Munkedal Municipality (''Munkedals kommun'') 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 ...

Västra Götaland County Västra Götaland County ( sv, Västra Götalands län) is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden. The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of ...

in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Munkedal. The nationwide municipal reform of 1952 saw the creation of Munkedal, Svarteborg, Sörbygden and Ödeborg as larger rural municipalities. As early as 1967 Ödeborg was dissolved and parts of it added to Munkedal. Finally, in 1974 Svarteborg and Sörbygden were merged into Munkedal forming the present unit.

Etymology

The municipality is named after the old farm Munkedal. This farm was owned by the monks at Dragsmark Abbey. The last element is ''dal'' 'dale, valley'.

Geography

Munkedal is located 110 km north of Gothenburg. The geography is a varied terrain, covered with part forests, part mountains, part plains and part lakes and streams.

Localities

Inhabitants 2005: * Munkedal 3,838 (seat) *

Dingle Dingle (Irish: ''An Daingean'' or ''Daingean Uí Chúis'', meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry, Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula, it sits on the Atlantic coast, about southwest of Tralee and northwest of Killa ...

889 * Hällevadsholm 723 * Hedekas 358

Subdivisions

Munkedal has 8

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

es, within the

Diocese of Gothenburg The Diocese of Gothenburg ( sv, Göteborgs stift) is a diocese of the Church of Sweden. Since March 2018, the bishop has been Susanne Rappmann. The diocese includes the provinces of Bohuslän, Halland, and south-west parts of Västergötland. ...

, the sub divisioning used by the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Swed ...

. Their inhabitants 1 January 2005 and changes since 1 January 2004 are: *Foss 5,020 -52 *Svarteborg 2,683 +12 *Krokstad 1,043 +-0 *Håby 468 +12 *Hede 495 +10 *Bärfendal 248 +8 *Valbo Ryr 262 -9 *Sanne 186 -10 Source

History

This area in western Sweden, by the Norway, Norwegian border, has been inhabited perhaps longer than any other in Sweden. Distinctives for Munkedal are some tools that have been dated to 8000 BC, found around 1900 at a farm named Herregårda. There is also a

petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

area called Lökeberg på Tungenäset, dated to the

Nordic Bronze Age The Nordic Bronze Age (also Northern Bronze Age, or Scandinavian Bronze Age) is a period of Scandinavian prehistory from c. 2000/1750–500 BC. The Nordic Bronze Age culture emerged about 1750 BC as a continuation of the Battle Axe culture (t ...

. In the

medieval age In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire an ...

, a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

of Dragsmark was located within the current municipal borders. It subsequently led to the name Munkedal, and the names chosen for the municipality when it was established in 1974 with the reform. The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

also portrait a medieval scroll and writing pen, characteristics for monks.

Notability

The Munkedal Railroad, a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller struc ...

museum railroad, inaugurated in 1896. A railroad museum is also situated by it. The area, troubled by battles between Norway, Norwegian and Swedish armies, has several defence structures that can be visited. In addition, there are many old churches from the

of interest.

References

External links

Munkedal Municipality
- Official site

from Nordisk Familjebok {{authority control Municipalities of Västra Götaland County Gothenburg and Bohus