Tovdal

Tovdal (historic: Lille Topdal) is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The 377-square-kilometre (146 sq mi) municipality existed from 1908 until its dissolution in 1967. Tovdal municipality was made up of the valley surrounding the river Tovdalselva and since 1967 it has been a part of the present-day municipality of Åmli which is now in Agder county. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Hillestad where the Tovdal Church is located.[1]

Tovdal herred
Lille Topdal herred (historic)
Former municipality
View of Tovdal Church and the river Tovdalselva
View of Tovdal Church and the river Tovdalselva
Official logo of Tovdal herred
Aust-Agder within
Norway
Tovdal within Aust-Agder
Tovdal within Aust-Agder
Coordinates: 58°48′24″N 08°10′30″E
CountryNorway
CountyAust-Agder
DistrictØstre Agder
Established1 Jan 1908
 • Preceded byÅmli Municipality
Disestablished1 Jan 1967
 • Succeeded byÅmli Municipality
Administrative centreHillestad
Area
 (upon dissolution)[1]
 • Total377 km2 (146 sq mi)
Population
 (1967)
 • Total161
 • Density0.43/km2 (1.1/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-0931
Data from Statistics Norway

History

The parish of Lille Topdal was a part of the municipality of Åmli when civil municipalities were created in Norway on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The municipality of Lille Topdal was established on 1 January 1908 when the municipality of Åmli was split into three separate municipalities: Lille Topdal (population: 389), Gjevedal (population: 590), and Åmli (population: 2,024). In 1922, the name of the municipality was changed from Lille Topdal to Tovdal. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1967, Tovdal (population: 161) was merged back into the municipality of Åmli. At the time of its dissolution, Tovdal was the smallest municipality in Norway by population.[1][2]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) was first named "Lille Topdal" after the Topdalen valley (Old Norse: Þofnardalr). The first element comes from the old name for the local river Tovdalselva. That name is likely derived from the word þúfa which means "mound" or "tuft". The last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale". The prefix of the name is lille which means "little". In 1922, the name was changed to "Tovdal" to more accurately represent the local pronunciation of the name.[3]

Government

While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.[4]

Municipal council

The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Tovdal was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.

Tovdal herredsstyre 1964–1967 [5]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 4
  Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister) 6
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 3
Total number of members:13
Tovdal herredsstyre 1960–1963 [6]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 4
  Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister) 5
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 4
Total number of members:13
Tovdal herredsstyre 1956–1959 [7]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 4
  Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) 4
  Liberal Party (Venstre) 3
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 2
Total number of members:13
Tovdal herredsstyre 1952–1955 [8]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 4
  Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) 4
  Liberal Party (Venstre) 4
Total number of members:12
Tovdal herredsstyre 1948–1951 [9]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 5
  Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) 4
  Liberal Party (Venstre) 3
Total number of members:12
Tovdal herredsstyre 1945–1947 [10]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 12
Total number of members:12
Tovdal herredsstyre 1938–1941* [11]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 6
  Joint list of the Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) and the Liberal Party (Venstre) 6
Total number of members:12
Note: Due to the German occupation of Norway during World War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945.

See also

References
  1. Thorsnæs, Geir, ed. (8 December 2017). "Tovdal". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  2. Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
  3. Rygh, Oluf (1905). Norske gaardnavne: Nedenes amt (in Norwegian) (8 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 52.
  4. Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  5. "Kommunevalgene 1963" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1964. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  6. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1959" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1960. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  7. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  8. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  9. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  10. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  11. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938. Retrieved 21 December 2020.

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