Vegårshei is a 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 located in the traditional district

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,...

 of Sørlandet. The administrative center is the village of Myra

Myra, Norway

Myra is the administrative centre of the municipality of Vegårshei in Aust-Agder, Norway. The village of Myra covers and has a population of 584. The village is located along the river Storelva, which flows out of the large Vegår lake, just north of Myra.-External links:*...

.

General information

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...

 of Vegaardsheien 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...

). The borders of the municipality have not changed since that time.

Name

The 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....

 form of the name may have been Vigisheiðr. The first element is the genitive case

Genitive case

In grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...

 of the name of the lake Vegår

Vegår

Vegår is a lake in the municipality of Vegårshei in Aust-Agder county, Norway. The lake is located about north of the municipal center of Myra and east of the village of Åmli in the neighboring municipality....

 (the Norse form, and the meaning, of the name is uncertain). The last element is heiðr which means "heath

Heath (habitat)

A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...

" or "moor

Moorland

Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...

".

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 30 April 1987. The arms show a fox

Fox

Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...

 as a representative of the local wildlife

Wildlife

Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....

 and also for the fox farming in the village.

Geography

Vegårshei is bordered on the north by the municipalities of Nissedal

Nissedal

Nissedal is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Treungen. The municipality of Nissedal was established on January 1, 1838 .- Etymology :The modern form of the name stems...

 and Gjerstad

Gjerstad

Gjerstad is a municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional region of Agder, in the southeastern part of the county, along the border with Telemark county.-General information:...

, on the east by 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 the south by Tvedestrand

Tvedestrand

is a town and municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative center is the village of Tvedestrand....

, and on the west by Åmli

Åmli

Åmli is a municipality in the county of Aust-Agder, Norway. It is located in the traditional region of Sørlandet. The main population centre and administrative center is the village of Åmli which lies along the river Nidelva.-Name:...

.

The largest lake in Vegårshei is Vegår

Vegår

Vegår is a lake in the municipality of Vegårshei in Aust-Agder county, Norway. The lake is located about north of the municipal center of Myra and east of the village of Åmli in the neighboring municipality....

.

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...