Hægebostad is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tingvatn. Other villages in the municipality include Eiken, Haddeland, Skeie, and Snartemo. The municipality encompasses the northern end of the Lyngdalen valley which follows the river Lygna.

The Sørlandet Line railroad runs through the municipality from east to west, stopping at Snartemo Station in Snartemo. To get into and out of the valley in which Hægebostad is located, the trains must go through two of the longest railway tunnels in Norway: Hægebostad Tunnel and Kvineshei Tunnel.

The municipality is the 214th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Hægebostad Municipality is the 297th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of . The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 5.4% over the previous 10-year period.

Nine units of sheltered housing are under construction in Hægebostad (in 2022) after the previous ones were demolished.

History

The parish of Hægebostad was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1916 the large Hægebostad Municipality was divided into two separate municipalities: the northern district (population: 932) became the new Eiken Municipality and the southern district (population: 867) continued as a smaller Hægebostad Municipality.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1963, Eiken Municipality (population: 784) was dissolved and merged (back) into Hægebostad Municipality. Prior to the merger, Hægebostad Municipality had 813 residents.

Historically, this municipality was part of the old Vest-Agder county. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became a part of the newly-formed Agder county (after Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder counties were merged).

Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Hægebostad farm () since the first Hægebostad Church was built there. This farm is now on the north side of the village of Snartemo. The first element is which means "holy". The last element is the plural form of which means "homestead" or "farm". Before 1889, the name was written Hegebostad.

Coat of arms The coat of arms was granted on 4 April 1986. The official blazon is "Gules, two swords Or, points to the base" (). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is two swords that are pointing downwards. The swords have a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The swords represent the two swords of Snartemo and Eiken dating from the 4th–6th century that were found in the municipality. The swords were highly decorated with silver and gold, but the ones on the arms are a more stylized heraldic design. The arms were designed by John Digernes. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Geography Hægebostad is an inland municipality, with Åseral Municipality to the northeast, Kvinesdal Municipality to the west, and Lyngdal Municipality to the south and east. The municipality covers the upper Lyngdalen valley from the mountains in the north, along the river Lygna to Lyngdal Municipality]] in the south. The lake Lygne lies in the central part of the municipality. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Oddevassheia in the northern part of the municipality.

Climate

Government Hægebostad Municipality is 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 is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council The municipal council () of Hægebostad Municipality is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors The mayor () of Hægebostad Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:

1838–1839: Torstein Torkelsen Urestad 1840–1841: Aasulv O. Bryggesaa 1842–1845: Tarald T. Jaadland 1846–1847: Torgeir Taraldsen Birkeland 1848–1849: Tarald T. Jaadland 1850–1853: Torgeir Taraldsen Birkeland 1854–1855: Aasulv Vik 1856–1857: Tarald T. Jaadland 1858–1859: Torgeir Taraldsen Birkeland 1860–1862: Hans Jakob Rolvsen 1863–1865: Torgeir Taraldsen Birkeland 1866–1867: Lars S. Haaberg 1868–1869: Olav Aasulvsen Bryggesaa 1870–1873: Torgeir Taraldsen Birkeland 1874–1875: Olav Aasulvsen Bryggesaa 1876–1879: Jon Olsen Ro 1880–1884: Arnstein Kristensen Tingvatne 1885–1885: Gunnleiv Aasulvsen Vik 1886–1887: Olav Paulsen Hobbesland 1888–1889: Arnstein Kristensen Tingvatne 1889–1902: Aasulv Olsen Bryggesaa (V) 1902–1908: Jon J. Snartemo 1908–1912: Knut Tobiassen Steinsland 1913–1916: Torkild Flottorp 1917–1919: Olav T. Mydland 1920–1929: Ole Aanensen Birkeland 1929–1931: Johannes Jensen Eilevstad 1931–1940: Knut Bjærum 1941–1941: Torstein Hamran 1943–1945: Olav Rolvsen 1945–1945: Knut Bjærum 1946–1947: Olav T. Bryggeså 1947–1951: Arthur Gysland 1951–1955: Olav T. Bryggeså 1955–1959: Anders Hommen (Ap) 1959–1965: Martin Klungland (LL) 1965–1967: Sverre Eiken 1967–1971: Olav Audvin Meland (Sp) 1971–1975: Martin Klungland (LL) 1975–1979: Lars Asbjørn Bryggeså (LL) 1979–1987: Gunnar Eikeland (H) 1987–1995: John Fidjeland (KrF) 1995–1999: Gunnar Eikeland (H) 1999–2011: Ånen Werdal (H) 2007–2011: John Fidjeland (KrF) 2011–2015: Ånen Werdal (H) 2015–2023: Margrethe Handeland (Sp) 2023–present: Jan Petter Gysland (H)

Culture Churches The Church of Norway has two parishes () within Hægebostad Municipality. It is part of the Lister og Mandal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

Churches in Hægebostad MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtEikenEiken ChurchEiken1817HægebostadHægebostad ChurchSnartemo1844

Notable people Johan Arnt Wenaas (1941 in Hægebostad – 2015), a priest and writer

References

External links Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway Municipal website