Flekkefjord () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Agder Agder is a counties of Norway, county () and districts of Norway, traditional region in the southern part of Norway and is coextensive with the Southern Norway region. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Au ...

county,

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 ...

. It is located in the traditional district of Lister. 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 ...

of the municipality is the town of Flekkefjord. The villages of Sira,

Gyland Gyland is a village in the municipality of Flekkefjord in Agder county in Norway. It is located in the northeastern part of Flekkefjord along the river Gylandselva, just a short distance north of the lake Kumlevollvatnet. The Sørlandet Line run ...

Rasvåg Rasvåg is a fishing village in Flekkefjord municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is one of two harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our ...

Kirkehavn Kirkehamn or Kirkehavn (literally: ''Church harbour'') is a fishing village in Flekkefjord municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is one of two harbours on the Norwegian island Hidra. Kirkehamn lies on the west end of the island, wh ...

, and

Åna-Sira Åna-Sira is a village in southwestern Norway, sitting mostly in Sokndal municipality in Rogaland county, but a small portion lies in Flekkefjord municipality in Agder county. The village is located at the mouth of the river Sira where it flows s ...

are located in Flekkefjord. Flekkefjord is the westernmost municipality of the geographical region of

Sørlandet Southern Norway (; lit. "The Southland") is the geographical List of regions of Norway, region (''landsdel'') along the Skagerrak coast of southern Norway. The region is an informal description since it does not have any governmental function ...

. Flekkefjord is approximately midway between the cities of

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

and

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

, located along

European route E39 European route E39 is the designation of a north–south road in Norway and Denmark from Klett, just south of Trondheim (city), Trondheim, to Aalborg via Bergen, Stavanger and Kristiansand. In total, there are nine ferries, more than any other ...

and the

Sørlandet Line The Sørlandet Line () is a railway line between Drammen (though this is connected to Oslo by means of the Drammen Line) via Kristiansand to Stavanger. The line is long between Oslo and Stavanger. History The railway was constructed in several ...

. The municipality is the 198th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Flekkefjord is the 121st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 9,216. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

is and its population has increased by 1.7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The small town of Flekkefjord was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...

law). In 1942, a part of the municipality of

Nes The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

(population: 377) was transferred to the town of Flekkefjord. On 1 January 1965, there was a major municipal merger 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 that date, the rural municipalities of Bakke (except the Øksendal area),

, Hidra, and

were merged with the town of Flekkefjord, creating a new, much larger municipality of Flekkefjord with about 8,800 people. On 1 January 1987, the Virak and Espetveit areas of northern Flekkefjord (population: 41) were transferred to

Sirdal Sirdal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the northwestern part of the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Lister Region, Lister. The administrative centre of the mun ...

municipality.

Name

The municipality (and town) is named after the local

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

called the ''Flekkefjorden''. The first element of the name comes from the name of the old ''Flikke'' farm () since it is located near the fjord. That name is the plural form of the word which has an unknown meaning. The last element is which means "

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

for Flekkefjord are rather old (compared with most Norwegian municipal arms). They were granted around the year 1855. The

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

is ''" Or, a sailing ship above four

barrulet In English heraldry, the bar is an heraldic ordinary consisting of a horizontal band extending across the shield. In form, it closely resembles the fess but differs in breadth: the bar occupies one-fifth of the breadth of the field of the escutch ...

s wavy

gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). Gules is portrayed in heraldic hatch ...

"''. This means the arms have a

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

(background) has a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

is a

pilot boat A pilot boat is a type of boat used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting. Pilot boats were once sailing boats that had to be fast because the first pilot to reach the incoming ship ...

above four wavy stripes symbolizing the sea. The arms have a

mural crown A mural crown () is a Crown (headgear), crown or headpiece representing city walls, fortified tower, towers, or fortresses. In classical antiquity, it was an emblem of tutelary deities who watched over a city, and among the ancient Rome, Romans ...

above the shield. The arms were originally proposed in 1855 and they were described as a

on the

sea A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

. It specifically is like the pilot boats that Colin Archer made during that time period. The original proposal showed a boat on a very natural sea, using all in natural colours. The present shape of the boat and the more heraldically correct arms date from 1899. The arms were designed by an unknown designer. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms. In 2023, the design of the arms was updated slightly. The flag on the boat was made to look more wavy, a single black stripe is on the sails, and a pilot is more visible at the rear of the boat.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

has four parishes () within the municipality of Flekkefjord. It is part of the Lister og Mandal prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

) in the

Diocese of Agder og Telemark The Diocese of Agder og Telemark () is a diocese of the Church of Norway, covering all of Agder county and Telemark county in Norway. The cathedral city is Kristiansand, Norway's fifth largest city. Kristiansand Cathedral serves as the seat of t ...

Geography

The municipality is located in southwestern

county, along the border with

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...

county and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

to the southwest. It is bounded by

Sokndal Sokndal is the southernmost List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Dalane. The administrative centre of the municipality is the vil ...

and

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

municipalities (in

county) to the west across the river Sira, by

municipality to the north, and by

Kvinesdal Kvinesdal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Lister Region, Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the villa ...

municipality to the east. The town of

Flekkefjord Flekkefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Lister Region, Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the ...

is located near the southern coast of the municipality in a fjord. It straddles the narrow

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

which connects the Flekkefjorden to Grisefjorden. The port is ideal due to the tiny difference in

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

s experienced here. This is a result of its close proximity to the

amphidromic point An amphidromic point, also called a tidal node, is a geographical location where there is little or no difference in sea height between high tide and low tide; it has zero tidal amplitude for one harmonic constituent of the tide. The tidal ra ...

outside

Eigersund Eigersund is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Dalane. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Egersund. The tow ...

. The lakes

Kumlevollvatnet Kumlevollvatnet or Kongevollvatnet is a lake in the municipality of Flekkefjord in Agder county, Norway. The lake lies along the river Fedaelva, just south of Gyland and about northeast of the town of Flekkefjord. See also *List of lakes in ...

, Lundevatn,

Selura Selura is a lake in the municipality of Flekkefjord in Agder county, Norway. Location The lake is located at an elevation of above sea level and it is about at its deepest. The lake lies immediately northeast of the town of Flekkefjord ...

, and

Sirdalsvatnet Sirdalsvatnet is a lake in the municipalities of Sirdal and Flekkefjord in Agder county, Norway. The lake is about long running from the village of Tonstad in the north to the village of Sira in the south. The lake is about wide at its wid ...

are located in Flekkefjord. The southern coast is dominated by the

Listafjorden Listafjorden is a widely shaped fjord (or bay) between the island of Hidra and the Lista peninsula in Agder county, Norway. The fjord is located in the municipalities Farsund and Flekkefjord. The long and about the same distance wide at its mou ...

and

Fedafjorden Fedafjorden is a fjord in Agder county, Norway. The is located in the municipalities of Kvinesdal, Flekkefjord, and Farsund. The long, narrow fjord runs south from the mouth of the river Kvina to the Listafjorden. The fjord is long and only ...

with the large inhabited islands of Hidra and Andabeløyna lying in the Listafjorden.

Climate

History

Flekkefjord was a landing place from early times. It was mentioned as a town as early as 1580. In 1589,

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

landed there before travelling overland via

Tønsberg Tønsberg (), historically Tunsberg, is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located about south-southwest of the capital city of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near ...

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, where he married Princess

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

, daughter of Frederick II. When Kristiansand was founded in 1641,

Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is the longest in Scandinavian history. A member of the H ...

wanted to assure the economic survival of his new city by moving Flekkefjord residents there. Twice it was sentenced to extinction by royal

decree A decree is a law, legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, monarch, royal figure, or other relevant Authority, authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislativ ...

. But many of the Flekkefjord inhabitants remained and continued to trade. Norway's plentiful stone was a Flekkefjord commodity. In 1736 over 300

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

ships are reported to have carried paving stones from Flekkefjord. By 1750 the

herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...

fishery began in earnest, such that herring and timber dominated the trade. In the 1750s Flekkefjord was the most important Norwegian herring export harbor. In 1760 Flekkefjord petitioned Frederik V to grant a town charter. At that time several ships were home ported there and both sailors and herring fishermen had their homes in this small town that was not officially recognized.

Barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

making (

cooperage A cooper is a craftsman who produces wooden casks, barrels, vats, buckets, tubs, troughs, and other similar containers from timber staves that were usually heated or steamed to make them pliable. Journeymen coopers also traditionally made w ...

) was also an important local trade that served the fishing fleet. During the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

Flekkefjord found a new life as a

smuggler Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

s port, exporting

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

to the

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

-occupied

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

during the period prior to 1807. The unusual tidal condition, the local timber abundance, and a long-term relationship with the Dutch were the reasons behind Flekkefjord's then serving as a smuggler's headquarters. They specialized in the lucrative oak trade, the

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is used for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the navy branch of the armed forces of a nation, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations. As well as b ...

timber in those days. Ships could come and leave Flekkefjord at any hour of the day, without concern for the tides. Prior to 1807, Denmark-Norway had followed a policy of

armed neutrality A neutral country is a state that is neutral towards belligerents in a specific war or holds itself as permanently neutral in all future conflicts (including avoiding entering into military alliances such as NATO, CSTO or the SCO). As a type ...

, using its naval forces only to protect trade flowing within, into, and out of Danish and Norwegian waters. But this changed for the last phase of the Napoleonic Wars when, in the Battle of Copenhagen in 1807, the British preemptively captured large portions of the Danish naval fleet to prevent the French from doing the same. As a result, the Danish government declared war and built small gunboats in large numbers to attack the British. The

Gunboat War The Gunboat War (, , Swedish: ''Kanonbåtskriget''; 1807–1814) was a naval conflict between Denmark–Norway and Great Britain supported by Sweden during the Napoleonic Wars. The war's name is derived from the Danish tactic of employing sm ...

(1807–1814) was the title given to naval conflict between Denmark-Norway against the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

navy. It was natural for Flekkefjord to move from a smuggler's haven to blockade runner's headquarters. The unusual tides there were unknown to the British warships that were blockading the Norwegian coast against Napoleon-supporting ships and this provided the blockade runners a considerable advantage. After the war the Dutch maintained a strong presence in Flekkefjord, and continued exporting oak and

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

. The pine was used mainly to make foundations for the boom in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

house construction; as a result most of Amsterdam's houses from the 19th century are constructed of pines from Flekkefjord exporters. A section of Flekkefjord called 'Hollenderbyen' (town of the Dutch) dates from the 18th century.

Xenotime Xenotime is a rare-earth phosphate mineral, the major component of which is yttrium orthophosphate ( Y P O4). The phosphate ions are described by a tetrahedral shape and coordinate to the center Y3+ metal ion in a way that closely resembles the s ...

, a rare

yttrium Yttrium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Y and atomic number 39. It is a silvery-metallic transition metal chemically similar to the lanthanides and has often been classified as a "rare-earth element". Yttrium is almost a ...

phosphate Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus. In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthop ...

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

whose

chemical formula A chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, such as pare ...

is YPO₄, was discovered in 1832 at Hidra (Hitterø), Flekkefjord. The herring fisheries deserted the coast in 1838, depriving Flekkefjord residents of their main export. Tanning replaced fishing and by 1866 five tanneries were operating in Flekkefjord. The

Flekkefjord Line The Flekkefjord Line () is a abandoned branch line to the Sørland Line. It ran between Sira and Flekkefjord in Agder, Norway. The only current activity on the line is tourist draisines. The station buildings along the line were designed by the ...

railway ran between Sira and Flekkefjord from 1904 to 1990. Flekkefjord and nearby areas are served by

Sørlandet Hospital Flekkefjord Sørlandet Hospital Flekkefjord is a local hospital in Flekkefjord in the far West of Agder County in Norway. It is one of the three main hospitals in southern Norway. Today' the hospital is embodied as a department within the Hospital of Sout ...

that covers population needs for surgery, orthopedics, oncology, gynecology and obstetrics.

Government

Flekkefjord Municipality is 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,

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

and other

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 and utilities. The municipality is 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 ...

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the

Agder District Court Agder District Court () is a district court located in Agder county, Norway. This court is based at three different courthouses which are located in Farsund, Kristiansand, and Arendal. The court is subordinate to the Agder Court of Appeal. The co ...

and the

Agder Court of Appeal The Agder Court of Appeal () is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the town of Skien. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestfold og Telemark and Agder (except for Sirdal Municipality which ...

Municipal council

The

() of Flekkefjord is made up of 35 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and 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 ...

Parliamentary representation

After Flekkefjord acquired

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

status in 1842, it also became a constituency for elections to the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...

