Eide is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1962. The area is now divided between Lillesand Municipality and Grimstad Municipality in the traditional district of Østre Agder in Agder county. The administrative centre was the village of Eide where Eide Church is located. Other villages in the municipality included Jortveit and Homborsund.
Prior to its dissolution in 1962, the municipality was the 646th largest by area out of the 731 municipalities in Norway. Eide Municipality was the 720th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 8.1% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The parish of Eide was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law).
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, the Gitmark farm area (population: ) was transferred to the neighboring Lillesand Municipality. On the same date, the rest of Eide Municipality was dissolved and the following areas were merged to form an enlarged Landvik Municipality:
the rest of Eide Municipality (population: ) all of Landvik Municipality (population: ) the Salvestjønn area of Øyestad Municipality (population: )
Later, on 1 January 1971, all of Landvik Municipality was incorporated into Grimstad Municipality.
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Eide farm () since the first Eide Church was built there. The name is the dative case of the word which means "isthmus". This is because the farm (and church) is located between two bodies of water: the Fosdalskilen and Engekilen.
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Eide Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Hommedal prestegjeld and the Vest-Nedenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder.
Churches in Eide MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtEideEide ChurchEide1795
Geography The small municipality included some coastal land on the mainland plus nearly 70 small islands off the Skaggerak coast. The larger islands include Auseøya, Homborøya, and Ålesøya. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Hisåsen, a tripoint on the borders of Eide Municipality, Vestre Moland Municipality, and Landvik Municipality. Landvik Municipality was located to the north, the Skagerrak was located to the east and south, and Vestre Moland Municipality was located to the west.
Government While it existed, Eide Municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Sand District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Eide Municipality was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
Mayors The mayor () of Eide Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1838–1839: Christian Christensen Arnevig 1840–1841: Svenning Thomassen Jortveit 1842–1845: Severin Anstensen Hove 1846–1849: Niels Nielsen Enge 1850–1851: Severin Anstensen Hove 1852–1855: Jens Aslagsen Gitmark 1856–1857: Henrik Andersen Vaagsholt 1858–1861: Severin Anstensen Hove 1862–1865: Paul Jensen Vaagsholt 1866–1869: Christopher Olsen Vaagsholt 1870–1871: Daniel M. Svennevig 1872–1873: Anders Eriksen Gitmark 1874–1875: Peter Pedersen Nørholmen 1876–1877: Peder Richmann 1878–1881: Jens Olsen Vaagsholt 1882–1891: Karl E. Gjertsen 1892–1910: Anders Gundersen Forseth 1911–1913: Andreas Cornelius Olsen 1914–1919: Lars Pedersen Ødegaard 1920–1922: Martin Forsdal 1923–1931: Lauritz Wilhelm Olsen 1932–1934: Hans J. Eide 1935–1940: Elling Arnevig 1941–1944: Tellef Retterstøl (NS) 1945–1947: Elling Arnevig 1948–1955: Anton Ødegaard 1956–1959: Jacob Svennevig 1960–1961: Anton Ødegaard
Notable people Reidar Haave Olsen (1923-1944), a pilot
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References
External links 1960 census and map of the municipality (page 4)