Evje og Hornnes

Rural landscape of the municipality

View of the Fennefoss area

Evje Church

During the 1960s, Norway enacted many municipal reforms such as mergers and border adjustments due to the work of the Schei Committee, and the municipality of Evje og Hornnes was established during this time. On 1 January 1960, the neighboring municipalities of Evje (population: 1,646) and Hornnes (population: 1,280) were merged to form Evje og Hornnes. On 1 January 1986, the Lislevand farm area (population: 8) was transferred from neighboring Birkenes municipality to Evje og Hornnes.[5] On 1 January 2019, the Hovlandsdalen area (population: 27) was transferred from neighboring Birkenes municipality to Evje og Hornnes.[6]

The Flåt mine in Evje og Hornnes municipality was Europe's largest nickel mine for a period. Flåt mine came into operation in 1844 as a copper mine. From 1872 until 1946 it was mined for nickel. At the point operations were terminated, it was 422 metres (1,385 ft) deep (reaching below sea level). Over 3 million tons of ore were removed and refined into 14,500 tonnes (14,300 long tons; 16,000 short tons) of copper and 20,000 tonnes (20,000 long tons; 22,000 short tons) of nickel. Local mining technology and mine history can be seen at the museum at Fennefoss, just outside of the village of Evje.

Evjemoen was a Norwegian military camp in use from 1912 to 2002. The camp lies south of Evje, on the eastern shore of the river Otra. From 1953 to 1995, Evjemoen was used as a training area for Infanteriets øvingsavdeling II (IØ2). The camp was retired in December 2002.

Evje og Hornnes is bordered by the municipalities of Bygland and Froland to the northeast and by Birkenes and Iveland to the southeast. To the west it is bounded by Åseral and Lyngdal and to the south by Lindesnes and Vennesla municipalities.

The Otra river which flows through Evje og Hornnes is the largest river in the Sørlandet district. It flows from the Setesdalsheiene mountains to the north in Bykle municipality down to the municipality of Kristiansand in the south. The lake Kilefjorden is part of the Otra river, along the southern part of the municipality.

The lake Gyvatn is located along the border with Bygland and Åseral. The lake Høvringsvatnet is located about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) northeast of the municipal center of Evje. The lake Byglandsfjorden has its southernmost point in the northern part of the municipality.

All municipalities in Norway are 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.[12] The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

The Evje og Hornnes municipality is situated at the southwestern margin of the Baltic Shield, the exposed section of the East European craton. Rocks in the area are dominated by different types of precambrian gneis and a large metagabbro body stretching into the neighboring Iveland municipality.

During the final stages of Sveconorwegian (0.9–1.1 gigaannum) orogeny, a large pluton of granitic/monzonitic composition was emplaced in the northern part of the municipality and is assumed to have a relationship with the thousands of pegmatite veins in the Evje-Iveland area.

Earlier during the Sveconorwegian orogeny, mafic rocks (gabbro-diorite) were emplaced. Most of the gabbro has been affected by the Sveconorwegian orogeny and became a metagabbro (amfibolite) with only minor remnants of the original gabbro. The Flåt Nickel Mine is situated at the north-western margin in a diorite intrusion post-dating the gabbro.

The pegmatites of the Evje-Iveland area have become worldwide known for a large number of rare and often crystallized minerals.

The pegmatites were initially mined for quartz, used in the melter at Fennefoss to extract the nickel from the ore from the Flåt Nickel Mine. Later, large quantities of feldspar were mined for use in the ceramic industry, both in Norway and abroad. Also mica (muscovite), beryl, rare-earth minerals, scandium ore, and minor quantities of uranium ore were mined.

After 1983, almost all mines were abandoned, and nowadays only minor quantities of "tannspat" or dentalspat are mined in a couple of mines. This is microcline or plagioclase feldspar of very high purity and used to make porcelain teeth-fillings or dentures. The tannspat is exported to Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, and sometimes Japan.

A number of the mines is still open to mineral collectors.

The area is internationally known for its geology and its mineral richness. Deposits of nickel, quartz, feldspar, mica, beryl, REE minerals, scandium, and uranium ore have been exploited. Nowadays only ultra-pure feldspar for dental applications is being mined.

Tourism is a major source of income for the entire area. During the summer, many thousands of tourist visit Evje. Outdoor activities in the area include rafting, rock climbing, biking, cross-country skiing, kayaking, canoeing, paddling, water skiing, riverboarding, swimming, fishing, mineral collecting, and mine excursions. Additionally, there are several museums and farms open to visitors.

The shopping center of Evje is of regional importance. In addition, there is some industry in Evje. One such industry is Skibsplast, a producer of fiberglass boats.

• Jørgen Løvland (1848 in Evje – 1922), an educator and Prime Minister of Norway 1907 to 1908
• Torleiv Hannaas (1874 in Hornnes – 1929), a Norwegian philologist and academic
• Torvald Haavardstad (1893 in Evje – 1965), a teacher, church singer, and long-time mayor of Evje
• Geir Kjetsaa (1937–2008), a professor in Russian literary history who grew up and died in Hornnes
• Per Sefland (born 1949 in Evje), a police officer who served in various police roles and as Governor of Svalbard
• Helena Iren Michaelsen (born 1977 in Evje), a singer-songwriter with symphonic metal band Imperia

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Evje og Hornnes.

Look up Evje og Hornnes in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Evje og Hornnes www.visitnorway.com (in English)
• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway (in Norwegian)
• Aust-Agder travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Municipal website (in Norwegian)
• Setesdal.com (in Norwegian)
• Kultur i Evje og Hornnes på kart (map) (in Norwegian)
• Evje og Hornnes Geomuseum på Fennefoss (in Norwegian)
• Iveland Kommunehus (in Norwegian)
• Setesdal Mineralpark (in Norwegian)