Sauherad is a former municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020. The area is now divided between Midt-Telemark Municipality and Notodden Municipality in the traditional district of Midt-Telemark. The administrative centre was the village of Akkerhaugen. Other villages in the municipality included Gvarv, Holtsås, Hjukse, Hjuksebø, Nordagutu, and Sauherad.
Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the municipality was the 265th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Sauherad Municipality was the 224th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about . The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 0.4% 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 town (ladested or kjøpstad) and each Church of Norway prestegjeld as a civil municipality. On 1 January 1838, Søfde prestegjeld was established as Søfde Municipality (later spelled Saude, then Sauherad). On 1 January 1903, an unpopulated area of Saude Municipality was transferred to the neighboring Gjerpen Municipality. On 1 July 1914 a small area of Sauherad Municipality (population: 27) was transferred to the neighboring Bø Municipality.
On 1 January 2020, Sauherad Municipality was dissolved and the following areas were merged to form the new Midt-Telemark Municipality: all of Bø Municipality (population: ) most of Sauherad Municipality (population: ), except for the Hjukse area which became part of Notodden Municipality
Name The municipality is named after the old Sauherad prestegjeld. The prestegjeld was named after the old Sauar farm () since the first Sauherad Church was built there. The name comes from the plural form of which means "to boil" or "to seeth", likely referring to the current in the local river. The last element, herad (added in the 20th century) comes from the word which means "district" or "countryside". Thus it is "the district (herað) of Sauðar".
Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Søfde. In 1862, the spelling was changed to Saude. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Sauherad.
Coat of arms The coat of arms was granted on 27 April 1989 and it was in use until 1 January 2020 when the municipality became part of the new Midt-Telemark Municipality. The official blazon is "Azure, an apple tree Or" (). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is an apple tree with leaves and apples. The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The design was chosen since apple cultivation is a major industry in the municipality. The arms were designed by Halvor Holtskog. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Sauherad Municipality. It was part of the Øvre Telemark prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.
Churches in Sauherad MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtSauherad og NesNes ChurchNesodden(just outside Gvarv)Sauherad ChurchSauherad
Sauherad Church dates from the medieval era. The church was built between 1150 and 1250. The edifice is of stone and has 260 seats. The church is built in Romanesque style. On the ridge, in the middle of the gable roof, sits a turret. The church bells are from 1441. The altarpiece from 1663 is of Renaissance style. In 1781 the building was extended westward. In 1830 the church received a new interior. The frescoes in the nave were uncovered and restore during the 1940s and 1950s.
Geography The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Vardefjell. Notodden Municipality was located to the north, Kongsberg Municipality (in Buskerud county) was located to the northeast, Skien Municipality was located to the southeast, Nome Municipality was located to the southwest, and Bø Municipality was located to the west.
Transportation Railway Both the Sørland Line and the Bratsberg Line ran through Sauherad. The Bratsberg Line runs as part of the Sørland Line between Hjuksebø and Nordagutu. The Hjukse Bridge at Hjuksebø on the Bratsberg Line is Norway's tallest railway bridge at . In 2019, Nordagutu Station was the only operating station left in Sauherad.
Roads The Norwegian national roads 36 and 360 both went through Sauherad. Norwegian county roads 44, 151, 551, 553, and 555 also travelled through Sauherad. In 2008, all roads and streets got names, as one of the last municipalities in Norway to do this.
Government While it existed, Sauherad 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 Aust-Telemark District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Sauherad Municipality was made up of 29 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 Sauherad Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1838–1839: Torjus Hanssen Sauer 1839–1840: Magnus Andreas Gjør 1840–1841: Johannes Halvorsen Evje 1842–1843: Guttorm Torsteinsen Lindheim 1844–1846: Torjus Hanssen Sauer 1847–1852: Olav Nilssen Tveten 1853–1854: Thomas Thomassen Lunde 1854–1860: Edvard Sørensen 1861–1866: Halvor Bjørnsen Holte 1867–1867: Anders Halvorsen Fure 1868–1869: Anders Olsen Jønsi 1870–1872: Halvor Bjørnsen Holte 1873–1879: Olav Halvorsen Gaathaug 1880–1881: Rollef Mathiassen Sunde 1882–1883: Torbjørn Hanssen Gurstad 1884–1893: Halvor Jonsen Holtan 1894–1898: Johannes Halvorsen Jonsaas 1898–1901: Hans H. Gripenstad 1902–1906: Jon Sigurdsen Jonsaas (2 terms, død 1906) 1906–1907: Torjus Mathiassen Sølverud 1908–1911: Thorstein Gundheim 1912–1913: Halvor Andreassen Jønsi 1914–1916: Hans H. Gripenstad 1917–1925: Jon Johannessen Jonsaas 1925–1928: Hans Steinarsen Sauar (Bp) 1928–1934: Tollev Tollevsen Notevarp 1934–1937: Ole M. Gokstad (Ap) 1937–1941: Anund Kittelsen Kleivrud (Bp) 1941–1943: I.J. Storkås (NS) 1943–1945: Olav Kaljord (NS) 1945–1945: E. Jonsås (NS) 1945–1945: Anund Kittelsen Kleivrud (Bp) 1946–1947: Olav Stordalen (Ap) 1948–1955: Olav Halvorsen Sunde (KrF) 1955–1957: Kittel E. Bergan (Bp) 1957–1959: Petter Kolberg (Bp) 1959–1971: Asbjørn Hansen Wendelborg (Ap) 1971–1979: Hans O. Stenstad (Ap) 1979–1983: Olav Tinesmork (Sp) 1983–1991: Olav Stavdal (Ap) 1991–1999: Kristoffer Hesthag (Sp) 1999–2015: Hans Sundsvalen (Ap) 2015–2019: Mette Haugholt (Ap)
Attractions Events Sauheraddagane (since 1993) Kartfestivalen (Kart Festival, since 2005) Norsk Eplefest (Norwegian apple festival, since 2006)
Buildings Blæksås fortress (3-5th century) Bratningsborg fortress (3-5th century) Steinborg fortress (3-5th century) Evju Bygdetun (Museum) Nes stone church (12th century) Sauherad stone church (12th century)
Notable people Enevold Steenblock Høyum (1775–1830), a military officer who was a representative at the Norwegian Constitutional Assembly Targjei Augundsson (1801 – 1872) known as Myllarguten (meaning the Millerboy), a fiddle player Hans Aimar Mow Grønvold (1846–1926), a Norwegian civil servant and music writer Lars Fykerud (1860–1902), a Norwegian Hardanger fiddler and composer Sverre Granlund DCM (1918–1943), a Norwegian commando during WWII Arne Haukvik (1926–2002), a politician and founder of the Bislett Games Liv Holtskog (1934 in Gvarv - 2014), a Norwegian fruit farmer and poet Johannes Akkerhaugen (born 1939), an archer who competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Sister cities Sauherad had sister city agreements with the following places: Karlsborg, Västra Götaland County, Sweden
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References
External links 1970 census and map of the municipality (page 27)