Øvre Sirdal 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 Lunde where Lunde Church is located.
Prior to its dissolution in 1960, the municipality was the 84th largest by area out of the 743 municipalities in Norway. Øvre Sirdal Municipality was the 726th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 7% over the previous 10-year period.
General information The municipality of Øvre Sirdal 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, Øvre Sirdal Municipality was dissolved and the following areas were merged to form a new Sirdal Municipality: all of Øvre Sirdal Municipality (population: 549) all of Tonstad Municipality (population: 651) the Øksendal area of Bakke Municipality (population: 226)
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Sirdalen valley () since the valley runs through the municipality. The prefix means "upper" (since this was created from the upper part of the old Sirdal Municipality. The first element of the name is the genitive case of the river name Síra (now the Sira river). The river name has an unknown meaning, but it could be something like "strong stream". The last element is which means "valley" or "dale". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Øvre Sirdalen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Øvre Sirdal, removing the definite form ending -en.
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Øvre Sirdal 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 Øvre Sirdal MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtØvre SirdalLunde ChurchLunde1873
Geography The municipality was located in the northern Sirdalen valley. The river Sira flows through the valley. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Urdalsknuten, on the northern border with Valle Municipality. Bykle Municipality was located to the north (in Aust-Agder county), Valle Municipality was located to the northeast (also in Aust-Agder), Bygland Municipality was located to the southeast (also in Aust-Agder), Tonstad Municipality was located to the south, Heskestad Municipality was located to the southwest (in Rogaland county), Bjerkreim Municipality was located to the west (also in Rogaland), and Forsand Municipality was located to the northwest (also in Rogaland).
Government While it existed, Øvre Sirdal 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 Øvre Sirdal 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 Øvre Sirdal Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1905–1914: Per Iversen Ousdal 1914–1918: K. Myklebust 1918–1919: Mr. Valevatn 1920–1927: Per O. Ousdal 1928–1938: Torkell Neset
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References
External links Sirdolen.no Weather information for Øvre Sirdal