Oddernes is a former municipality in the old Vest-Agder county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1965. The area is now part of Kristiansand Municipality in Agder county. Lund on the east side of the river Otra near where Lund Church is located. The old municipality encircled the town of Kristiansand, and it included the villages such as Flekkerøy, Vågsbygd, Slettheia, Strai, Mosby, and Justvik. Today, the town of Kristiansand has a borough named Oddernes, but it has very different boundaries than the old municipality had.
Prior to its dissolution in 1965, the municipality was the 416th largest by area out of the 525 municipalities in Norway. Oddernes Municipality was the 31st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 74% over the previous 10-year period.
General information The parish of Oddernæs (later spelled Oddernes) was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). According to the 1835 census, the municipality had a population of 2,373.
On 31 December 1893, Oddernes Municipality was divided as follows: the coastal district east of the Topdalsfjorden (population: ) became the new Randesund Municipality and the western district (population: ) continued as a smaller Oddernes Municipality.
On 1 July 1921, the area of Lund (population: ) which is located on the headland between the mouth of the river Otra and the Topdalsfjorden was transferred from Oddernes Municipality to the town of Kristiansand, constituting a new borough in the town.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, Oddernes Municipality was dissolved and the following areas were merged to form an enlarged Kristiansand Municipality: all of Oddernes Municipality (population: ) all of Kristiansand Municipality (population: ) all of Randesund Municipality (population: ) all of Tveit Municipality (population: )
Today, the name lives on in the borough of Oddernes in Kristiansand, but it hardly corresponds to the area of the old municipality. In fact, the Hånes area in Oddernes borough is the only part of the borough that was also in the old Oddernes Municipality. Other places in Kristiansand that were a part of Oddernes was the entire Vågsbygd borough (except for Voiebyen) as well as Hellemyr, Strai, Mosby, Lund, and Justvik. Oddernes Church is now actually located in the borough of Lund, but it still has the same name today. Similarly, the old Oddernes High School is located in Vågsbygd Centrum, but it changed the name to Vågsbygd High School since it is no longer in Oddernes.
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Oddernæs farm () since the first Oddernes Church was built there. The first element is derived from the name of the local river Otra. The meaning of the river name may come from the plural genitive case of the word which means "otter". The last element of the name is which means "headland" or "peninsula". Thus the name means "otter river peninsula".
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Oddernes Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Oddernes prestegjeld and the Kristiansand domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Agder.
Churches in Oddernes MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtOddernesOddernes ChurchLund
Geography The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Vehusknausen. Oddernes Municipality encircled the town of Kristiansand. After Randesund Municipality was separated from Oddernes, it left Oddernes in two non-contiguous parts: one part north of Kristiansand and the other part south of Kristiansand with the town in between the two parts. Vennesla Municipality was located to the north, Tveit Municipality was located to the northeast, Randesund Municipality was located to the east, the Skagerrak was to the south, Søgne Municipality was located to the southwest, and Songdalen Municipality was located to the west.
Government While it existed, Oddernes 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 Torridal District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Oddernes Municipality was made up of 51 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 Oddernes Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1838–1845: Rev. Salve Salvesen 1845–1849: Robert Major, Jr. 1850–1851: Daniel Otto Christian Isaachsen 1852–1863: Salve Osmundsen Justnes 1864–1865: Syvert Jørgensen Augland 1866–1869: Jens J. Boysen 1870–1877: Ouen Salvesen Mosby 1878–1879: Christian Drangsholt 1880–1886: Ole Endresen Refsnes 1887–1887: Gunnar Danielsen Timenes 1888–1895: Ole Martinius Johnsen Mosbø 1896–1901: Johan Weisser 1902–1916: Peder Hansen Sødal 1917–1922: Nils Belland (V) 1923–1925: Søren Martinius Hagen (H) 1926–1928: Olaf Jansen 1929–1941: Karl Johan Fjermeros (V) 1941–1945: Søren Martinius Hagen (NS) 1945–1945: Karl Johan Fjermeros (V) 1946–1949: Syvert Messel (V) 1950–1957: Louis Scheie (V) 1958–1964: Syvert Messel (V)
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References
External links 1960 census and map of the municipality (page 4)