Kvås is a former municipality in the old Vest-Agder county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1909 until its dissolution in 1963. The area is now part of Lyngdal Municipality in the traditional district of Lister in Agder county. The administrative centre was the village of Kvås where Kvås Church is located. Other villages in Kvås Municipality included Birkeland and Moi.
Prior to its dissolution in 1963, the municipality was the 496th largest by area out of the 705 municipalities in Norway. Kvås Municipality was the 698th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 15.8% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The municipality of Kvaas (later spelled Kvås) was established on 1 January 1909 when the old Lyngdal Municipality was divided into three municipalities:
the southern coastal area (population: 1,263) became the new Austad Municipality the northern area (population: 736) became the new Kvaas Municipality the central area (population: 2,698) continued as a smaller Lyngdal Municipality
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1963, Kvås Municipality was dissolved and the following areas were merged to form a new, larger Lyngdal Municipality:
all of Lyngdal Municipality (population: 2,916) all of Austad Municipality (population: 608) all of Kvås Municipality (population: 493) the Gitlevåg area of Spangereid Municipality (population: 103)
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Kvaas farm () since the first Kvås Church was built there. The meaning of the name is uncertain. One possibility is that it comes from the word which means "valley" or "hollow". Prior to the 1917 Norwegian language reform law, the name was spelled with the digraph "aa", and after this reform, the letter å was used instead.
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Kvås Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Lyngdal prestegjeld and the Lister prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder.
Churches in Kvås MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtKvåsKvås ChurchKvås1836
Geography The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Titlandsheia. Hægebostad Municipality was located to the north, Konsmo Municipality was located to the east, Vigmostad Municipality was located to the southeast, Lyngdal Municipality was located to the south, and Kvinesdal Municipality was located to the west.
Government While it existed, Kvås 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 Kvås 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 Kvås Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1909–1910: Andreas Olsen Vegge 1911–1916: Kristian Olsen Kvaas 1917–1919: Andreas Olsen Vegge 1920–1925: Kristian Larsen Kvås 1926–1928: Sakarias T. Høyland 1929–1934: Tobias Vegge 1935–1937: Johannes G. Høiland 1938–1945: Sakarias T. Høyland 1946–1947: Tobias Vegge 1948–1951: Sakarias T. Høyland 1952–1955: Tobias Vegge 1955–1959: Einar Kjørkleiv 1959–1962: Torleif Gusa
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References