Vegårshei is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative center is the village of Myra. Other villages in Vegårshei include Mo and Ubergsmoen.

The municipality is the 249th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Vegårshei Municipality is the 267th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of . The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 10.7% over the previous 10-year period. The population of Vegårshei Municipality reached its highest point in 1930, with residents.

General information

Administrative history The parish of Vegaardsheien (later spelled "Vegårshei") was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The borders of the municipality have not changed since that time (which is pretty rare among municipalities in Norway).

In 2020, there were many municipal and county mergers across Norway due to the work of the Solberg cabinet. Historically, this municipality was part of the old Aust-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 name for the area () since the first Vegårshei Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the lake Vegår. The meaning of the lake name is uncertain. One theory is that it comes from the word which means "pagan sanctuary". Another theory is that it comes from the verb which means "to consecrate" or "to dedicate". The last element is which means "heath" or "moor". Historically, the name was spelled as Wegaardsheien or Vegaardsheien, and sometimes it was abbreviated as simply Heien.

On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Vegaarshei. On 21 December 1917, a royal resolution enacted the 1917 Norwegian language reforms. Prior to this change, the name was spelled Vegaarshei with the digraph "aa", and after this reform, the name was spelled Vegårshei, using the letter å instead.

Coat of arms The coat of arms was granted on 30 April 1987. The official blazon is "Gules, a fox sejant argent" (). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a fox. The fox has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The fox was chosen as a representative of the local wildlife and also for the fox farming in the municipality. The arms were designed by Daniel Rike. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches The Church of Norway has one parish () within Vegårshei Municipality. It is part of the Aust-Nedenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

Churches in Vegårshei MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtVegårsheiVegårshei ChurchMyra1808

Geography Vegårshei Municipality is bordered on the north by Nissedal Municipality (in Telemark county) and Gjerstad Municipality, on the east by Risør Municipality, on the south by Tvedestrand Municipality, and on the west by Åmli Municipality. The lake Vegår dominates the northern part of the hilly and forested municipality. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Hovdefjell, located very close to the border with Froland Municipality.

Government Vegårshei 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 Vegårshei 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 Vegårshei Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:

1838–1839: Ole Olsen Vormvik 1840–1841: Tjøstel Grundesen Espeland 1842–1843: Halvor Olsen Moland 1844–1845: Ole Olsen Vormvik 1846–1847: Ole Knutsen Leiulvstad 1848–1849: Gunnar Knutsen Kvifte 1849–1853: Jens Andersen Myre 1853–1855: Eilev Torjussen Vieli 1856–1859: Tjøstel Pedersen Aas 1859–1863: Tallak Larsen Lauvnes 1864–1865: Tallak Knutsen Moland 1866–1867: Tjøstel Pedersen Aas 1868–1869: Stian Nilsen Nærestad 1869–1873: Tallak Larsen Lauvnes 1874–1877: Ole K. Vormvik 1877–1881: Nils Gunnarsen Grasaasen 1882–1889: Knut Tjøstelsen Aas 1890–1897: Gr. Simonstad 1898–1901: Knut Tjøstelsen Aas 1902–1904: Ole K. Leiulvstad 1905–1907: Knut Tjøstelsen Aas 1907–1919: Torjus Værland (V) 1920–1922: Ole O. Vaaje 1923–1925: Lars T. Espeland (V) 1926–1928: Anders Holen 1929–1931: Lars T. Espeland (V) 1932–1934: Anders Holen 1935–1936: Haakon Sommerset 1936–1937: Tjøstolv Peder Colbjørnsen 1937–1940: Lars T. Espeland (V) 1941–1945: Knut Værland (NS) 1945–1945: Lars T. Espeland (V) 1946–1955: Knut Lauve (Ap) 1955–1959: Knut Adolf Moland (Ap) 1959–1967: Olaf Moland (Ap) 1967–1979: Paul Reine (V) 1979–1987: Torjus Vierli (H) 1987–1995: Tjøstolv Peder Colbjørnsen (KrF) 1995–1999: Kjell Wedø (H) 1999–2003: Tjøstolv Peder Colbjørnsen (KrF) 2003–2011: Maya Twedt Berli (Ap) 2011–2015: Kjetil Torp (KrF) 2015–2019: Kirsten Helen Myren (Sp) 2019–present: Kjetil Torp (KrF)

Economy As of 2019, public administration and the service sector, are most important in regard to employment; the retail industry and entities that have hotel services and those that serve food and beverages, constitute 11% of employment; agriculture and forestry accounts for 9% of employment; manufacturing accounts for 7% of employment—21% including those employed in construction and those employed in the energy sector and public utilities. Of the inhabitants that are employed, 55% have employment outside the municipal borders.

It is well-suited for hunting and fishing for residents and tourists alike.

Transportation The Sørlandsbanen railway line runs through the municipality, stopping at Vegårshei Station, just north of the village of Myra. There are several Norwegian county roads that cross the municipality, connecting it to its neighbors. Some of the roads include Norwegian County Road 414, Norwegian County Road 415, Norwegian County Road 416, and Norwegian County Road 417.

Notable people Lars Vegard (1880 in Vegårshei – 1963), a physicist and researcher of the aurora borealis Ole Colbjørnsen (1897in Vegårshei – 1973), a journalist, economist, and politician Tjostolv Moland (1981 in Vegårshei – 2013 in Kinshasa), a former Norwegian army officer and security contractor

References

External links Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway