Mykland is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1876 until its dissolution in 1967. The area is now part of Froland Municipality in the traditional district of Østre Agder in Agder county. The administrative centre was the village of Mykland where Mykland Church is located. The main roads through the municipality were Norwegian County Road 42 and Norwegian County Road 413.
Prior to its dissolution in 1967, the municipality was the 276th largest by area out of the 460 municipalities in Norway. Mykland Municipality was the 453rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 15.8% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The municipality of Mykland was established in 1876 when Aamli Municipality was divided into two: the southern district (population: ) became the new Mykland Municipality and the northern district (population: ) continued as a smaller Aamli Municipality.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. After much debate within Mykland Municipality, a vote was held on whether or not to join Åmli Municipality to the north, Froland Municipality to the east, or Birkenes Municipality to the south. A majority of the residents voted to join Froland Municipality, some voted for Åmli Municipality, and no one voted to join Birkenes Municipality. On 1 January 1967, Mykland Municipality was dissolved and the following areas were merged to form an enlarged Froland Municipality: all of Mykland Municipality (population: ) all of Froland Municipality (population: )
On 1 January 1970, the uninhabited properties of Neset and Råbudal in Froland Municipality (which had been a part of Mykland until 1967) were transferred to Birkenes Municipality.
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Mykland farm () since the first Mykland Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the word which means "great" or "prominent". The last element is which means "land" or "district".
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Mykland Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Herefoss prestegjeld and the Vest-Nedenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder.
Churches in Mykland MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtMyklandMykland ChurchMykland1832
Geography Mykland Municipality included the inland areas between the rivers Tovdalsåna and the Rettåna (a tributary of the river Otra). The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Befjell. Tovdal Municipality was located to the north, Åmli Municipality was located to the northeast, Froland Municipality was located to the east, Herefoss Municipality was located to the southeast, Vegusdal Municipality was located to the south, Evje og Hornnes Municipality was located to the west, and Bygland Municipality was located to the northwest.
Government While it existed, Mykland 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 Nedenes District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Mykland 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 Mykland Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1876–1894: Ellef J. Løvrak 1895–1898: Notto N. Mykland 1899–1901: Ellef J. Løvrak 1902–1907: Notto N. Mykland 1908–1910: Nils Auestad 1911–1913: Olav Auestad 1914–1919: Syvert Mjaaland 1920–1922: Gregorius Mjaaland 1923–1928: Notto N. Mykland 1929–1931: Andreas N. Mykland 1932–1934: Tarald O. Mykland 1935–1937: Knut Aasen 1938–1941: Gunnar Askland 1945–1945: Knut Skauland 1946–1959: Kjetil Tveit 1960–1963: Olav Skripeland 1964–1966: Trygve Usterud
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References
External links 1960 census and map of the municipality (page 4)