. The first representative was elected in 1845: Gerhard Heiberg Garmann. He served for three years before Nils Elias Børresen was elected. He served until 1863, when deputy

Johan Andreas Kraft Johan Andreas Kraft (25 March 1808 – 1896) was a Norwegian physician and politician. He served as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway in the term 1862–1864, representing the urban constituency of Flekkefjord. He sat through on ...

took over for one year. Knud Geelmuyden Fleischer Maartmann served from 1865 to 1866 and 1868 to 1869, and

Elias Didrichsen Elias Didrichsen (12 January 1824 – 18 April 1888) was a Norwegian politician. He was elected to the Parliament of Norway in 1871, representing the urban constituency of Flekkefjord. He was re-elected in 1871, 1874, 1880, 1883 and 1886. He repr ...

served from 1871 to 1888, interrupted by

Thorvald Olsen Thorvald Matheus "Torden" Olsen (30 July 1889 – 2 November 1938) was a Norwegian wrestler and sports official. He became the Norwegian champion in his weight class in 1912, 1914, 1915, and 1918. He became Nordic champion in 1918. He repres ...

who served from 1877 through 1879.

Niels Eyde Niels is a male given name, equivalent to Nicholas, which is common in Denmark, Belgium, Norway (formerly) and the Netherlands. The Norwegian and Swedish variant is Nils. The name is a developed short form of Nicholas or Greek Nikolaos, after Saint ...

, Jakob Stang,

Sivert Hanssen-Sunde Sivert Hanssen-Sunde (19 July 1842 – 2 October 1923) was a Norwegian politician. He was elected to the Parliament of Norway in 1895, representing the urban constituency of Flekkefjord. He worked as a merchant there. He sat through only one term. ...

and Hans Sivert Jacobsen served one three-year term each between 1889 and 1900. Then,

Cornelius Bernhard Hanssen Cornelius Bernhard Hanssen (25 February 1864 – 16 April 1939) was a Norwegian teacher, shipowner and politician for the Liberal Party. He was born in Feda in Vest-Agder, Norway. He was the son of a farmer, and younger brother of politician An ...

served from 1900 to 1921, interrupted by Bernhard Severin Sannerud in the years 1916 through 1918. A law change in 1919 repelled Flekkefjord as a constituency of its own; from then it was a part of the combined constituency

Market towns of Vest-Agder and Rogaland counties The Market towns of Vest-Agder and Rogaland counties () was an electoral district for Stortinget, parliamentary elections in Norway. It comprised the Kjøpstad, market towns () of Flekkefjord (town), Flekkefjord, Kristiansand (town), Kristiansand a ...

Mayors

Mayors in Flekkefjord typically served for one year from the start of local government in 1838. Of the notable early mayors were

Jens Henrik Beer Jens Henrik Beer (11 June 1799 – 22 June 1881) was a Norwegian businessperson, farmer and politician. He was born in Flekkefjord as a son of ship-owner and consul Christopher Beer (1770–1839) and Anne Malene Tjørsvaag (1772–1820). He was a ...

(Parliament member before Flekkefjord became its own constituency) in 1840 and Anders Beer in 1843. Many of the parliamentarians served as mayors: J. A. Kraft in 1842, 1858 and 1859; Børresen in 1846, 1849, 1850, 1852 and 1862; Didrichsen from 1853 to 1857, 1863 to 1870, 1878 to 1879 and 1883 to 1888; Jacobsen in 1889; Hanssen-Sunde from 1893 to 1899; Sannerud from 1906 to 1909 and in 1917; and C. B. Hanssen in 1933, 1936 and 1937. The

mayors 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 ...

() of Flekkefjord: *1838-1838: Ebbe Dreier *1839-1839: Anders Tjørsvaag *1840-1840:

*1841-1841: L.L. Ross *1842-1842:

*1843-1843: Anders Beer *1844-1844: L.L. Ross *1845-1845: J. Saxe *1846-1847: Nils Elias Børresen *1848-1848: Johan Christian Stephanson *1849-1850: Nils Elias Børresen *1851-1851: Johan Christian Stephanson *1852-1852: Nils Elias Børresen *1853-1857:

*1858-1859:

*1860-1860: B.L. Søyland *1861-1861: Inspector Engh *1862-1862: Nils Elias Børresen *1863-1870:

*1871-1877: Hans H.S. Sunde *1878-1879:

*1880-1882: Hans H.S. Sunde *1883-1888:

*1889-1889: Hans Sivert Jacobsen *1890-1892: Ole Z. Torkildsen *1893-1899:

*1900-1900: T. Knudsen *1901-1904: C.T. Berg *1905-1905: J. Olsby *1906-1909: Bernhard Severin Sannerud *1910-1913: J.P.M. Eyde *1914-1916: S. Brække *1918-1918: S. Brække *1919-1919: H.T. Nygaard *1920-1922: Wilhelm E. Kaurin *1923-1924: Børge Ask *1925-1925: Olav Just *1926-1928: Wilhelm E. Kaurin *1929-1931: T.V.H. Undhammer *1932-1932: Wilhelm E. Kaurin *1933-1933:

*1934-1934: T.V.H. Undhammer *1935-1935: Olav Just *1936-1937:

*1938-1938: Olav Just *1939-1939: Wilhelm E. Kaurin *1940-1940: Olav Just *1945-1945: Olav Just *1946-1947: Gustav Selstad *1948-1948: Jens Smith Sunde *1949-1949: Sverre Fredhall *1950-1951: Olaf Søyland *1952-1959: Jakob Modal *1960-1963: Magnus Tonstad *1964-1967: Jakob Modal *1968-1975: Petter J. Peersen *1976-1987:

Kjell Svindland Kjell Svindland (15 April 1933 – 13 January 2025) was a Norwegian politician for the Christian Democratic Party. Life and career Svindland served as a deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from Vest-Agder during the terms 1973–1977 ...

( KrF) *1988-1989:

Sigmund Kroslid Sigmund Kroslid (born 11 October 1947) is a Norwegian politician for the Christian Democratic Party, best known for being the mayor of Flekkefjord for fourteen years. Career He was born in Flekkefjord as a son of David Kroslid and Mathilde Heskes ...

( KrF) *1990-1991: Jan Østreim *1992-1995: Egil Nordmann Eek *1995-2007:

( KrF) *2007-2011: Reidar Gausdal ( V) *2011-2019: Jan Sigbjørnsen ( H) *2019-present: Torbjørn Klungland ( FrP)

Twin towns – sister cities

Flekkefjord is twinned with: *

Bollnäs Bollnäs () is a Swedish locality and the seat of Bollnäs Municipality, in Gävleborg County, Sweden. It has about 14,000 inhabitants.https://bollnas.se/kommun-och-politik/kommunfakta History The first recording of Bollnäs in writing is fro ...

, Sweden (1950) *

Burntisland Burntisland ( , ) is a former Royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland, on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. It was previously known as Wester Kinghorn or Little Kinghorn. The town has a population of 6,269 (2011). Burntisland is known ...

, Scotland, UK (1946) * Elbow Lake, United States (1973) *

Kankaanpää Kankaanpää () is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. Kankaanpää was founded in 1865, became a township in 1967 and finally a town in 1972. It is located in the crossroads of Häm ...

, Finland (1950) * Misburg-Anderten (Hanover), Germany (1971) * Morsø, Denmark (1950)

Notable people

* Jens Henrik Beer Sr. (1731–1808), a ship-owner, sawmill owner, and merchant *

(1799–1881), a ship-owner, sawmill owner, farmer, and politician * Anders Beer (1801–1863), a Norwegian ship-owner, tanner, and agriculturalist * Marie Aarestrup (1826–1919), a painter who specialized in genre and portrait painting *

Peter Waage Peter Waage (29 June 1833 – 13 January 1900) was a Norwegian chemist and professor of chemistry at the University of Kristiania. Along with his brother-in-law Cato Maximilian Guldberg, he co-discovered and developed the law of mass action ...

(1833–1900), a chemist and academic who developed the

law of mass action In chemistry, the law of mass action is the proposition that the rate of a chemical reaction is directly proportional to the product of the activities or concentrations of the reactants. It explains and predicts behaviors of solutions in dy ...

Anders Beer Wilse Anders Beer Wilse (12 June 1865 – 21 February 1949) was a Norway, Norwegian photographer who documented Norway in the early to mid-20th century and also worked in the United States. Wilse was born in Flekkefjord, but grew up in Kragerø and de ...

(1865–1949), a photographer of natural sceneries and people at work *

Marta Steinsvik Marta Steinsvik (23 March 1877 – 27 July 1950) was a Norwegian author and translator. She was a champion of women's rights, a proponent of antisemitism and anti-Catholicism, and promoter of the use of Nynorsk. She was the first female to graduat ...

(1877–1950), an author who promoted women's rights,

Nynorsk Nynorsk (; ) is one of the two official written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language (''Landsmål''), parallel to the Da ...

, and theology * Gudmund Seland (1907–1996), a

Norwegian resistance The Norwegian resistance ( Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *Asserting the legitimacy of the exiled governm ...

member and Mayor of Nes *

Nils Fuglesang Nils Jørgen Fuglesang (7 October 1918 – 29 March 1944), was a Norwegian Supermarine Spitfire pilot who was taken prisoner during the Second World War. He is notable for the part he took in the 'Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in March 1944 ...

(1918–1944), a Norwegian

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

pilot who escaped from

Stalag Luft III Stalag Luft III (; literally "Main Camp, Air, III"; SL III) was a ''Luftwaffe''-run prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during the Second World War, which held captured Western Allied air force personnel. The camp was established in March 1942 near th ...

, was recaptured, and shot * Gunvald Tomstad (1918–1970), a major agent of the British SIS and resistance member * Bitten Modal, (Norwegian Wiki) (1940–2008), a journalist, writer, and feminist * Kåre Drangsholt (1941–1983), a boat designer and manufacturer of Draco boats *

Sverre Anker Ousdal Sverre Anker Ousdal (born 18 July 1944) is a Norwegian retired actor. He is the father of actor Mads Ousdal. Biography Ousdal was born in Flekkefjord, Norway on 18 July 1944. He made his debut in 1965 at Den Nationale Scene in Bergen. He wo ...

(born 1944), an actor IMDb Database
retrieved 03 January 2021 *

Eva Lundgren Eva Lundgren (born November 24, 1947) is a Norwegian- Swedish sociologist. She is an expert on violence against women and sexual violence, particularly in religious contexts. She is professor emerita of sociology at Uppsala University. Lundgr ...

(born 1947), a Norwegian-Swedish sociologist, re.

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence (GBV) or sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), violent, violence primarily committed by Man, men or boys against woman, women or girls. Such violence is often considered hat ...

Arnfinn Moland Arnfinn Moland (born 25 August 1951) is a Norwegian historian. He was born in Kvinesdal. He finished his secondary education in Flekkefjord in 1970, served in His Majesty the King's Guard from 1973 to 1974, and graduated from the University of O ...

(born 1951), a Norwegian historian, long jumper, and triple jumper *

Tove Pettersen Tove Pettersen (born 1962 at the island of Hidra) is a Norwegian feminist philosopher. She is currently Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oslo (UiO), Norway. Pettersen specializes in feminist ethics, the philosophy of Simone de Beauvoir ...

(born 1962 on Hidra), a Norwegian feminist philosopher *

Boye Brogeland Boye Brogeland (born 1973) is a Norwegian professional bridge player. After a successful junior career, he won three Bermuda Bowl medals with the Norwegian team, including the gold in Shanghai 2007, and several North American Bridge Championships. ...

(born 1973), a Norwegian professional bridge player

Sport

* Olaf Søyland (born 1952), a sprint canoer who competed at the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

Einar Rasmussen Einar Rasmussen (born 16 July 1956) is a Norwegian sprint canoeist who competed from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s. He won ten medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with four golds (K-1 10000 m: 1981, 1983 ...

(born 1956), a sprint canoeist who was a medallist at several

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Svein Egil Solvang Svein Egil Solvang (born 1 May 1968) is a Norwegian sprint canoer who competed in the late 1980s. He finished eighth in the K-2 1000 m event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. He resides in Flekkefjord Flekkefjord () is a List of municip ...

(born 1968), a sprint canoer who competed at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

Anne Tønnessen Anne Tønnessen (born 18 March 1974) is a Norwegian Football (soccer), footballer and Olympic champion. Biography Tønnessen was born in Sokndal on 18 March 1974. She received a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, playing for the ...

(born 1974), a footballer and team gold medallist at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Eirik Verås Larsen Eirik Verås Larsen (born 26 March 1976 in Flekkefjord) is a Norwegian sprint kayaker who has competed internationally since the early 1990s. He has participated in three Summer Olympics, and has won a complete set of medals (gold: 2004 K-1 1 ...

(born 1976), a Norwegian sprint kayaker and medallist at three Olympics

References

External links

*
Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every year on its web site. All rele ...

Municipal website

Map of Flekkefjord
{{use dmy dates, date=December 2020 Municipalities of Agder 1838 establishments in Norway