Nord-Audnedal (historic spelling: Nordre Undal) is a former municipality that was located in the old Vest-Agder county in Norway. The 195.8 km2 municipality existed from 1845 until its dissolution in 1911. It was located along the river Audna in the Audnedalen valley in the present-day municipalities of Lyngdal and Lindesnes in Agder county. The administrative centre was the village of Vigmostad where Vigmostad Church is located.

History

The municipality of Nordre Undal was established in 1845 when the old municipality of Undal was divided into Sør-Undal (population: 3,893) and Nordre Undal (population: 802). The name Undal was changed to Audnedal in the early 20th century. On 1 January 1911, Nord-Audnedal ceased to exist when it was divided into two separate municipalities: Konsmo (population: 782) and Vigmostad (population: 923).

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Audnedalen valley. The prefix means "northern" since it is the northern part of the valley. The first element of the name is the genitive case of the river name Auðna (now Audna). The river name is derived from the word which means "destruction" or "wasteland" (because of the flooding that often happens along the river). The last element is which means "valley" or "dale". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Nordre Undal (an older version of the valley name that was a shortened and corrupted version of the original Old Norse name). On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Nord-Audnedal. This more modern name was introduced to bring back the historical spelling of the name.

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.

Mayors

The mayors of Nord-Audnedal: