Herefoss (municipality)

Herefoss is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1967 when it was merged into Birkenes municipality in what is now Agder county. Herefoss was a 148-square-kilometre (57 sq mi) area surrounding the Herefossfjorden (part of the river Tovdalselva). The administrative centre was the village of Herefoss where the Herefoss Church is located. The other main village was Søre Herefoss, located in the southern part of the municipality.[1]

Herefoss herred
Former municipality
View of the village of Herefoss
Aust-Agder within
Norway
Herefoss within Aust-Agder
Coordinates: 58.5243°N 08.3511°E / 58.5243; 08.3511
CountryNorway
CountyAust-Agder
Established1 Jan 1838
Disestablished1 Jan 1967
Administrative centreHerefoss
Area
 • Total148 km2 (57 sq mi)
 *Area at municipal dissolution.
Population
 (1967)
 • Total585
 • Density4.0/km2 (10/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-0933
Created asFormannskapsdistrikt in 1838
Succeeded byBirkenes in 1967
Data from Statistics Norway

History

The municipality of Heirefos was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1900, 610 people lived in the municipality on 67 different farms. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1967, Herefoss (population: 585) was merged with the neighboring municipalities of Birkenes (population: 1,883) and Vegusdal (population: 582), forming the new municipality of Birkenes with its administrative centre located at Birkeland.[2]

Herefoss was historically the seat of public officials in this region. The fogd resided here from 1680 to 1820, and the sorenskriver (district judge) also lived here from 1724 to 1852. Herefoss was established as a prestegjeld in 1875. Herefoss Church was consecrated by Bishop Jacob von der Lippe in 1865.[3]

Name

The first documented occurrence of the name Hegrafoss stems from 1487, and the Old Norse form of the name must then have been Hegrafors. The first element is the genitive case of the bird name hegri (grey heron) (same as the local river name, Hegra), and the last element is fors which means "waterfall". Later, it was spelled Heirefos and ultimately Herefoss.[4]

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Herefoss, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality was governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elected a mayor.[5]

Municipal council

The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Herefoss was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

Herefoss Herredsstyre 1964–1967 [6]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)6
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)2
 Centre Party (Senterpartiet)4
 Liberal Party (Venstre)1
Total number of members:13
Herefoss Herredsstyre 1960–1963 [7]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)6
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)3
 Centre Party (Senterpartiet)4
Total number of members:13
Herefoss Herredsstyre 1956–1959 [8]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)5
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)4
 Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)4
Total number of members:13
Herefoss Herredsstyre 1952–1955 [9]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)5
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)2
 Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)5
Total number of members:12
Herefoss Herredsstyre 1948–1951 [10]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)5
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)3
 Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)4
Total number of members:12
Herefoss Herredsstyre 1945–1947 [11]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)6
 Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)4
 Joint list of the Liberal Party (Venstre) and
the Radical People's Party (Radikale Folkepartiet)		2
Total number of members:12
Herefoss Herredsstyre 1938–1941* [12]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)5
 Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)4
 Liberal Party (Venstre)3
Total number of members:12

See also

References
  1. Thorsnæs, Geir, ed. (29 January 2016). "Herefoss". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  2. Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. "Herefoss kommune". LokalhistorieWiki.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  4. Rygh, Oluf (1905). Norske gaardnavne: Nedenes amt (in Norwegian) (8 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 71.
  5. Hansen, Tore, ed. (12 May 2016). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  6. "Kommunevalgene 1963" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1964. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  7. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1959" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1960. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  8. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  9. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  10. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  11. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  12. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938. Retrieved 21 December 2020.

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