Herad 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 Farsund Municipality in the traditional district of Lister in Agder county. The administrative centre was the village of Sande where the Herad Church is located.
Prior to its dissolution in 1965, the municipality was the 433rd largest by area out of the 525 municipalities in Norway. Herad Municipality was the 523rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about , making it the third smallest municipality at that time. The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 24.4% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The parish of Herred (later spelled Herad) was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 17 October 1893, Herad Municipality was divided into two: the southeastern district (population: 1,410) became the new Spind Municipality and the northwestern district (population: 1,019) remained as a smaller Herad Municipality.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, Herad Municipality was dissolved and the following areas were merged to form an enlarged Farsund Municipality:
the town of Farsund (population: 2,208) all of Herad Municipality (population: 359) all of Lista Municipality (population: 4,544) all of Spind Municipality (population: 606)
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named Herred () since the first Herad Church was built there. The name is identical to the word which means "village" or "hamlet". It was also a name that was used for all municipalities in Norway during the 1800s and early 1900s. Thus the name was Herred herred (), so it was a rather unique name.
Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Herred. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Herad, using the Nynorsk spelling, to give the name a more Norwegian and less Danish spelling due to Norwegian language reforms.
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Herad Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Herad prestegjeld and the Lister prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder.
Churches in Herad MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtHeradHerad ChurchSande1957
Geography The municipality encompassed the area northeast of the fjord/lake Framvaren, just north of the Lista peninsula. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Kalåskniben, on the border with Lyngdal Municipality. Nes Municipality was located to the west, Feda Municipality was located to the north, Lyngdal Municipality was located to the east, Spind Municipality was located to the southeast, and Lista Municipality was located to the southwest.
Government While it existed, Herad 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 Lyngdal District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Herad 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 Herad Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1838–1841: Jeremias Fredrik Hansen Friis 1842–1843: Rasmus Tobias Rasmussen Ekeland 1843–1855: Ulric Bugge 1855–1857: Peder Christian Nøtland 1858–1861: Enok Lundegaard 1862–1863: Peder Antonisen Sæveland 1864–1865: Gabriel Torkildsen Grimestad 1866–1867: Tobias Olsen Rødland 1868–1871: Peder Antonisen Sæveland 1872–1873: Gabriel Torkildsen Grimestad 1874–1877: Peter Rasmussen Bugdøy 1878–1879: Jens Andreas Torsen Welle 1880–1881: Ingvard Andreassen 1882–1883: Peder Rasmussen 1884–1889: Hans M. Ariansen 1890–1891: Hans Jansen 1892–1893: Gabriel J. Jensen 1894–1897: Kristian Tønnesen 1897–1897: Andreas A. Tosås 1897–1898: Daniel Kristoffersen Åpta 1899–1901: Georg Grimestad 1902–1904: Daniel Kristoffersen Åpta 1904–1905: Kristian Tønnesen 1905–1907: Hans Johansen Klungland 1908–1913: Sven S. Haaland 1914–1916: Werner H. Sande 1917–1922: Georg Grimestad 1923–1925: Syvert Kjørkleiv 1926–1935: Martin A. Sandvik 1935–1937: Johannes Aadnesen Drange 1937–1940: Syvert Kjørkleiv 1941–1941: Ole Tønnesen Skjoldal 1945–1955: Magnus Meland 1955–1958: Robert Holmen 1958–1959: Randulf Lauland 1959–1964: Magnus K. Meland
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References
External links 1960 census and map of the municipality