Egersund | |
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 View of the town | |
  Egersund Location of the town Show map of Rogaland Egersund Egersund (Norway) Show map of Norway | |
| Coordinates:58°26′59″N6°00′31″E / 58.4497°N 6.0087°E /58.4497; 6.0087 | |
| Country | Norway |
| Region | Western Norway |
| County | Rogaland |
| District | Dalane |
| Municipality | Eigersund Municipality |
| Established as | |
| Ladested | 18 July 1798 |
| Area | |
• Total | 6.79 km2 (2.62 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 57 m (187 ft) |
| Population (2019)[1] | |
• Total | 11,433 |
| • Density | 1,684/km2 (4,360/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Egersundar |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Post Code | 4370 Egersund |
Former municipality in Rogaland, Norway | |
| Egersund ladested | |
 Rogaland within Norway | |
 Egersund within Rogaland | |
| Country | Norway |
| County | Rogaland |
| District | Dalane |
| Established | 1 Jan 1838 |
| • Created as | Formannskapsdistrikt |
| Disestablished | 1 Jan 1964 |
| • Succeeded by | Eigersund Municipality |
| Administrative centre | Egersund |
| Demonym | Egersunder[3] |
| ISO 3166 code | NO-1101[4] |
Egersund is atown inEigersund municipality inRogaland county,Norway. The town is located along the southwestern coast of Norway, about 75 kilometres (47 mi) south of the city ofStavanger. The town is situated along a strait which separates the mainland from the island ofEigerøya. From 1838 until 1964, the town was also an independent municipality.[5]
The 6.79-square-kilometre (1,680-acre) town has a population (2019) of 11,433 and apopulation density of 1,684 inhabitants per square kilometre (4,360/sq mi).[1]
Egersund has one of the best natural harbours in Norway, and it used to be the largest harbour in Norway when measured in quantity of fish brought in each year (surpassed byÅlesund in 2006). Thetidal range, the difference in height between high tide and low tide, is practically zero due to the presence of anamphidromic point.[6] Several internationally known companies have divisions here, likeNavico (earlier Robertson autopilots) andJeppesen Norway formerly C-MAP Norway (producer of electronic sea-maps). In addition, theAker Solutions corporation owns and runs a large installation here which specializes in the building of parts foroil platforms. Most of the industry is related to the sea and to boats.[5]
People have lived around the area of Egersund since theStone Age. There are several places around Egersund where one can find ruins of settlements dating back to the age of migrations in Norway (400–600 BC).
There used to be a church here, the Church of St. Mary, mentioned in 1292 in a privilege of indulgence issued in Rome on 5 February 1292 byPope Nicholas IV asEcclesia beatæ Mariæ de Eikundarsund. It was the first church in Egersund, and was the parish church of the St. Mary parish. It is believed to have been located where the presentEgersund Church stands today. Old folklore from Egersund also says that before the Church of St. Mary, an altar where people sacrificed to the oldNorse gods was placed here, but this has not been verified from any sources except old stories.
There was also a chapel, the chapel of St. Laurenti, mentioned in a letter issued on 5 February 1308 asEcclesia beati Laurentii de Eikundarsund, wherePope Clement V gives KingHåkon V Magnusson extensive privileges concerning the King's 14 chapels (including the chapel of St. Laurenti), which was founded by himself or his father, KingMagnus Lagabøte, and his grandfather, KingHåkon Håkonson. Since these chapels often were built on the king's estates, it is presumed to have been on grounds owned by the Husaby estate. An old tradition says it was located at what is now "Strandgata 43", but the exact position is somewhat uncertain.
In 1623 the old church (probably the Church of St. Mary) was demolished and a newEgersund Church was erected. This building still stands today.
On 18 July 1798, the village of Egersund was established as aladested with its owncustoms office.
The ladested of Egersund was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 under the newformannskapsdistrikt law. This effectively gave Egersund the municipal self-government that was now uniformly given to all areas of Norway.[7]
In 1843, a fire destroyed two thirds of the town, allowing a major redesign of streets. In 1847,Johan Feyer founded A/S Egersunds Fayancefabriks Co., which became the town's major employer until closing in 1979.
