Nes og Hitterø or Hitterø og Nes is a former municipality in the old Vest-Agder county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1893. The area is now part of Flekkefjord Municipality in the traditional district of Lister in Agder county. The administrative centre of the municipality was the small village of Sunde in Nes parish, located just outside the town of Flekkefjord (which was its own separate municipality).
General information The municipality of Flekkefjord landdistrikt was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). According to the 1835 census, the municipality had a population of 3,155. The name was changed to Nes og Hitterø Municipality in 1864 (it was also written as Hitterø og Nes Municipality). On 8 October 1893, Nes og Hitterø Municipality was divided to create two new municipalities: Nes Municipality (population: 1,704) in the north and Hitterø Municipality (population: 2,075) in the south. These two municipalities were later merged into Flekkefjord Municipality during the 1960s.
Name The municipality (originally the parish) was originally named Flekkefjord landdistrikt since it was the rural area surrounding the town of Flekkefjord. In 1864, the municipal name was changed to Nes og Hitterø, a compound name literally meaning "Nes and Hitterø". Records show that the name compound name was also sometimes reversed to Hitterø og Nes. After the municipality was dissolved, the name Hitterø was modernized to Hidra in 1917. Since then, the former municipality is sometimes referred to as Nes og Hidra, using the updated name (even though it was never called this during its existence).
The parish of Nes is named after the old Nes farm () since the first local church (now called Flekkefjord Church) was built at that location. The name is identical to the word which means "peninsula", since the farm is located on a peninsula.
The parish of Hitterø is named after the island of Hidra () since the first Hidra Church was built there. The name is the plural form of which means "split" or "cleft" (referring to the fact that the island is almost split in two by the Rasvåg fjord).
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Nes og Hitterø Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Flekkefjord prestegjeld and the Flekkefjord prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder.
Churches in Nes og Hitterø MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtHidraHidra ChurchKirkehamn1854NesFlekkefjord ChurchFlekkefjord1859
Geography The municipality encompassed the Nes peninsula and the island of Hidra (formerly called Hitterø). The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Solandsvarden.
Government While it existed, Nes og Hitterø 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 Flekkefjord District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.
Mayors The mayor () of Nes og Hitterø Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1838–1843: Kristian Tønnessen Omland 1844–1847: Jakob T. Olsen Allestad 1848–1849: Axel Sveiga 1850–1853: Knud Johnsen Vaage 1854–1855: Asser Ueland 1856–1857: Torjus Nilsen Sveiga 1858–1861: Hans Birkeland 1862–1869: Ole Daastøl 1870–1871: Søren Korneliussen Tjersland 1872–1873: Gjert Sand 1874–1876: Søren Korneliussen Tjersland 1876–1877: Ole Sivertsen Kirkehavn 1878–1879: Johannes Jensen Loge 1880–1881: Ole Sivertsen Kirkehavn 1882–1883: Tobias D. Tjørsvaag 1884–1887: Adolf S. Jacobsen 1888–1891: Ole Fuglestvedt 1892–1893: Johannes Jensen Loge
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References