Farsund
Encyclopedia
is a town and municipality
Municipalities of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...

 in the county
Counties of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...

 of Vest-Agder
Vest-Agder
In the 16th century, Dutch merchant vessels began to visit ports in southern Norway to purchase salmon and other goods. Soon thereafter the export of timber began, as oak from southern Norway was exceptionally well suited for shipbuilding...

, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

.

The town of Farsund was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt
Formannskapsdistrikt
Formannskapsdistrikt was the name for a Norwegian local self-government districts put into force in 1838. This system of municipality was created in a bill approved by the Storting and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January 1837...

), although already recognized as a trading center in 1795. The rural municipalities of Herad
Herad
Herad is a former municipality in Vest-Agder county in Norway. It is located in the northeastern part of the present-day municipality of Farsund.-Name:...

, Lista, and Spind
Spind
Spind is a village and a former municipality in Vest-Agder county in Norway. It is located on the Spind peninsula in the western part of the present-day municipality of Farsund...

 were merged with Farsund on 1 January 1965.

Farsund is a coastal municipality, bordering on Kvinesdal
Kvinesdal
Kvinesdal is a municipality in the county of Vest-Agder, Norway.Kvinesdal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Feda was separated from Kvinesdal on 1 January 1900 but again merged with Kvinesdal on 1 January 1963. Fjotland was also merged with Kvinesdal on that date...

 municipality in the north and Lyngdal
Lyngdal
is a municipality in Vest-Agder county, Norway. Lyngdal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Austad and Kvås were separated from Lyngdal on 1 January 1909 but they were again merged with Lyngdal on 1 January 1964, together with the area of Spangereid west of Lenesfjorden.It is a...

 in the north and east. In terms of square mileage it is one of the smallest municipalities in Vest-Agder county, yet one of the largest in number of inhabitants. The municipality of Farsund has about 9,400 inhabitants, concentrated in three centres of population: Farsund town, Vanse, and Vestbygda.

Name

The first element is far n 'travel, journey' (like in English farewell 'good journey'), the last element is sund n 'strait
Strait
A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...

, sound
Sound (geography)
In geography a sound or seaway is a large sea or ocean inlet larger than a bay, deeper than a bight and wider than a fjord; or it may be defined as a narrow sea or ocean channel between two bodies of land ....

'.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 has been used since 1900 or 1901. It shows four linden trees (Tilia
Tilia
Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The greatest species diversity is found in Asia, and the genus also occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but not western North America...

). Since around 1750 four linden trees stand in the center of the town.

Economy

The largest industries are Alcoa
Alcoa
Alcoa Inc. is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries...

 Lista, an aluminium plant, and Farsund Aluminium Casting AS, which makes auto parts of aluminium. Historically, shipping and fisheries have also been important. Farsund is the largest agricultural district in the county of Vest-Agder, having 26 km² productive land, 88 km² forest, and 17 km² freshwater areas. Farsund was already organized as a trading centre in 1795, and in 1995 celebrated its 200 year jubilee.

Famous residents

  • Eilert Sundt
    Eilert Sundt
    Eilert Sundt was a Norwegian sociologist, known for his work on mortality, marriage and other subjects among the working class....

  • Abraham Berge
    Abraham Berge
    Abraham Theodor Berge was a Norwegian politician representing Venstre, the social liberal party, and later Frisinnede Venstre, a right-of-centre party...

  • Kjell Elvis
    Kjell Elvis
    Kjell Henning Bjørnestad , is a Norwegian professional Elvis impersonator: He is an Elvis look alike and has had plastic surgery to look more like Elvis. He is also a sound alike and has released a couple of albums with Elvis songs.Kjell Elvis was born in Farsund, was raised in Vanse, and...

  • James DeNoon Reymert
    James DeNoon Reymert
    James DeNoon Reymert was an American newspaper editor, mine operator, lawyer and politician. He was a pioneer settler in Wisconsin Territory, early elected official in the state of Wisconsin and founded the first Norwegian language newspaper to be published in the United States.-Background:Reymert...


External links

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