On 7 July 1859, there was another major fire, and another again on 20 October 1862. This was the last major town fire, since town planners finally understood wooden structures' vulnerability and reconstructed buildings using extra wide streets to prevent fires from spreading.
In 1878, theJærensbanen railway line between Egersund and the city ofStavanger opened withEgersund Station in the center of the town. In 1905, Egersund became the first town inRogaland county to get electrical lighting.
On 9 April 1940, the German military invaded Norway and theyoccupy Egersund duringWorld War II. Egersund had strategic importance because of itsharbour, as well as because the telegraph line betweenNorway and England was situated there. The Germans built large camps in the area. The occupation lasted until the end of the war.
In 1947, the town was growing rapidly, and an area of the neighboring municipality ofEigersund (population: 515) was transferred into the town of Egersund.[7]
During the 1960s, theSchei Committee met in Norway to discuss the municipal structure in the nation. It was decided that the number of cities and municipalities in Norway was too large, so on 1 January 1965, the town of Egersund lost its status as a self-governing municipality. On that date, the following places were all merged into the new, larger municipality ofEigersund, with the town of Egersund as the newadministrative centre:[7]
The town (originally theparish) is named after the Eigersundet strait (Old Norse:Eikundarsund). The first element is thegenitive case of the name of the island ofEikund (nowEigerøya). The name of the island comes from the wordeik which means "oak" followed by thesuffix-und which means "plentiful of" (i.e. "the island covered with oak trees"). The last element issund which means "strait" or "sound". The name is among the oldest place names in Norway. It can already be found in the formEikundarsund in theNorse saga ofOlav the Holy, written by Icelandic authorSnorri Sturlasson in the 13th century. From around the year 1000 Olav the Holy's fleet was here often. We can also find the name in texts andscaldic poems from Olav's saga.[8]
During the 1910s, the name of the municipality was changed fromEgersund toEigersund, but the town of Egersund withinEigersund Municipality kept the old spelling. The form of the name spelled without thediphthong [ei] (Egersund) is theDanish language form of the name and at that time the municipal name was changed to use the Norwegian language form. The town kept the old spelling for historic purposes.
From 1838 until 1964 when the town of Egersund was an independent municipality, it was responsible forprimary education (through 10th grade), outpatienthealth services,senior citizen services,unemployment,social services,zoning,economic development, and municipalroads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by amunicipal council ofdirectly elected representatives. Themayor wasindirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.[9]
Themunicipal council(Bystyre) of Egersund was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. Theparty breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:
| Party name(in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party(Arbeiderpartiet) | 13 | |
| Conservative Party(Høyre) | 7 | |
| Christian Democratic Party(Kristelig Folkeparti) | 5 | |
| Liberal Party(Venstre) | 4 | |
| Total number of members: | 29 | |
| Party name(in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party(Arbeiderpartiet) | 13 | |
| Conservative Party(Høyre) | 6 | |
| Communist Party(Kommunistiske Parti) | 1 | |
| Christian Democratic Party(Kristelig Folkeparti) | 5 | |
| Liberal Party(Venstre) | 4 | |
| Total number of members: | 29 | |
| Party name(in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party(Arbeiderpartiet) | 13 | |
| Conservative Party(Høyre) | 6 | |
| Communist Party(Kommunistiske Parti) | 1 | |
| Christian Democratic Party(Kristelig Folkeparti) | 6 | |
| Liberal Party(Venstre) | 3 | |
| Total number of members: | 29 | |
| Party name(in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party(Arbeiderpartiet) | 12 | |
