Lårdal (; ) is a former municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Tokke Municipality in the traditional district of Øvre Telemark. The administrative centre was the village of Lårdal.
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 290th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Lårdal Municipality was the 446th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 37.2% over the previous 10-year period.
General information Administrative history The formannskapsdistrikt law of 1837 created a system of local government in Norway by establishing each Church of Norway prestegjeld as a civil municipality. On 1 January 1838, Laurdal prestegjeld was established as Laurdal Municipality (later spelled "Lårdal"). In 1879 there was a small border adjustment where a part of Laurdal Municipality (population: 6) was transferred to Mo Municipality.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Lårdal Municipality (population: ) was dissolved and merged with Mo Municipality (population: ) to form the new Tokke Municipality.
Name The municipality is named after the old Laardal prestegjeld. The prestegjeld was named after the old Laardal farm () since the first Lårdal Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the word which means "water" or "river". The last element is which means "valley" or "dale".
Historically, the municipality name was spelled Laurdal (although the parish name goes back centuries as Laugerdal). On 21 December 1917, a royal resolution enacted the 1917 Norwegian language reforms. Prior to this change, the name was spelled Laardal with the digraph "aa", and after this reform, the name was spelled Lårdal, using the letter å instead.
Churches The Church of Norway had three parishes () within Lårdal Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Lårdal prestegjeld and the Vest-Telemark prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder.
Churches in Lårdal MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtLårdalLårdal ChurchLårdal1831EidsborgEidsborg Stave ChurchEidsborg1200sHøydalsmoHøydalsmo ChurchHøydalsmo1747
Geography The area centered around the Lårdalen valley. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Raudsinutan. Rauland Municipality was located to the north, Seljord Municipality was located to the northeast, Kviteseid Municipality was located to the east, Mo Municipality was located to the southwest, and Vinje Municipality was located to the northwest.
Government While it existed, Lårdal 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 Vest-Telemark District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Lårdal Municipality was made up of 21 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 Lårdal Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1838–1843: Rev. Bendt Wettergren 1844–1845: Knut Saaveson Aakeren 1846–1848: Olav T. Huvestad 1849–1850: Tarjei Mikkelson Mandt 1851–1854: Kristoffer Skjelbreid 1855–1856: Jørgen Espetveit 1857–1866: Nils Laurirz Wiborg 1867–1870: Steinar P. Mandt 1871–1874: Olav L. Omdal 1875–1876: Steinar P. Mandt 1877–1880: Nils P. Bjaaland 1881–1882: Olav E. Sandland 1883–1884: Tjøstolv Mandt 1885–1889: Olav E. Sandland 1890–1891: Jarand O. Reffelbrekk 1892–1893: John H. Ofte 1894–1898: Nils Heggtveit 1899–1916: J.J. Hegna 1917–1919: Nils Heggtveit 1920–1925: J.J. Hegna 1926–1928: Olav G. Sending 1929–1931: J.J. Hegna 1932–1934: Karl Kleve 1935–1941: Håkon Årneshaugen 1941–1945: Olav G. Sending 1945–1963: Håkon Årneshaugen
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References