Evje is a
former municipality in the old
Aust-Agder county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. The municipality
existed from 1877 until 1960. It was located in what is now the eastern part of the present-day municipality of
Evje og Hornnes in the
Setesdal valley of
Agder county. The
administrative centre
An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located.
In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgi ...
was the village of
Evje where the
Evje Church is located.
The lake
Høvringsvatnet is located about northeast of the village.
History
The municipality of Evje was created on 1 January 1877 when the old municipality of
Evje og Vegusdal was divided into Evje (population: 870) and
Vegusdal (population: 935). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the
Schei Committee
The Schei Committee () was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a ...
. On 1 January 1960, Evje (population: 1,646) was merged with the neighboring municipality of
Hornnes (population: 1,280) to form the new municipality of
Evje og Hornnes.
Name
The municipality (originally the
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
) is named after the old ''
Evje'' farm () since the first
Evje Church was built there. The name is identical to the word which means "
backwater" or "mud" (likely referring to a shallow, backwater part of the local river
Otra).
Government
While it existed, this municipality was responsible for
primary education
Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...
(through 10th grade), outpatient
health services
Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...
,
senior citizen
Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...
services,
unemployment,
social services
Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...
,
zoning
In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for ...
,
economic development
In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...
, and municipal
road
A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved.
Th ...
s. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a
municipal council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...
of
directly elected representatives. The
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
was
indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.
Municipal council
The
municipal council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...
of Evje was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political
party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...
.
Mayors
The
mayors () of Evje:
*1877-1877: Salve E. Bjoraa
*1878-1881: Ola N. Løvland
*1882-1893: Ola G. Lauvland
*1894-1901: Ola N. Galteland
*1902-1910: Ola N. Løvland
*1910-1919: Eirik S. Bjoraa
*1920-1922: Nils T. Odde
*1923-1925: Ola N. Galteland
*1926-1928: John A. Syrtveit
*1928-1940:
Torvald Haavardstad
*1945-1959:
Torvald Haavardstad
Notable people
*
Torvald Haavardstad (1893–1965), a Norwegian
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
*
Helena Iren Michaelsen (born 1977), a Norwegian rock singer
See also
*
List of former municipalities of Norway
References
External links
*
{{use dmy dates, date=December 2020
Setesdal
Evje og Hornnes
Former municipalities of Norway
1877 establishments in Norway
1960 disestablishments in Norway