Kvinesdal Municipality
Kvinesdal kommune | |
|---|---|
 View of the Kvinesdal valley | |
 Flag | |
 Agder within Norway | |
 Kvinesdal within Agder | |
| Coordinates: 58°20′17″N 07°01′23″E / 58.33806°N 7.02306°E | |
| Country | Norway |
| County | Agder |
| District | Lister |
| Established | 1 Jan 1838 |
| • Created as | Formannskapsdistrikt |
| Administrative centre | Liknes |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2015) | Per Sverre Kvinlaug (KrF) |
| Area | |
• Total | 963.21 km2 (371.90 sq mi) |
| • Land | 886.51 km2 (342.28 sq mi) |
| • Water | 76.70 km2 (29.61 sq mi) 8% |
| • Rank | #121 in Norway |
| Population (2023) | |
• Total | 6,024 |
| • Rank | #159 in Norway |
| • Density | 6.8/km2 (18/sq mi) |
| • Change (10 years) |  +2.1% |
| Demonym | Kvindøl[1] |
| Official language | |
| • Norwegian form | Neutral |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | NO-4227[3] |
| Website | Official website |
Kvinesdal is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Liknes. Other villages in Kvinesdal include Feda, Fjotland, and Storekvina.
Kvinesdal is an elongated mountain-to-coast municipality, reaching saltwater at the head of the Fedafjorden, which provides access to the North Sea in the south. Further north, the landscape is cut by narrow valleys with scattered small villages. There are also abandoned mines at Knaben, a popular ski resort. Because Kvinesdal resembles the geography of the nation as a whole, it is often referred to as "Little Norway".[4]
The 963-square-kilometre (372 sq mi) municipality is the 121st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Kvinesdal is the 159th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,024. The municipality's population density is 6.8 inhabitants per square kilometre (18/sq mi) and its population has increased by 2.1% over the previous 10-year period.[5][6]
Kvinesdal belongs to a central area in the Norwegian south from which many people emigrated to North America, particularly the United States, from the 1850s until the 1950s. It is noted for being an "American village" (Norwegian: Amerika-bygd) because of the high number of American residents. These are typically either Norwegians who moved to the States, obtained US Citizenship and later moved back to Norway, or are descendants of Norwegians who have never acquired Norwegian citizenship.
- ^ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
- ^ "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
- ^ Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (26 January 2023). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
- ^ Welle-Strand, Erling (1996). Adventure Roads in Norway. Nortrabooks. ISBN 82-90103-71-9.
- ^ Statistisk sentralbyrå. "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian).
- ^ Statistisk sentralbyrå. "09280: Area of land and fresh water (km²) (M)" (in Norwegian).