Austad

Austad kommune
Former Municipality

Church in Austad
Coordinates: 58°05′30″N 07°02′45″E / 58.09167°N 7.04583°ECoordinates: 58°05′30″N 07°02′45″E / 58.09167°N 7.04583°E
Country Norway
County Vest-Agder
District Sørlandet
Municipality ID NO-1031
Adm. Center Austad
Created from Lyngdal in 1909
Merged with Lygndal in 1963

Austad is a village and a former municipality in Vest-Agder county, Norway. The village of Austad is located in the southern part of the present-day municipality of Lyngdal, between the town of Lyngdal and Korshamn.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Austad farm (Old Norse: Alvisstaðir). The first element of the name is derived from the male name "Ålvir" and the last element is "stad" (Old Norse: staðir) which means "homestead" or "farm".[1]

History

Austad was created by on 1 January 1909 when the old municipality of Lyngdal was divided into three separate municipalities: Lyngdal, Austad, and Kvås. Upon its creation, Austad had a population of 1,263. On 7 January 1916, there was a small border adjustment which transferred a small area (population: 4) from Austad to the neighboring municipality of Spind. On 1 January 1963, Austad and Kvås were re-incorporated into Lyngdal along with the Gitlevågområdet area of Spangereid. Prior to the merger, Austad had a population of 608. Some of the immigrants that went to America used this towns name as their own to separate themselves for a new world.

References

  1. ↑ Rygh, Oluf (1912). Norske gaardnavne: Lister og Mandals amt (in Norwegian) (9 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 128.

External links