Agder
Agder County
Agder fylke | |
---|---|
Coat of arms | |
Coordinates: 58°46′46.53″N 7°40′6.45″E / 58.7795917°N 7.6684583°E | |
Country | Norway |
County | Agder |
District | Southern Norway |
Established | 1 Jan 2020 |
• Preceded by | Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder counties |
Administrative centre | Kristiansand |
Government | |
• Body | Agder County Municipality |
• Governor (2022) | Gina Lund (Ap) |
• County mayor (2019) | Arne Thomassen (H) |
Area | |
• Total | 16,433.67 km2 (6,345.08 sq mi) |
• Land | 14,980.95 km2 (5,784.18 sq mi) |
• Water | 1,452.72 km2 (560.90 sq mi) 8.8% |
• Rank | #8 in Norway |
Population (2021) | |
• Total | 308,843 |
• Rank | #8 in Norway |
• Density | 20.6/km2 (53/sq mi) |
• Change (10 years) | +9.3% |
Demonym | Egde or Egd[1] |
Official language | |
• Norwegian form | Neutral |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
ISO 3166 code | NO-42[3] |
Website | Official website |
Agder is a county (fylke) and traditional region in the southern part of Norway.[4] The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties were merged.[5] Since the early 1900s, the term Sørlandet ("south country, south land, southland") has been commonly used for this region, sometimes with the inclusion of neighbouring Rogaland. Before that time, the area was considered a part of Western Norway.[6]
The area was a medieval petty kingdom, and after Norway's unification became known as Egdafylki and later Agdesiden, a county within the kingdom of Norway. The name Agder was not used after 1662, when the area was split into smaller governmental units called Nedenæs, Råbyggelaget, Lister, and Mandal. The name was resurrected in 1919 when two counties of Norway that roughly corresponded to the old Agdesiden county were renamed Aust-Agder (East Agder) and Vest-Agder (West Agder). Even before the two counties joined in 2020, they cooperated in many ways; the University of Agder had sites in both Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder, as did many other institutions, such as the Diocese of Agder og Telemark, the Agder Court of Appeal, and the Agder Police District.
Name
The name Agder is older than the
Nothing in Old Norse gives any hint as to the word's meaning; it was not produced (from known segments) in Old Norse, which means the name is older still. The Egðir are believed to be the same etymologically as the Augandzi people mentioned in the
A name of that period would have to be closer to
Municipalities
On 1 January 1838, the formannskapsdistrikt law went into effect, creating local municipalities all over Norway. The municipalities have changed over time through mergers and divisions as well as numerous boundary adjustments. When Agder county was established on 1 January 2020, it had 25 municipalities.
Number | Municipal number |
Arms | Name | Establishment | Former municipal number (pre-2020 mergers) |
Former county |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4201 | Risør | 1 January 1838 | 0901 Risør | Aust-Agder | |
2 | 4202 | Grimstad | 1 January 1838 | 0904 Grimstad | ||
3 | 4203 | Arendal | 1 January 1838 | 0906 Arendal | ||
4 | 4204 | Kristiansand | 1 January 1838 | 1001 Kristiansand 1017 Songdalen 1018 Søgne |
Vest-Agder | |
5 | 4205 | Lindesnes | 1 January 1964 | 1002 Mandal 1021 Marnardal 1029 Lindesnes | ||
6 | 4206 | Farsund | 1 January 1838 | 1003 Farsund | ||
7 | 4207 | Flekkefjord | 1 January 1838 | 1004 Flekkefjord | ||
8 | 4211 | Gjerstad | 1 January 1838 | 0911 Gjerstad | Aust-Agder | |
9 | 4212 | Vegårshei | 1 January 1838 | 0912 Vegårshei | ||
10 | 4213 | Tvedestrand | 1 January 1838 | 0914 Tvedestrand | ||
11 | 4214 | Froland | 1 January 1850 | 0919 Froland | ||
12 | 4215 | Lillesand | 1 January 1838 | 0926 Lillesand | ||
13 | 4216 | Birkenes | 1 January 1838 | 0928 Birkenes | ||
14 | 4217 | Åmli | 1 January 1838 | 0929 Åmli | ||
15 | 4218 | Iveland | 1 January 1886 | 0935 Iveland | ||
16 | 4219 | Evje og Hornnes | 1 January 1960 | 0937 Evje og Hornnes | ||
17 | 4220 | Bygland | 1 January 1838 | 0938 Bygland | ||
18 | 4221 | Valle | 1 January 1838 | 0940 Valle | ||
19 | 4222 | Bykle | 1 January 1902 | 0941 Bykle | ||
20 | 4223 | Vennesla | 1 January 1864 | 1014 Vennesla | Vest-Agder | |
21 | 4224 | Åseral | 1 January 1838 | 1026 Åseral | ||
22 | 4225 | Lyngdal | 1 January 1838 | 1027 Audnedal 1032 Lyngdal | ||
23 | 4226 | Hægebostad | 1 January 1838 | 1034 Hægebostad | ||
24 | 4227 | Kvinesdal | 1 January 1838 | 1037 Kvinesdal | ||
25 | 4228 | Sirdal | 1 January 1849 | 1046 Sirdal |
History
Norway of the Viking Age was divided into petty kingdoms ruled by chiefs who contended for land, maritime supremacy, or political ascendance and sought alliances or control through marriage with other royal families, either voluntary or forced. These circumstances produced the generally turbulent and heroic lives recorded in the Heimskringla.
For example, the Ynglinga saga tells us that Harald Redbeard, chief of Agðir, refused his daughter Åsa to Gudröd Halvdanson, on which event Gudröd invaded Agðir, killed Harald and his son Gyrd, and took Åsa whether she would or no. She bore a son, Halvdan (the Black), and later arranged to have Gudröd assassinated. Among the royal families, these events seem to have been rather ordinary. Her word was the last in the argument, as her grandson, Harald Fairhair, unified Norway.
- Kings of Agder
- Legendary Kings
- Monarchs of Agder (790–987)
- Harald Granraude, 7??–815, father of Åsa
- Åsa, between 815 and 834–838, mother of Halfdan the Black
- Harald Fairhair, from 838
- Kjotve the Rich, late 9th century
- Harald Gudrødsson Grenske, 976–987
Prior to the Viking Age is a gap in the region's history for a few hundred years, but in Jordanes we also find regions of the same but earlier forms of names, presumably also petty kingdoms under now unknown chiefs. The previous most credible source, Ptolemy, gives the briefest of sketches, only citing all of Norway as the Chaedini ("country people"). Perhaps the difference between kingdoms was not sufficiently important to cite them individually.
Prior to then the most credible and respected source,
It seems clear that in the
After the unification of Norway by Harold Fairhair and army and allies in the 10th century, all the civitates became provinces (fylker) and after their conversion to Christianity, they became dioceses or parishes. The development of Old Norse into local dialects and the dissimilation of customs due to isolation added an ethnic flavor to the area, which is cherished today.
References
- ^ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
- ^ "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
- Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
- ^ "Arealstatistikk for Norge". Kartverket (in Norwegian Bokmål). 2013-03-08. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
- ^ "Dette er Norges nye regioner". www.vg.no. 21 February 2017.
- ^ Store norske leksikon. "Agder"(in Norwegian). Retrieved 2016-12-31.
- ^ Völundarhúsins, Freyia. "Augandzi (The Tribe and Kingdom of Agder, Norway)". Retrieved 2016-12-31.
- ^ "Indo-European Roots Appendix". The American Heritage Dictionary. Retrieved 2016-12-31.