Åseral
| Åseral kommune | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Municipality | |||
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| Coordinates: 58°42′7″N 7°23′37″E / 58.70194°N 7.39361°ECoordinates: 58°42′7″N 7°23′37″E / 58.70194°N 7.39361°E | |||
| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Vest-Agder | ||
| District | Sørlandet | ||
| Administrative centre | Kyrkjebygda | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor (2007) | Oddmund Ljosland (Sp) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 887 km2 (342 sq mi) | ||
| • Land | 798 km2 (308 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 126 in Norway | ||
| Population (2008) | |||
| • Total | 905 | ||
| • Rank | 412 in Norway | ||
| • Density | 1/km2 (3/sq mi) | ||
| • Change (10 years) | 10.0 % | ||
| Demonym | Åsdøl[1] | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| ISO 3166 code | NO-1026 | ||
| Official language form | Nynorsk | ||
| Website | www.aseral.kommune.no | ||
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Åseral is a municipality in Vest-Agder county, Norway. The administrative center is the village of Kyrkjebygda.
The parish of Bjelland had to be divided into two formannskapsdistrikts on 1 January 1838. This is because the main part of Bjelland belonged to the county of Vest-Agder, while the annex Aaseral belonged to the county of Aust-Agder. Åseral was transferred from the county of Aust-Agder to the county of Vest-Agder on 1 September 1880.
It is an inland municipality, bordering on the county of Aust-Agder in the east and north. In the south, it borders on the municipality of Audnedal, in the south-east on Hægebostad, and in the west on Kvinesdal.
General information
Name
The Old Norse form of the name was Ásaráll. The first part of the word is probably the genitive case of áss (m.), meaning "mountain ridge". The last part, áll (m.) means "long strip", probably referring to the long and narrow lake Øre.
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1989). It shows a horseshoe (to represent agriculture, forestry, and good luck).
Attractions
Åseral is a popular tourist destination with three ski resorts: Bortelid, Ljosland, and Eikerapen. Eikerapen is also the site of the annual Eikerapen Roots Festival, an international music festival attracting thousands of people from all over Europe.
References
- ↑ "Personnemningar til stadnamn i Noreg" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
External links
Media related to Åseral at Wikimedia Commons
The dictionary definition of Åseral at Wiktionary- Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
Vest-Agder travel guide from Wikivoyage
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