Hægebostad is a municipality

Municipalities of Norway

Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...

 in Vest-Agder

Vest-Agder

In the 16th century, Dutch merchant vessels began to visit ports in southern Norway to purchase salmon and other goods. Soon thereafter the export of timber began, as oak from southern Norway was exceptionally well suited for shipbuilding...

 county

Counties of Norway

Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. Hægebostad was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt

Formannskapsdistrikt

Formannskapsdistrikt was the name for a Norwegian local self-government districts put into force in 1838. This system of municipality was created in a bill approved by the Storting and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January 1837...

). Eiken

Eiken, Norway

Eiken is a village and a former municipality in Vest-Agder county in Norway. It is located in the present-day municipality of Hægebostad along the lake Lygne.-Name:...

 was separated from Hægebostad on 1 January 1916 but it was again merged back with Hægebostad on 1 January 1963.

It is an inland municipality, with Åseral

Åseral

Åseral is a municipality in Vest-Agder county, Norway. The administrative center is the village of Kyrkjebygda.The parish of Bjelland had to be divided into two formannskapsdistrikts on 1 January 1838. This is because the main part of Bjelland belonged to the county of Vest-Agder, while the annex...

 municipality to the northeast, Kvinesdal

Kvinesdal

Kvinesdal is a municipality in the county of Vest-Agder, Norway.Kvinesdal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Feda was separated from Kvinesdal on 1 January 1900 but again merged with Kvinesdal on 1 January 1963. Fjotland was also merged with Kvinesdal on that date...

 to the west, Lyngdal

Lyngdal

is a municipality in Vest-Agder county, Norway. Lyngdal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Austad and Kvås were separated from Lyngdal on 1 January 1909 but they were again merged with Lyngdal on 1 January 1964, together with the area of Spangereid west of Lenesfjorden.It is a...

 to the south, and Audnedal

Audnedal

Audnedal is a municipality in the county of Vest-Agder, Norway. The new municipality of Audnedal was created on 1 January 1964 after the merger of Grindheim and Konsmo....

 to the east.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Hægebostad farm (Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 Helgabólstaðir), since the first church was built there. The first element is helg- which means "holy

Sacred

Holiness, or sanctity, is in general the state of being holy or sacred...

" and the last element is the plural form of bólstaðr which means "homestead

Homestead (buildings)

A homestead is either a single building, or collection of buildings grouped together on a large agricultural holding, such as a ranch, station or a large agricultural operation of some other designation.-See also:* Farm house* Homestead Act...

" or "farm

Farm

A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...

". Before 1889, the name was written Hegebostad.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms

Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 is from modern times. They were granted on 4 April 1986. The arms show the two sword

Sword

A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...

s dating from the 4th–6th century that were found in the municipality. They symbolize the famous swords of Snartemo and Eiken

Eiken, Norway

Eiken is a village and a former municipality in Vest-Agder county in Norway. It is located in the present-day municipality of Hægebostad along the lake Lygne.-Name:...

 found in the municipality. The swords were highly decorated with silver and gold.

(See also coat-of-arms of Balestrand

Balestrand

Balestrand is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center is the village of Balestrand....

)

External links

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
  Statistics Norway
  Statistics Norway is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876.Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every year on its web site. All releases are published both in Norwegian and English...
  
  
• Municipal website