Vestre Moland is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1962. The area is now part of Lillesand Municipality in the traditional district of Sørlandet in Agder county. The administrative centre was the village of Møglestu where the Vestre Moland Church. Today, the area of the old Vestre Moland Municipality covers the northern part of Lillesand Municipality.
Prior to its dissolution in 1962, the municipality was the 532nd largest by area out of the 731 municipalities in Norway. Vestre Moland Municipality was the 393rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 10.6% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The parish of Vestre Moland was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1865, Vestre Moland Municipality was divided as follows: the southwestern district (population: ) became the new Høvaag Municipality and the northeastern district (population: ) continued as a smaller Vestre Moland Municipality.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Vestre Moland Municipality was dissolved and the following areas were merged to form an enlarged Lillesand Municipality:
all of Vestre Moland Municipality (population: ) all of Høvåg Municipality (population: ) the town of Lillesand (population: ) the Gitmark farm area from Eide Municipality (population: )
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Moland farm (), since the first Vestre Moland Church was built there. The prefix (which means "western") was added to differentiate the place from Austre Moland Municipality which was located a little further north along the coast of Norway in the present-day Arendal Municipality. The first element of the name is derived from the river . The river name comes from the Old Norse word which means "brave" or "courageous". The last element is which means "land" or "district".
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Vestre Moland Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Vestre Moland prestegjeld and the Vest-Nedenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder.
Churches in Vestre Moland MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtVestre MolandVestre Moland ChurchMøglestuJustøy ChapelBrekkestø1884
Geography Vestre Moland Municipality included the island of Justøya and the mainland area surrounding the ladested of Lillesand. It also included the lake Austre Grimevannet found in the north and the Blindleia inland waterway which is located along the coast. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Hisåsen in the northern part of the municipality.
Government While it existed, Vestre Moland Municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Sand District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Vestre Moland Municipality was made up of 21 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
Mayors The mayor () of Vestre Moland Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1838–1839: Rev. Jacob Fridrichsen 1840–1841: Daniel Isefjær 1842–1843: Hans Christensen Kjøstvedt 1844–1845: Henrik Heldal 1846–1847: Jacob E. Glamsland 1848–1851: John T. Flørenes 1852–1855: Andreas Nicolai Gregersen 1856–1857: Arnt Tobias Abrahamsen Fleseid 1858–1861: Jacob Nielsen Stendahl 1862–1867: Jens Nilsen Flørenes 1868–1869: Osmund H. Glamsland 1870–1871: Osmund Sangereid 1872–1873: Osmund H. Glamsland 1874–1875: Osmund Sangereid 1876–1885: Johannes Andreas Henschien (MV) 1886–1887: Erik Grønneberg 1888–1899: Syvert Songe (V) 1900–1913: Tønnes Andreas Birknes (V) 1914–1916: Johan Skalle (H) 1917–1922: Henrik Gauslaa (Bp) 1923–1925: Johannes Wiborg (H) 1926–1926: Nils Rosenberg (V) 1926–1937: Daniel Svendsen (V) 1938–1940: Emil Holte (V) 1941–1943: Anders Nyberg (NS) 1943–1945: Nils Unander (NS) 1945–1947: Emil Holte (V) 1948–1955: Birger Gauslaa (V) 1956–1959: Fridtjof Lundemoen (V) 1960–1961: Birger Gauslaa (V)
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References
External links 1960 census and map of the municipality (page 4)