Holum is a former municipality in the old Vest-Agder county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Lindesnes Municipality in Agder county. The administrative centre was the village of Krossen where Holum Church is located.
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 489th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Holum Municipality was the 591st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 7.5% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The parish of Holme (later spelled Holum) was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law).
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the Stubstad and Svalemyr areas (population: ) were transferred to the neighboring Søgne Municipality. On the same date, the rest of Holum Municipality was dissolved and the following areas were merged to form an enlarged Mandal Municipality:
the rest of Holum Municipality (population: ) all of Halse og Harkmark Municipality (population: ) all of Mandal Municipality (population: )
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Holme farm () since the first Holum Church was built there. The first element is which means "hole" or "hollow". The last element comes from the word which means "home" or "abode".
Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Holme. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Holum.
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Holum Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Holum prestegjeld and the Mandal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder.
Churches in Holum MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtHolumHolum ChurchKrossen1825
Geography The municipality was located in the lower Mandalen valley, through which the river Mandalselva flows. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Svolheia. Øyslebø Municipality was located to the north, Søgne Municipality was located to the east, Halse og Harkmark Municipality was located to the south, and Sør-Audnedal Municipality was located to the west.
Government While it existed, Holum 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 Mandal District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Holum Municipality was made up of 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 Holum Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1838–1839: Rev. Koss 1839–1841: J.F. Knudsen 1842–1843: Peder Sørensen Holmesland 1844–1846: Andreas Andersen Holbek 1847–1859: Simon Pedersen Lie 1860–1861: Søren Pedersen Jaabæk (V) 1862–1883: Simon Pedersen Lie 1884–1887: Even Rejersen (V) 1888–1891: Ole Aanensen Hauge 1892–1895: Nils Pedersen Svinstad 1895–1899: Ole Aanensen Hauge 1899–1903: Nils Pedersen Svinstad 1903–1907: Ole Aanensen Hauge 1908–1910: Peder Andreassen Kjær 1911–1916: Andreas Kaddeland 1917–1919: Søren Holmesland 1920–1925: Nils Holbek 1925–1928: Karl Olsen Hvidbergskår 1929–1931: Nils Holbek 1932–1941: Nils Tobiassen Upsaker 1941–1943: Hans Holmesland 1943–1945: Ernst Solaas 1945–1945: Nils Tobiassen Upsaker 1946–1947: Nils Holbek 1948–1959: Anders Sløgedal 1959–1963: Karl Kvidbergskår
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References
External links 1960 census and map of the municipality