Øyslebø og Laudal is a former municipality in the old Vest-Agder county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1899. The area is now part of Lindesnes Municipality in Agder county. The administrative centre was the village of Øyslebø where Øyslebø Church is located.
General information The parish of Øslebø og Løvdal (later spelled Øyslebø og Laudal) was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). According to the 1835 census, the parish had a population of 1,895.
On 1 January 1899, Øyslebø og Laudal Municipality was dissolved and its lands were divided into two new municipalities: the northern district (population: ) became the new Laudal Municipality and the southern district (population: ) became the new Øyslebø Municipality.
Name The parishes of Øyslebø and Laudal were merged in 1838 and the new, resulting municipality was given the compound name Øyslebø og Laudal, literally meaning "Øyslebø and Laudal".
The parish of Øyslebø is named after the old Øyslebø farm () since the first Øyslebø Church was built there. The first element comes from the old name for the local river . The old river name was likely derived from the verb which means "to destroy". The last element is which means "farm" or "farmstead". Historically, the name was spelled Øslebø or Øislebø.
The parish of Laudal is named after the old Laudal farm () since the first Laudal Church was built there. The first element of the name of the farm comes from the old name for the river, Laug, (now the Lågåna river). The old river name is identical to the word which means "bath". The last element is which means "valley" or "dale". Therefore, the name means the bath river valley. Historically, the name was spelled Løvdal, using a more archaic spelling of the same name.
Churches The Church of Norway had two parishes () within Øyslebø og Laudal Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Holum prestegjeld and the Mandal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder.
Churches in Øyslebø og Laudal MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtLaudalLaudal ChurchLaudal1826ØyslebøØyslebø ChurchØyslebø1797
Geography The municipality was located in the lower Mandalen valley, through which the river Mandalselva flows. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Drivaasen (now spelled Drivåsen). Bjelland og Grindum Municipality was located to the north, Finsland Municipality and Øvrebø og Hægeland Municipality were located to the northeast, Søgne Municipality was located to the east, Holum Municipality was located to the south, Søndre Undal Municipality was located to the southwest, and Nordre Undal Municipality was located to the west.
Government While it existed, Øyslebø og Laudal 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 Mandal District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.
Mayors The mayor () of Øyslebø og Laudal Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1838–1853: Bent Olsen Fuglestvedt 1854–1861: Ole Bent Heddeland 1862–1865: Rasmus Christensen Øslebø 1866–1877: Fredrik Tostensen Solaas (V) 1877–1879: Ole Fidje 1879–1891: Jørgen Tobias Torkjellsen Øslebø 1892–1895: Andreas Pettersen Nome 1896–1899: Ole Glambeksen Fuglestveit
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References