| Conservative Party(Høyre) | 5 | |
| Communist Party(Kommunistiske Parti) | 1 | |
| Christian Democratic Party(Kristelig Folkeparti) | 6 | |
| Liberal Party(Venstre) | 4 | |
| Total number of members: | 28 | |
| Party name(in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party(Arbeiderpartiet) | 13 | |
| Communist Party(Kommunistiske Parti) | 3 | |
| Christian Democratic Party(Kristelig Folkeparti) | 7 | |
| Joint list of theLiberal Party(Venstre) and theRadical People's Party(Radikale Folkepartiet) | 5 | |
| Total number of members: | 28 | |
| Note: TheConservative Party originally had enough votes to earn 6 representatives but theMinistry of Justice rejected all those votes due to an error in the original election list. | ||
| Party name(in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party(Arbeiderpartiet) | 12 | |
| Conservative Party(Høyre) | 5 | |
| Communist Party(Kommunistiske Parti) | 3 | |
| Christian Democratic Party(Kristelig Folkeparti) | 4 | |
| Joint list of theLiberal Party(Venstre) and theRadical People's Party(Radikale Folkepartiet) | 3 | |
| Local List(s)(Lokale lister) | 1 | |
| Total number of members: | 28 | |
| Party name(in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party(Arbeiderpartiet) | 6 | |
| Temperance Party(Avholdspartiet) | 8 | |
| Conservative Party(Høyre) | 7 | |
| Communist Party(Kommunistiske Parti) | 2 | |
| Liberal Party(Venstre) | 5 | |
| Total number of members: | 28 | |
| Note: Due to theGerman occupation of Norway duringWorld War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945. | ||
| Party name(in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party(Arbeiderpartiet) | 5 | |
| Temperance Party(Avholdspartiet) | 10 | |
| Conservative Party(Høyre) | 6 | |
| Communist Party(Kommunistiske Parti) | 1 | |
| Liberal Party(Venstre) | 6 | |
| Total number of members: | 28 | |
| Party name(in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party(Arbeiderpartiet) | 5 | |
| Temperance Party(Avholdspartiet) | 11 | |
| Communist Party(Kommunistiske Parti) | 1 | |
| Liberal Party(Venstre) | 5 | |
| Joint list of theConservative Party (Høyre) and theFree-minded People's Party (Frisinnede Folkeparti) | 6 | |
| Total number of members: | 28 | |
| Party name(in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party(Arbeiderpartiet) | 7 | |
| Temperance Party(Avholdspartiet) | 9 | |
| Communist Party(Kommunistiske Parti) | 1 | |
| Liberal Party(Venstre) | 4 | |
| Joint list of theConservative Party (Høyre) and theFree-minded Liberal Party (Frisinnede Venstre) | 7 | |
| Total number of members: | 28 | |
| Party name(in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party(Arbeiderpartiet) | 1 | |
| Temperance Party(Avholdspartiet) | 9 | |
| Social Democratic Labour Party (Socialdemokratiske Arbeiderparti) | 6 | |
| Liberal Party(Venstre) | 4 | |
| Joint list of theConservative Party (Høyre) and theFree-minded Liberal Party (Frisinnede Venstre) | 7 | |
| Workers' Common List(Arbeidernes fellesliste) | 1 | |
| Total number of members: | 28 | |
| Party name(in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party(Arbeiderpartiet) | 3 | |
| Temperance Party(Avholdspartiet) | 10 | |
| Conservative Party(Høyre) | 6 | |
| Social Democratic Labour Party (Socialdemokratiske Arbeiderparti) | 5 | |
| Liberal Party(Venstre) | 4 | |
| Total number of members: | 28 | |
| Party name(in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party(Arbeiderpartiet) | 5 | |
| Temperance Party(Avholdspartiet) | 11 | |
| Conservative Party(Høyre) | 8 | |
| Liberal Party(Venstre) | 4 | |
| Total number of members: | 28 | |
Themayors (Norwegian:ordfører) of Egersund:[23]
Egersund has good connections by road to the cities ofStavanger andKristiansand, via theEuropean route E39 highway. There is also a more scenic coastal highwayNorwegian County Road 44. There is an hourly train connections northwards to Stavanger, while express and regional trains run southwards towards Kristiansand and Oslo.
Egersund is divided up into several neighborhoods
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