Tonstad is a former municipality in the old Vest-Agder county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1905 until its dissolution in 1960. The area is now part of Sirdal Municipality in the traditional district of Lister in Agder county. The administrative centre was the village of Tonstad where Tonstad Church is located.
Prior to its dissolution in 1960, the municipality was the 249th largest by area out of the 743 municipalities in Norway. Tonstad Municipality was the th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 6% over the previous 10-year period.
General information The municipality of Tonstad was established on 1 January 1905 when the old Sirdal Municipality was dissolved and divided into two new municipalities: the northern part (population: 753) became the new Øvre Sirdal Municipality and the southern part (population: 828) became the new Tonstad Municipality.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1960, Tonstad Municipality was dissolved and the following areas were merged to form a new Sirdal Municipality: all of Tonstad Municipality (population: 651) all of Øvre Sirdal Municipality (population: 549) the Øksendal area of Bakke Municipality (population: 226)
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Tonstad farm () since the first Tonstad Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the old female name (a precursor to the more modern name Tone). The last element is the plural form of the word which means "place" or "abode".
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Tonstad Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Sirdal prestegjeld and the Flekkefjord prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder.
Churches in Tonstad MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtTonstadTonstad ChurchTonstad1859
Geography The municipality was located in the central Sirdalen valley, at the northern end of the large lake Sirdalsvatnet. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Bergehei, along the northern border with Øvre Sirdal Municipality. Øvre Sirdal Municipality was located to the north, Bygland Municipality was located to the northeast (in Aust-Agder county), Fjotland Municipality was located to the east, Bakke Municipality was located to the south, Lund Municipality was located to the southwest, Heskestad Municipality was located to the west (in Rogaland county), and Bjerkreim Municipality was located to the northwest (also in Rogaland county).
Government While it existed, Tonstad 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 Flekkefjord District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Tonstad 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 Tonstad Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1905–1913: Carl Ommundsen Fintland 1914–1919: Carl Asbjørnsen Liland 1920–1928: Karl Sigbjørnsen Tonstad 1929–1938: Kolbein Asbjørnsen Finsnes
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References