Spangereid is a former municipality that was located in the old Vest-Agder county in Norway. The 63 km2 municipality existed from 1889 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality was located in the southwestern part of the present-day municipality of Lindesnes in Agder county. The municipality included the whole Lindesnes peninsula, plus part of the mainland adjacent to the narrow isthmus which connects the peninsula to the mainland. The administrative centre was the village of Høllen where the Spangereid Church is located. The area is one of Norway's richest archaeological sites. The abundant remnants from the Bronze Age and Viking Age show the Spangereid was a very important place at that time. Spangereid is strategically connected at the Lindesnes peninsula, Norway's southernmost point, where the east coast meets the west coast.

History

The municipality of Spangereid was established on 1 January 1899 when it was separated from the municipality of Sør-Undal. The initial population of the new municipality was 1,734. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1963, the Gitlevåg area (population: 103) of Spangereid was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Lyngdal. On 1 January 1964, Spangereid (population: 899) was merged with Sør-Audnedal and Vigmostad to form the new municipality of Lindesnes.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after a local isthmus called Spangereid since it connected the mainland to the large Lindesnes peninsula and the local Spangereid Church is located upon it. The first element is spǫng which means "small piece of land". The last element is which means "isthmus".

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.

Mayors

The mayors of Spangereid:

Municipal council

The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Spangereid 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.

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