Åseral is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kyrkjebygda. Other villages in Åseral include Bortelid, Eikerapen, Kylland, Ljosland, and Lognevatn.

The municipality is the 131st largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Åseral Municipality is the 341st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 904. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 4% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Administrative history For centuries, the large parish of Bjelland encompassed the northern half of the Mandalen valley which spanned parts of Lister og Mandal county in the south and Nedenes county in the north. The northern part of the parish was called Aaserald (in Nedenes) while the main part of the parish was in Lister og Mandal county. When the formannskapsdistrikt law went into effect on 1 January 1838, each parish was created as a municipality, however, since Bjelland covered areas in two counties, it had to be split into two municipalities. The northern part became the new Aaserald Municipality (later spelled Åseral) in Nedenes county and the rest became Bjelland og Grindum Municipality in Lister og Mandal county.

On 1 September 1880, Aaserald Municipality was transferred from Nedenes county to Lister og Mandal county (later called Vest-Agder county). From 1880 until 2020, this municipality was part of the old Vest-Agder county. In 2020, there were many municipal and county mergers across Norway due to the work of the Solberg cabinet. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became a part of the newly-formed Agder county (after Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder counties were merged).

Other than changing counties twice, the borders of the municipality have never changed (which is pretty rare among municipalities in Norway).

Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old name for the area (). The meaning of the name is somewhat uncertain. One theory is that the first element comes from the word which refers to "Æsir", the old pagan Norse gods and the last element is (Old Norse) or (Gothic) which means "gods' temple". Another theory is that the first element the genitive case of the word which means "hill" or "mountain ridge" and the last element is which means "long strip" or "eel-shaped", which likely refers to the long, narrow lake Øre which is surrounded by mountains and hills.

Historically, the name was spelled Aaserald or Aaseral. On 21 December 1917, a royal resolution enacted the 1917 Norwegian language reforms. Prior to this change, the name was spelled Aaseral with the digraph "Aa", and after this reform, the name was spelled Åseral, using the letter Å instead.

Coat of arms The coat of arms was granted on 20 January 1989. The official blazon is "Vert, a horseshoe argent" (). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is a horseshoe. The horseshoe has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The green color in the field symbolizes the importance of forestry and the horseshoe was chosen to represent the historical importance of horses in the farming culture of Åseral as well as the symbol of good luck. The arms were designed by Ulf Dreyer. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches The Church of Norway has one parish () within Åseral Municipality. It is part of the Otredal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. Until 2019, it was part of the old Mandal prosti.

Churches in Åseral MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtÅseralÅseral ChurchKyrkjebygda1822Ljosland ChapelLjosland1959Åknes ChapelÅknes1873

Government Åseral Municipality is 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 is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council The municipal council () of Åseral Municipality is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors The mayor () of Åseral Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:

1838–1845: Ola O. Aasland 1845–1847: Knut Sigmundsen Breland 1847–1849: Lars Sørensen Østerhus 1849–1851: Haarek Sigmundsen Breland 1851–1855: Erik Johnsen Aamland 1855–1857: Tarjei Olsen Tveitstøl 1857–1863: Rev. Gabriel Fredrik Ludvig Shübeler 1863–1865: Erik Johnsen Aamland 1865–1867: Bernt E. Eikerapen 1867–1869: Ola O. Forgard 1869–1876: Ole O. Ljosland 1876–1877: Gunnuf O. Kylland 1877–1877: Jakob Berg 1877–1884: Maarten O. Kittelstad 1884–1892: Ola O. Thorsland 1892–1898: Morten Kittelstad 1898–1898: John Telhaug 1899–1911: Petter Ljosland 1911–1929: Knut Egså 1929–1935: Salve Taraldsen Østerhus 1935–1941: Olav J. Åsland 1941–1942: Salve Taraldsen Østerhus 1943–1945: Torgeir Forgard 1946–1952: Olav J. Åsland 1952–1957: Olav Byklüm 1958–1963: Olav Øyulvstad 1964–1971: Tom Kaddeberg 1971–1975: Ånund Berg (LL) 1975–1977: Sigmund Jortveit (Sp) 1977–1979: Jens M. Forgard (Sp) 1979–1991: Kristen Kylland (Sp) 1991–2007: Jørgen Åsland (Sp) 2007–2019: Oddmund Ljosland (Sp) 2019–present: Inger Lise Lund Stulien (Ap)

Geography Åseral Municipality is in the central, inland part of Southern Norway. It is in the Setesdalsheiene mountains and adjacent to the Setesdal valley to the northeast. The municipality has many lakes, some of which are dammed for purposes of hydroelectric power. Some of the lakes include Nåvatn, Juvatn, Øre, and Gyvatn. The river Mandalselva and the Mandalen valley both begin in Åseral. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Skoræ, located west of the village of Ljosland.

Åseral Municipality borders Bygland Municipality to the north and east, Evje og Hornnes Municipality to the east, Lyngdal Municipality to the south, Hægebostad Municipality to the southwest, and Kvinesdal Municipality in the west.

Climate

Attractions Åseral Municipality is a popular winter tourist destination with three ski resorts in the villages of Bortelid, Ljosland, and Eikerapen. Eikerapen is also the site of the annual Eikerapen Roots Festival, an international music festival attracting thousands of people from all over Europe.

Notable people Lars Knutson Liestøl (1839–1912), a politician who was Mayor of Bygland Municipality for 12 years Knut Liestøl (1881 in Åseral – 1952), a folklorist, Nynorsk proponent, and politician

References

External links Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway