Søndeled is a former municipality in Aust-Agder

Aust-Agder

is a county in Norway, bordering Telemark, Rogaland, and Vest-Agder. In 2002, there were 102,945 inhabitants, which is 2.2% of the total population in Norway. Its area is . The administrative center of the county is in Arendal....

 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...

. It is currently part of the municipality of Risør

Risør

is a city and municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. The city belongs to the traditional region of Sørlandet. It is a popular tourist place. The surrounding area includes many small lakes and hills, and is known for its beautiful coastline as well....

 in the Sørlandet region

Districts of Norway

The country Norway is historically divided into a number of districts. Many districts have deep historical roots, and only partially coincide with today's administrative units of counties and municipalities. The districts are defined by geographical features, often valleys, mountain ranges, fjords,...

. The municipality had an area of 189 square kilometres (73 sq mi) upon its dissolution. The highway Riksvei 418

Norwegian national road 418

Norwegian national road 418 is a national road which runs between Aspelund in Risør and Egddalen in Gjerstad.The route from Aspelund to Sundebru used to be part of European route E18...

 passes through Søndeled. Stamsø

Stamsø

Stamsø is a place in Norway located close to Søndeled in Risør, Aust-Agder. Stamsø is also a family name and the name of a school. However, the school is no longer functional. The Stamsø family name has roots that can be traced several centuries back in time....

 is a village in Søndeled. The village of Søndeled is located at the end of the Nordfjorden

Nordfjorden

Nordfjorden is part of Søndeledfjorden in the municipality of Risør in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It lies on the north of the island of Barmen, which is northwest of the city of Risør. Nordfjorden is a little over long. The widest parts are where the Søndeledfjorden goes west and into Søndeled...

, a part of the Søndeledfjorden.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

) is named after the old name of the local fjord

Fjord

Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...

 (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....

: Sundaleiðr). The first element comes from the word sundene which means "strait

Strait

A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...

s" and the last element is led (Old Norse: leið) which means "path" or "way". Hence the name is the "path between the straits".

History

The municipality of Søndeled was created 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...

). On 1 January 1867, an uninhabited part of Søndeled was transferred to the municipality of Dypvåg

Dypvåg

Dypvåg is a former municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is currently located within the municipality of Tvedestrand in the traditional region of Sørlandet about east of the village of Tvedestrand.-Name:...

. Later, on 1 January 1901, a small area of Søndeled (population: 658) was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Risør

Risør

is a city and municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. The city belongs to the traditional region of Sørlandet. It is a popular tourist place. The surrounding area includes many small lakes and hills, and is known for its beautiful coastline as well....

.

On 1 January 1964, Søndeled was incorporated into the municipality of Risør. Before the merger, Søndeled had 3,134 inhabitants.

Notable residents

• Berge Helle Kringlebotn
  Berge Helle Kringlebotn
  Berge Helle Kringlebotn was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party.He was born in Tune.He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Aust-Agder in 1961, but was not re-elected in 1965....
  
  , local politician
  Politician
  A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
  
  
• Sigurd Marcussen
  Sigurd Marcussen
  Sigurd Marcussen was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party.In 1935 he was elected to Risør city council. After the Second World War he moved to Søndeled and was elected to the municipal council there in 1951, but never took the seat as he got a leading position in his trade union...
  
  , local politician and trade union leader