Sør-Audnedal is a former municipality

Former municipalities of Norway

This is a list of former municipalities of Norway, i.e. municipalities that no longer exist.When the local council system was introduced in Norway in 1837-38, the country had 392 municipalities. In 1958 the number had grown to a total of 744 rural municipalities, 64 city municipalities as well as a...

 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...

 in 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 located in the central part of the present-day municipality of Lindesnes

Lindesnes

Lindesnes is a municipality in the county of Vest-Agder, Norway. Lindesnes was created as a new municipality on 1 January 1964 after the merger of the older municipalities of Spangereid, Sør-Audnedal, and Vigmostad....

.

Name

The municipality of Sør-Audnedal means "southern Audnedal", since it is the southern part of the old Audnedal municipality which encompassed the Audnedalen

Audnedalen

Audnedalen is a valley in Vest-Agder, Norway.The river Audna runs through the valley, ending in Snigsfjorden. Politically it is divided into the municipalities Lindesnes in the south and Audnedal in the north—formerly Nord-Audnedal and Sør-Audnedal, with slightly different borders....

 valley. The name Audnedal (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....

: Auðnudalr) is named after the Audna river (Old Norse: Auðna) which runs through the valley

Valley

In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...

 ("-dalr") and empties into the Snigsfjorden

Snigsfjorden

Snigsfjorden or Sniksfjorden is a small fjord in Lindesnes municipality. It runs between the two small islets of Fløyholmen and Tolleknivane. Most of the west side of the fjord goes along Unnerøy, but Tjaumsfjellet lies on the east side. Between Unnerøy and Syrdalsfjorden in the west, goes the...

. The river name means "destruction".

History

The municipality of Søndre Undal was established in 1845 when the old Undal

Undal

Undal is a former municipality in Vest-Agder county in Norway. It is located in parts of the present-day municipalities of Audnedal and Lindesnes.-Name:...

 municipality was divided into Nordre Undal and Søndre Undal. At that time, Søndre Undal had a population of 3,893. The name was later changed to Sør-Audnedal. On 1 January 1899, the western part of Sør-Audnedal, Spangereid

Spangereid

Spangereid is a village and a former municipality in Vest-Agder county in Norway. It is located in the southern part of the present-day municipality of Lindesnes, and it is home to the new Spangereid Canal which crosses the Spangereid isthmus....

, was separated to become a municipality of its own. The split left Sør-Audnedal with 2,958 inhabitants. On 1 January 1964, Sør-Audnedal was merged with Vigmostad

Vigmostad

Vigmostad is a village and a former municipality in Vest-Agder county in Norway. It is located along the Audna river in the Audnedalen valley in the present-day municipality of Lindesnes.-Name:...

 and Spangereid

Spangereid

Spangereid is a village and a former municipality in Vest-Agder county in Norway. It is located in the southern part of the present-day municipality of Lindesnes, and it is home to the new Spangereid Canal which crosses the Spangereid isthmus....

 to create the new municipality of Lindesnes

Lindesnes

Lindesnes is a municipality in the county of Vest-Agder, Norway. Lindesnes was created as a new municipality on 1 January 1964 after the merger of the older municipalities of Spangereid, Sør-Audnedal, and Vigmostad....

. Prior to the merger, Sør-Audnedal had a population of 2,323.