Vennesla 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

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 ...

. 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 village of

Vennesla Vennesla is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Venn ...

. Other villages in Vennesla include

Grovane Grovane is a village in Vennesla municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located along the shores of the river Otra, about north of the large village of Vennesla. Railway The Sørlandsbanen railway line runs through the village not ...

Hægeland Hægeland or Hægelandskrossen is a village in Vennesla municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located along the northeastern shore of the lake Hægelandsvatnet, a short distance south of the Kilefjorden. The Norwegian National Roa ...

Homstean Homstean or Slettebrotane is a village in Vennesla municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located along the Norwegian National Road 9, about south of the village of Skarpengland, just about north of the border with Kristiansand mun ...

Mushom Mushom is a small farm in Vennesla municipality in Vest-Agder county, Norway. The farm is located about west of the village of Homstean. The so-called "Øvrebø-ski" was found in a marsh at Mushom. For many years it was considered Norway's old ...

Øvre Eikeland Øvre Eikeland or simply Eikeland is a village in Vennesla municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located on the south side of the Norwegian National Road 9, about southeast of the village of Hægeland Hægeland or Hægelandskros ...

Øvrebø Øvrebø is a rural district and village in Vennesla municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located about north-northwest of the city of Kristiansand. The village of Skarpengland lies about east of Øvrebø. The district of Øv ...

Røyknes Røyknes is a village in Vennesla municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located along the west side of the river Otra, about northeast of the village of Skarpengland. The municipal border between Vennesla and Iveland is the river ...

, and

Skarpengland Skarpengland is a village in Vennesla municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located along the Norwegian National Road 9 about east of the village of Øvrebø and about north of Homstean. The large village of Vennesla lies about ...

. Vennesla lies about north of the city 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 ...

in the

Otra The Otra is the largest river in the Sørlandet region of Norway. It begins in Setesdalsheiene mountains at the lake Breidvatnet in Bykle municipality in Agder county, just south of the border with Vinje municipality in Telemark county. The r ...

river valley. The municipality is the 242nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Vennesla is the 79th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 15,294. 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 11.2% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The parish of Vennesla was established as a municipality in 1864 when it was separated from the larger municipality of

. Initially, Vennesla had 1,103 residents. 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 1964, Vennesla (population: 7,321) was merged with most of the neighboring municipality of

(population: 925) and with all of another neighboring municipality,

(population: 849) which created a new, much larger municipality of Vennesla. On 1 January 1978, a small area of Vennesla (population: 10) was transferred to neighboring

Songdalen Songdalen is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the old Vest-Agder county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1964 until 2020 when it was merged with Søgne and Kristiansand municipalities to form a new, much la ...

municipality. Then again on 1 January 1984, the unpopulated Hauglandsvatnet area was transferred from Vennesla to Songdalen municipality. On 1 January 1990, the unpopulated Røssebrekka area, just east of the village of

was transferred from

municipality to Vennesla.

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 ''

'' farm () since the first

Vennesla Church Vennesla Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Vennesla Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the village of Vennesla. It is the church for the Vennesla parish which is part of the Otredal prosti (deanery) in t ...

was built there. The first element is ''vendil'' which comes from the word which means "small twig". This may have been an old name for an arm of

Venneslafjorden Venneslafjorden is a lake in the municipality of Vennesla in Agder county, Norway. The lake is located along the river Otra. There are several islands and islets located in the northern part of the lake, the largest of which is Drivenesøya. T ...

. The last element is which means "swamp" or "shallow water".

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 ...

was adopted on 15 May 1971. 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 ''"

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 ...

, three

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 in bend sinister with six tree trunks with branches issuant in

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

and two

cogwheel A gear or gearwheel is a rotating machine part typically used to transmit rotational motion and/or torque by means of a series of teeth that engage with compatible teeth of another gear or other part. The teeth can be integral saliences or ...

s in

sinister Sinister commonly refers to: * Evil * Ominous Sinister may also refer to: Left side * Sinister, Latin for the direction "left" * Sinister, in heraldry, is the bearer's true left side (viewers' right side) of an escutcheon or coat of arms; see dex ...

base Or"''. This means the arms have a red

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) and 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 three wavy lines diagonally crossing the arms with six trees above the lines and two

s below. The charge 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 three wavy lines symbolises the river

, which runs through the municipality. The six trees symbolize the importance of

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

to the local economy. The

s symbolize the local

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

. There is a three-pointed

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 ...

on top of the arms which represent the three municipalities that were merged in 1964 to form the present municipality: Vennesla,

, and

. The arms were designed by Alv Erikstad. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

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 three parishes () within the municipality of Vennesla. It is part of the Otredal

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 ...

Government

Vennesla 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 and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

() of Vennesla is made up of 27 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 ...

Mayors

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 Vennesla: * 1864–1866: Nils Robstad * 1867–1868: Even S. Drivenes * 1869–1876: T.A. Vennesland * 1877–1880: Nils Robstad ( V) * 1881–1884: Endre Moseid ( V) * 1885–1890: Nils Robstad ( V) * 1891–1898: Endre Moseid ( MV) * 1899–1902: Salve N. Robstad ( V) * 1903–1905: Endre Moseid ( V) * 1906–1908: Olaf Vennesland ( V) * 1909–1911: Askild Røskeland ( V) * 1912–1914: Olaf Vennesland ( V) * 1915–1920: A.T. Askedal ( Ap) * 1921–1923: Gabriel Moseid ( Bp) * 1924–1929: Anders S. Robstad ( Ap) * 1930–1941: Jørgen A. Robstad ( Ap) * 1945-1945: Jørgen A. Robstad ( Ap) * 1946–1954:

Ole Jørgensen Ole Jørgensen (13 November 1897 – 5 July 1966) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He was born in Vennesla in Vest-Agder county, Norway. Career His first position in local politics was as a member of the Øvrebø municipal ...

( Ap) * 1954–1957: Sverre Vennesland ( Ap) * 1958–1959: Otto Heiseldal ( Ap) * 1960–1973: Engly Lie ( Ap) * 1974–1975: Tore Robstad ( Ap) * 1976–1983: Ragnar Krogstad ( KrF) * 1984–1989: Tore Robstad ( Ap) * 1990–1999: John Edvard Olsen ( KrF) * 1999–2017: Torhild Bransdal ( KrF) * 2017–present: Nils Olav Larsen ( KrF)

Geography

Vennesla municipality is situated in

county,

, about north of the city of

. The neighboring municipalities are

Evje og Hornnes Evje og Hornnes is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Setesdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Evje. Other villages in the municipality include Åneland, Dåsn ...

(to the north),

Birkenes Birkenes is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Birkeland, where about half the municipal population lives. Other vill ...

and

Iveland Iveland is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder County, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Setesdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Birketvei ...

(to the east), and

(to the south and west), and

Lindesnes Lindesnes () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Manda ...

(to the west). The river

runs through the municipality from north to south. Both of the lakes

Kilefjorden Kilefjorden is a lake on in Agder county, Norway. The lake is located on the border of the municipalities of Evje og Hornnes, Iveland, and Vennesla. The lake is part of the river Otra. The lake is located about west of the village of Birketv ...

and

are located along the river. The river

Songdalselva Songdalselva or Søgneelva or Songa is a river in Agder county, Norway. The long river in the hills between Finsland in Kristiansand municipality and Hægeland in Vennesla municipality. The catchment area is located between the Otra river an ...

runs through the western part of the municipality.

Climate

Economy

Vennesla (mostly the village of

) has a small industrial base, primarily with Hunsfos Fabrikker AS, a

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...

, as the cornerstone of the community. During recent decades, however, the number of employees has drastically declined from around 1,200 in the 1970s, to 200 in 2005 and 120 in 2007. In 2010 there was only 135 employees at the paper mill. In 2011, Hunsfos Fabrikker AS celebrated 125 years as a paper mill but later the same year finally ceased production and was declared bankrupt. During Q4 2022, "one hundred plus" workers at Huntonit, a cornerstone of the community, were scheduled for a temporary

Layoff A layoff or downsizing is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or, more commonly, a group of employees (collective layoff) for business reasons, such as personnel management or downsizing an organization ...

(from work); that's a large part of the company's work force; there is no fixed schedule for returning to work.

Media

The newspaper '' Vennesla Tidende'' has been published in Vennesla since 1989.

Attractions

Vikeland Hovedgård

Vikeland Hovedgård is a manor house located along the

River in the village of

. Vigeland Manor was completed in 1847. The building was constructed of wood in both Empire and Swiss style. It was built as part of Vigeland Brug, then one of the largest sawmills in the area. Vigeland Manor was built by Caspar Wild who bought the farm and adjacent sawmill in 1833. In 1894, the farm was sold to John Clarke Hawkshaw whose family retained the manor until around 1960. The current annex was built around 1900. During the 1980s, there was restoration with the main building subsequently used as lodging, corporate, and meeting facilities. The manor house has been said to be haunted by a ghost known as "the Blue Lady" ''(den Blå Dama)''. Mari was a farm worker who fell in love with the owner's son. They were not allowed to marry, so it is said Mari committed suicide in the "blue room", hence the title "the Blue Lady".

Vennesla Church

(''Vennesla Kirke'') serves Vennesla parish in Otredal deanery (''Otredal prosti''). The church was completed in 1829 and consecrated the following year. The church was built of stone and brick, while the west tower with side buildings are wooden. The church replaced a church from the first half of the 1600s. The tower was made higher in 1886, and the interior was restored in 1925.

Vindbjart Football Club

The

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club of Vennesla is

Vindbjart FK Vindbjart Fotballklubb is a football club situated in Vennesla, Norway. They play in the 3. divisjon, the fourth tier in Norwegian football. History In 1995 Vindbjart won all their matches in the 3. divisjon. They won promotion to the 2. divi ...

, founded in 1896. Vindbjart is currently playing in the

Norwegian Third Division The Norwegian Third Division, also called Norsk Tipping-Ligaen, is the fourth highest division of the men's football league in Norway. Like the rest of the Norwegian football league system, the season runs from spring to autumn, running approxima ...

and the

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

is Moseidmoen gress in the village of

Notable people

* Gabriel Moseid (1882 in Vennesla – 1961), a politician who was Mayor of Vennesla in 1922 *

(1897–1966), a politician and Mayor of Vennesla during the 1940s & 1950s * Sigurd Aalefjær (1917–1991), an engineer and director of hydropower plants who grew up in Vennesla * Engly Lie (1919 in Vennesla – 2001), a carpenter and politician who was Mayor of Vennesla in 1959 *

Børre Knudsen Børre Arnold Knudsen (1937–2014) was a Norwegian Lutheran priest noted for his anti-abortion activism. Together with Ludvig Nessa, he staged protests at abortion clinics starting in the late 1980s, and he spent time in jail for refusing to pa ...

(1937 in Vennesla – 2014), a Lutheran priest and anti-abortion activist * Kristen Gislefoss (born 1954 in Vennesla), a meteorologist, prime time

weather presenter A weather presenter (also known as a weather girl, weatherman or weather broadcaster) is a person who presents the Weather forecasting, weather forecast daily on radio, television or internet news broadcasts. Using tools such as projected weathe ...

for

NRK The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...

* Kjetil Nordhus (born 1975 in Vennesla), a singer, composer, and music producer * Jorun Stiansen (born 1984), a pop singer and artist who grew up in Vennesla *

Maria Arredondo Maria Sødal Arredondo (born 6 July 1985 in Vennesla, Norway) is a Norwegian pop singer. Her surname Arredondo comes from her Chilean stepfather. Career In March 2003, Arredondo released her first album, the self-titled '' Maria Arredondo'' ...

(born 1985 in Vennesla), a pop singer

Twin towns – sister cities

Vennesla is twinned with: *

Katrineholm Katrineholm (pronunciation: or ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Katrineholm Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 24,271 inhabitants in 2018. It is located in the inland of Södermanland and is the third largest ur ...

, Sweden *

Odder Odder is a town in Jutland, Denmark. The town is the seat of Odder municipality, and is the biggest town in the municipality. It is located 20 km south of Aarhus and 16 km south-east of Skanderborg. Odder is part of Business Region Aar ...

, Denmark *

Salo Salo or Salò may refer to: Places Finland *Salo, Finland, a town in Western Finland **Salo sub-region, a subdivision of Finland Proper and one of the Sub-regions of Finland since 2009 *An old name of Saloinen, a former municipality in Ostroboth ...

, Finland

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 ...

Welcome to Vennesla – Tourist informationVigeland Hovedgård
{{Authority control Kristiansand region Municipalities of Agder 1864 establishments in Norway