Mandal, Norway

Mandal

*Vester-Risør* (historic)
Mandal Vester-Risør (historic)
Town
	View of the town
	Mandal Location of the village Mandal Mandal (Norway)
	Coordinates: 58°01′36″N 07°27′12″E
Country	Norway
Region	Southern Norway
County	Agder
Municipality	Lindesnes
Established as
Ladested	1632
Kjøpstad	1921
Area
• Total	6.63 km2 (2.56 sq mi)
Elevation	1 m (3 ft)
Population (2019)
• Total	11,053
• Density	1,667/km2 (4,320/sq mi)
Demonym	Mandalitt
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Post Code	4501 Mandal

Mandal is a town in Lindesnes municipality in Agder county, Norway. Mandal is the fourth largest town in Agder as well as the administrative centre of Lindesnes municipality. It is located at the mouth of the river Mandalselva at the southern end of the Mandalen valley. The 6.63-square-kilometre (1,640-acre) town has a population (2019) of 11,053 and a population density of 1,667 inhabitants per square kilometre (4,320/sq mi).^[2] In Norway, Mandal is considered a by which can be translated as either a "town" or "city" in English.

Quick Facts Vester-Risør (historic), Country ...

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The town lies along the European route E39 highway, about 40 kilometres (25 mi) southwest of the town of Kristiansand and about 60 kilometres (37 mi) southeast of the town of Flekkefjord. Mandal has a few suburban villages lying just outside its borders such as Ime immediately to the east and Sånum to the southwest. The village of Krossen lies about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the north, along the Mandalselva river.

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History

The area in which today's town of Mandal is located was not developed during the Middle Ages. During the 1300s, a trading post called Vester-Risør grew up along the Skogsfjorden, just west of the present-day town. The town began when King Eric of Pomerania gave the town the right to trade salmon. By the 1500s, Vesterrisør was a bustling port and trading centre, making it one of the oldest in Agder. In 1632, the trading post was given ladested rights, which included special trading privileges.^[1] During the mid-1600s, the name of the town was changed to Mandal.^[1] Salmon fishing and the timber industry pushed the town's growth even more during the 1700s. In 1779, the town's ladested status was formalized in the law. Mandal Church was completed in 1821 after the old church burned down in the town's fire of 1810.

On 1 January 1838, the small ladested was granted self-governing rights under the new formannskapsdistrikt law. In 1921, Mandal was designated as a kjøpstad, giving it full town status under the law. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the town of Mandal (population: 5,446) was merged with the neighboring municipality of Halse og Harkmark (population: 3,676) and most of the municipality of Holum (population: 1,127) to form a new, larger municipality of Mandal. Today, the town is also a tourist destination, especially due to its Sjøsanden beach.^[4]^[5]

Name

The town is named after the valley (and river) in which it is located: Mandalen. The name Mandal which comes from the Old Norse name Marnardalr. The first element is the genitive case of the river name Mǫrn (now Mandalselva) and the last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale".^[5]

Prior to 1653, the town was named Vesterrisør (meaning "western Risør"). The name was originally referring to the island Risøya outside the town, and the first element was added in the 16th century to distinguish it from the town of Østerrisør (meaning "eastern Risør"), which is now simply called Risør.

Municipal self-government (1838-1963)

In 1838, the formannskapsdistrikt law granted towns municipal self-government. During this time, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.^[6]

Mayors

The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Mandal:^[7]

1837–1838: Anton Henrik Scheel
1839–1841: Johan Malthe Hübert
1842-1842: Hans Peter Erichsen
1843-1843: Gulow Andorsen
1844-1844: Niels Nielsen Vogt
1845–1846: Gulow Andorsen
1847-1847: Niels Nielsen Vogt
1847-1847: Daniel Peter Christian Isaachsen
1848–1852: Ole Andreas Ohlsen
1853–1854: Niels Nielsen Vogt
1855-1855: Svennik Svensen
1856-1856: Thomas Madsen
1857-1857: Carl Emil Salvesen
1858-1858: Albert Jacobsen
1859-1859: Edvard Hieronimus Bassøe Wattne
1860-1860: Jens Henrik Beer Gundersen
1861–1862: Svennik Svensen
1863–1867: Lauritz Jacobsen
1868-1868: Jens Henrik Beer Gundersen
1869–1879: Lauritz Jacobsen
1879–1880: Jens Henrik Beer Gundersen
1881-1881: Hans Peter Rude
1882–1888: Gabriel Egidius Johan Henrik Sem
1889–1891: Hjalmar Selmer
1892-1892: Johan Fredrik Ekholm Reymert
1893–1899: Jens Kraft
1900-1900: Jørgen Peter Jørgensen
1901-1901: Adolf Paludan Ulriksen
1902–1904: Jørgen Peter Jørgensen
1905–1907: Torkild Tonstad
1908–1916: Christen Andreas Christensen
1917–1919: Kristen Schmidt
1920–1922: Christen Andreas Christensen
1923–1928: Marcus Halfdan Kastrud
1929–1931: Hans Peter Tallaksen
1932–1937: Marcus Halfdan Kastrud
1938–1940: Johan Birger Pedersen
1945-1945: Johan Birger Pedersen
1946-1946: Arne Syrdahl (Ap)
1947-1947: Viktor Nygaard
1948–1951: Jørgen Ørbech Bugge
1952–1954: Viktor Nygaard
1955-1955: Olav Gundersen
1956–1957: Viktor Nygaard
1959–1959: Herman Gulowsen
1960–1963: Olav Gundersen

Municipal council

The municipal council (Bystyre) of Mandal was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.