Barbu is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. Today, it is part of the is part of the town of Arendal in Agder county. The 15.3 km2 municipality existed from 1878 until 1902 when it was merged into the town of Arendal. The municipality was located just to the north of what was then the 0.34 km2 town of Arendal. The administrative centre of the small, urban municipality was called Barbu as well. Barbu Church was the church for the municipality. Today, the name Barbu refers to the village-like place located in head of the Galtesundet strait within the town of Arendal. Barbu is also a parish (sogn) in the Arendal prosti (deanery) within the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

History

Originally, Barbu was a part of the municipality of Østre Moland that was created on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 May 1878, Østre Moland was divided to form three municipalities: Barbu (population: 4,874), Østre Moland (population: 2,524), and Tromøy (population: 2,320). On 1 January 1902, Barbu was merged with the neighboring town of Arendal, vastly increasing the size of the town. Before the merger, Barbu had a population of 6,787.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Barbu farm. The first element is likely derived from the female name Bera. Another theory is that the first element is the old name for a local river. The last element is which means "dwelling" or "farm".

Government

During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.