Birkenes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Birkenes kommune | |||
| — Municipality — | |||
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| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Aust-Agder | ||
| Municipality ID | NO-0928 | ||
| Administrative centre | Birkeland | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor (2004) | Harald Vestøl (H) | ||
| Area (Nr. 164 in Norway) | |||
| - Total | 674 km² (260.2 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 630 km² (243.2 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2004) | |||
| - Total | 4,339 | ||
| - Density | 7/km² (18.1/sq mi) | ||
| - Change (10 years) | 7.0 % | ||
| - Rank in Norway | 220 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Official language form | Neutral | ||
| Demonym | Birkenesing, Borkis[1] | ||
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| Website: www.birkenes.kommune.no | |||
Birkenes is a municipality in the county of Aust-Agder, Norway.
The parish of Tveit had to be divided into two formannskapsdistrikt January 1, 1838 - this because the main part of Tveit belonged to the county of Vest-Agder, while the annex Birkenes belonged to the county of Aust-Agder. The former municipalities of Herefoss and Vegusdal were merged with Birkenes January 1, 1967.
The municipality borders Kristiansand and Vennesla municipalities in Vest-Agder and Iveland, Evje og Hornnes, Froland, Grimstad and Lillesand municipalities in Aust-Adger.
Birkeland is the municipality center and about half of the municipality residents live here. Birkeland is 30-kilometers from Kristiansand and 13-kilometers from Lillesand.
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[edit] The name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old farm Birkenes (Norse Birkines), since the first church was built there. The first element is birki n 'birch wood', the last element is nes n 'headland'.
[edit] Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1986). It shows a twig, and three leaves, of birch.
[edit] Economy
Agriculture and timbering are important sources of employment, but the municipality also has small industry with about 400 different work sites. The largest enterprise is Owens Corning with approximately 180 employees. Other larger businesses include Uldal Vinduer og Dører, Foss Bad, Scanflex, KOAB Industrier, and Birkeland Trykkeri.
The Sørlandsbanen provides rail service at Herefoss station.
[edit] External links
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