/region.cgi?nr=09 Municipality facts for Aust-Agder from SSB ] no icon