Stokken is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1919 until its dissolution in 1962. The area is now part of Arendal Municipality in the traditional district of Østre Agder in Agder county. The administrative centre was the village of Eydehavn. Stokken Church was the main church for the small municipality located just outside the town of Arendal.
Prior to its dissolution in 1962, the municipality was the 671st largest by area out of the 731 municipalities in Norway. Stokken Municipality was the 340th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 20.7% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The municipality of Stokken was established on 1 July 1919 when Austre Moland Municipality was divided into two: the southeastern district (population: ) became the new Stokken Municipality and the northwestern district (population: ) continued as a smaller Austre Moland Municipality.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, Stokken Municipality was dissolved and the following areas were merged to form the new Moland Municipality:
all of Stokken Municipality (population: ) all of Austre Moland Municipality (population: ) all of Flosta Municipality (population: ) the Strengereid area of Tvedestrand Municipality (population: )
Later, on 1 January 1992, Moland Municipality (population: 8,148) was merged into the neighboring Arendal Municipality.
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named Stokken, after the old name for the local school district. The name is the definite form of the word which means "log" or "tree trunk".
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Stokken Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Austre Moland prestegjeld and the Aust-Nedenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder.
Churches in Stokken MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtStokkenStokken ChurchSaltrød1878
Geography The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Ørnereiråsen. Austre Moland Municipality was located to the west and north, Holt Municipality was located to the northeast, Tromøy Municipality was located to the east and south, and Arendal Municipality was located to the southwest.
Government While it existed, Stokken 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 Nedenes District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Stokken Municipality was made up of 19 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 Stokken Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1919–1921: Guttorm Fløistad 1921–1921: Andres Haugmoen 1922–1928: Nils Hjelmtveit 1928–1931: Hans J. Bakke 1931–1937: Nils Hjelmtveit 1937–1941: Syver Kristiansen 1942–1945: Lauritz Harry Jensen (NS) 1945–1961: Johannes Kinserdal (Ap)
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References
External links 1960 census and map of the municipality (page 4)