Evje is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1877 until its dissolution in 1960. The area is now part of Evje og Hornnes Municipality in the traditional district of Setesdal in Agder county. The administrative centre was the village of Evje where the Evje Church is located. Other villages in the municipality included Gautestad, Flatebygd, Åneland, and the Evjemoen military camp.
Prior to its dissolution in 1960, the municipality was the 418th largest by area out of the 743 municipalities in Norway. Evje Municipality was the 537th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 3% over the previous 10-year period.
General information The municipality of Evje was created on 1 January 1877 when the old Evje og Vegusdal Municipality was divided into two separate municipaltiies: the northwestern district (population: 870) became the new Evje Municipality and the southeastern district (population: 935) became the new Vegusdal Municipality.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1960, Evje Municipality (population: 1,646) was merged with the neighboring Hornnes Municipality (population: 1,280) to form the new Evje og Hornnes Municipality.
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Evje farm () since the first Evje Church was built there. The name is identical to the word which means "backwater" or "mud" (likely referring to a shallow, backwater part of the local river Otra).
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Evje Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Evje prestegjeld and the Otredal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder.
Churches in Evje MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtEvjeEvje ChurchEvje1891
Geography The municipality was located on the east side of the river Otra in the southern part of Setesdal. The lake Høvringsvatnet is located about northeast of the village of Evje. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Myklivarden, located just east of the village of Gautestad. Bygland Municipality was located to the north, Mykland Municipality was located to the northeast, Vegusdal Municipality was located to the east, Iveland Municipality was located to the south, and Hornnes Municipality was located to the west.
Government While it existed, Evje 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 Setesdal District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Evje Municipality was made up of 17 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 Evje Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1877–1877: Salve E. Bjoraa 1878–1881: Ola N. Løvland 1882–1893: Ola G. Lauvland 1894–1901: Ola N. Galteland 1902–1910: Ola N. Løvland 1910–1919: Eirik S. Bjoraa 1920–1922: Nils T. Odde 1923–1925: Ola N. Galteland 1926–1928: John A. Syrtveit 1928–1941: Torvald Haavardstad (Ap) 1942–1945: Olav Ottar Abusdal (NS) 1945–1959: Torvald Haavardstad (Ap)
Notable people Torvald Haavardstad (1893–1965), a local politician Helena Iren Michaelsen (born 1977), a rock singer
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References