| Farsund | |
| Idnumber: | 4206 |
| County: | Agder |
| District: | Lister |
| Capital: | Farsund |
| Established: | 1 Jan 1838 |
| Preceded: | none |
| Demonyms: | Farsunder or Farsundar (also Listelending or Listring) |
| Language: | Bokmål |
| Coatofarms: | Farsund komm.svg |
| Webpage: | www.farsund.kommune.no |
| Mayor: | Ingrid Williamsen |
| Mayor Party: | FrP |
| Mayor As Of: | 2023 |
| Area Rank: | 276 |
| Area Total Km2: | 262.58 |
| Area Land Km2: | 251.86 |
| Area Water Km2: | 10.72 |
| Area Water Percent: | 4.1 |
| Population As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Rank: | 114 |
| Population Total: | 9860 |
| Population Density Km2: | 39.2 |
| Population Increase: | 4.4 |
| Coordinates: | 58.0828°N 6.7528°W |
| Utm Zone: | 32V |
| Utm Northing: | 6440157 |
| Utm Easting: | 0367497 |
| Geo Cat: | adm2nd |
is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Farsund. Farsund is a coastal municipality in the far southwestern part of Norway, bordering Kvinesdal municipality in the north and Lyngdal in the north and east.
The 263km2 municipality is the 276th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Farsund is the 114th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 9,860. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 4.4% over the previous 10-year period.[1] [2] The inhabitants of Farsund are concentrated in three centres of population: the town of Farsund (population: 3,265), Vanse (population: 2,016), and Vestbygda (population: 1,123).[3] Loshavn with its wooden buildings is located outside the town of Farsund. Other villages in Farsund include Ore, Rødland, and Sande.
The town of Farsund was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law), although it was already recognized as a trading center in 1795. The present municipality of Farsund was established on 1 January 1965 when the rural municipalities of Herad, Lista, and Spind were merged with the town of Farsund. On 1 January 1971, the Ytre og Indre Skarstein farms (population: 21) located along the western shore of the Rosfjorden were transferred from Lyngdal to Farsund.[4]
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Farsundet strait, a narrow strait through which the Lyngdalsfjorden passes as it goes by the town of Farsund. The first element of the name comes from the small island of Farøy which sits in the Farsund strait. The name of the island comes from the word which means "travel" or "journey" (similar to the English word farewell meaning "good journey"). The last element is which means "strait" or "sound".[5]
The coat of arms has been used since 1900 or 1901. The blazon is "Or, a mount surmounted by four linden trees vert". This means the arms have a field (background) has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The charge is a group of linden trees on a green hill. This design was chosen to represent the town of Farsund since there were four old linden trees on the town square. Originally, these trees grew in the garden of the Lund merchant dynasty, where they were probably planted in the middle of the 18th century. The trees also appear in the trade seal of the family. In 1957, the old trees were removed and replaced with new ones. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[6] [7]
The Church of Norway has three parishes (Norwegian: sokn) within the municipality of Farsund. It is part of the Lister og Mandal prosti deanery in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.
| Farsund | Frelserens Church | Farsund | 1905 |
| Spind Church | Rødland | 1776 | |
| Herad | Herad Church | Sande | 1957 |
| Lista | Vanse Church | Vanse | c. 1037 |
| Vestbygda Chapel | Vestbygd | 1909 |
There is evidence of settlement in Farsund and Lista since the Stone Age.
Farsund held a strategic location in the Atlantic wall during World War II, with the Lundebanen and over 400 bunkers built in Farsund municipality, many that can be visited. Between 1940 and 1945, large Soviet prison camps were located at Lista, with prison camps at Kåde and Ore holding over 600 prisoners. The Soviet prisoners were used as forced labour to build Farsund Airport, bunkers, barracks, and fortifications .[8]
Farsund previously had a hospital, which was closed down in 2007.
Farsund Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.[9] The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.
The municipal council (Norwegian: Kommunestyre) of Farsund is made up of 29 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Farsund:[10] [11]
The largest industries are Alcoa Lista, an aluminium plant that employs 270; A maker of auto parts, Aludyne Norway has c. 250 employees.[13]
Farsund Aluminium Casting AS, which makes auto parts out of aluminium. Historically, shipping and fisheries have also been important. Farsund is the largest agricultural district in the county of Vest-Agder, having productive land, of forest, and freshwater areas. Farsund was already organized as a trading centre in 1795, and in 1995 celebrated its 200-year jubilee.
Trade and shipping laid the foundation for prosperity, and "the city of the strait" was a period one of the world's largest shipping towns in relation to the size of population.
The municipality sits in southwestern Norway along the North Sea. The Fedafjorden and Listafjorden lie along the northwestern side of the municipality and the Lyngdalsfjorden lies in the eastern part of Farsund. The coastal municipality has two lighthouses: Lista Lighthouse in the west and Søndre Katland Lighthouse in the south.
Farsund has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb). The driest season is April - July, and the wettest season is October - January. In January 1987, Lista recorded a low of -17.5°C, and July 2018 recorded a high of 28.3°C. The Lista lighthouse weather station has been recording since 1867.
Farsund Airport, Lista (FAN) was closed in 2002. The airport had from 1955 to 2002 scheduled traffic to Stavanger, Bergen and Oslo. Airlines which have frequented at Lista are among others Braathens SAFE, Norving and Air Stord.
The Airport was built by Luftwaffe in 1940, and they operated the airport with several fighter squadrons during World War II.[14] After the war, the Royal Norwegian Air Force took over the airport, and for a period it was used as training camp for conscripts.
Today, the airport is privatized and is an industrial area with only minor GA-traffic.
Farsund has 3 primary schools, located in Farsund, Vanse, and Borhaug. Furthermore, there are two junior high schools, in Farsund and Vanse, and two high schools also located in Farsund and Vanse.
Farsund has sister city agreements with the following places:
. Norske gaardnavne: Lister og Mandals amt . 1912 . W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri . 9 . Kristiania, Norge . 183–184 . no . Oluf Rygh.
