Lardal is a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The 278 km2 municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2018. The area is now part of Larvik Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Svarstad. The village of Steinsholt was also part of Lardal. Pikstein, the highest point in Lardal, is located in western Lardal along the Buskerud county border.

General information

The parish of Laurdal (later spelled Lardal) was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The municipality included the three sub-parishes of Svarstad, Styrvoll, and Hem. On 1 January 1983, an unpopulated area of Bergan, just south of Steinsholt, was transferred to Lardal from the neighboring municipality of Hedrum. On 9 January 1987, another unpopulated area was transferred to Lardal from the neighboring municipality of Hedrum. On 1 January 2018, the municipality of Lardal was merged into the neighboring Larvik Municipality.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Lardal valley. The first element is the genitive case of which means "water" or "river" (referring to the local river Numedalslågen). The last element is which means "valley" or "dale". Prior to 1889, the name was spelled "Laurdal". In 1889, the spelling was changed to "Lardal".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 17 July 1992. The official blazon is "Gules, a hulder Or". This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a hulder. The hulder 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 hulder is a part of old Scandinavian folklore. This was chosen to represent the large forested areas in Lardal that were said to be inhabited by hulder. The arms were designed by Arvid Steen. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway had three parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Lardal. It was part of the Larvik prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Tunsberg.

Government

While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. 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. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Vestfold District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Lardal 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.

Mayors

The mayors of Lardal: