Halse og Harkmark

Halse og Harkmark is a former municipality in the old Vest-Agder county, Norway. The 105-square-kilometre (41 sq mi) municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Halse, which at that time was a suburb of the town of Mandal. It was located in the southern part of the municipality of Mandal. The municipality of Halse og Harkmark encompassed the rural areas that surrounded the town of Mandal, including many islands such as Hille, Skjernøy, and Pysen (Norway's southernmost point). It is now located within Lindesnes Municipality in what is now Agder county.[1]

Halse og Harkmark herred
Halsaa og Hartmark herred (historic)
Mandals landdistrikt (historic)
Former municipality
View of Ryvingen Lighthouse in Halse
View of Ryvingen Lighthouse in Halse
Official logo of Halse og Harkmark herred
Vest-Agder within
Norway
Halse og Harkmark within Vest-Agder
Halse og Harkmark within Vest-Agder
Coordinates: 58°02′42″N 07°36′12″E
CountryNorway
CountyVest-Agder
DistrictSørlandet
Established1 Jan 1838
 • Created asFormannskapsdistrikt
Disestablished1 Jan 2020
 • Succeeded byMandal Municipality
Administrative centreHalse
Area
 (upon dissolution)
 • Total105 km2 (41 sq mi)
Population
 (1964)
 • Total3,676
 • Density35/km2 (91/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-1019
Data from Statistics Norway

History

Mandals landdistrikt was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). It encompassed all the rural areas surrounding the town of Mandal. In 1865, the name was changed to Halse og Harkmark since those were the names of the two parishes surrounding Mandal. On 1 July 1921, a part of Halse og Harkmark (population: 221) was transferred to the town of Mandal. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Halse og Harkmark (population: 3676) was merged with the town of Mandal and most of the neighboring municipality of Holum (population: 1,127) to form a new Mandal municipality.[2]

Name

The two suburban parishes of Halsaa and Hartmark were merged in 1838 and the new, resulting municipality was given the name Mandals landdistrikt, meaning the "district around Mandal". In 1865, it was decided to give the municipality its own name separate from the neighboring town of Mandal. The municipality chose to use the compound name Halsaa og Hartmark, literally meaning "Halsaa and Hartmark", the two parishes that make up the municipality. The spelling of the name was later modified to Halse og Harkmark to better reflect the local pronunciation.

The parish of Halsaa is named after the old Halsaa farm (Old Norse: Halshaugar) since the first Mandal Church was built there. The first element is hals which means "neck", referring to the piece of land between the Skogsfjorden and the river Mandalselva. The last element is haugr which means "burial mound" or "cairn". Over time, the pronunciation of the original name was compressed and abbreviated to simply Halsaa and then in the 20th century it was changed again to Halse to represent the local pronunciation of the name.[1][3]

The parish of Hartmark is named after the old Hartmark farm (Old Norse: Harpmark or Harkmark) since the first Harkmark Church was built there. The meaning of the first element is uncertain. It is possibly derived from the old name of a local river. The name could possibly come from harpa which means "harp" or harr which is a norse name for the European grayling. Historically the first element has been written as Hart-, Harp, and Hark. This variation in spelling is likely due to a misunderstanding of the hearing of the name over time. It is uncertain which one was the original form, but it was likely either the "p" or "k" spelling that was original. The last element is derived from the genitive case of mǫrk which means "forest" or "woodland". The name was written Hartmark until the early 20th century when it was changed to Harkmark.[4]

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.[5]

Municipal council

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

Halse og Harkmark herredsstyre 1960–1963 [6]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 5
  Conservative Party (Høyre) 3
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) 2
  Centre Party (Senterpartiet) 4
  Liberal Party (Venstre) 7
Total number of members:21
Halse og Harkmark herredsstyre 1956–1959 [7]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 4
  Conservative Party (Høyre) 3
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) 2
  Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) 4
  Liberal Party (Venstre) 5
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 3
Total number of members:21
Halse og Harkmark herredsstyre 1952–1955 [8]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 5
  Conservative Party (Høyre) 3
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) 2
  Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) 6
  Liberal Party (Venstre) 9
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 3
Total number of members:28
Halse og Harkmark herredsstyre 1948–1951 [9]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 4
  Conservative Party (Høyre) 4
  Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) 7
  Liberal Party (Venstre) 9
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 4
Total number of members:28
Halse og Harkmark herredsstyre 1945–1947 [10]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 4
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 24
Total number of members:28
Halse og Harkmark herredsstyre 1938–1941* [11]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 3
  Conservative Party (Høyre) 4
  Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) 6
  Liberal Party (Venstre) 8
  Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister) 7
Total number of members:28
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. "Halse og Harkmark". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  2. Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
  3. Rygh, Oluf (1912). Norske gaardnavne: Lister og Mandals amt (in Norwegian) (9 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 68.
  4. Rygh, Oluf (1912). Norske gaardnavne: Lister og Mandals amt (in Norwegian) (9 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. pp. 65–66.
  5. Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  6. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1959" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1960. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  7. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  8. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  9. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  10. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  11. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938. Retrieved 21 November 2020.

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