Farsund

is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Farsund. Farsund is a coastal municipality in the far southwestern part of Norway, bordering Kvinesdal municipality in the north and Lyngdal in the north and east.

The 263 km2 municipality is the 276th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Farsund is the 114th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 9,860. The municipality's population density is 39.2 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 4.4% over the previous 10-year period. The inhabitants of Farsund are concentrated in three centres of population: the town of Farsund (population: 3,265), Vanse (population: 2,016), and Vestbygda (population: 1,123). Loshavn with its wooden buildings is located outside the town of Farsund. Other villages in Farsund include Ore, Rødland, and Sande.

General information
The town of Farsund was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law), although it was already recognized as a trading center in 1795. The present municipality of Farsund was established on 1 January 1965 when the rural municipalities of Herad, Lista, and Spind were merged with the town of Farsund. On 1 January 1971, the Ytre og Indre Skarstein farms (population: 21) located along the western shore of the Rosfjorden were transferred from Lyngdal to Farsund.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Farsundet strait, a narrow strait through which the Lyngdalsfjorden passes as it goes by the town of Farsund. The first element of the name comes from the small island of Farøy which sits in the Farsund strait. The name of the island comes from the word which means "travel" or "journey" (similar to the English word farewell meaning "good journey"). The last element is which means "strait" or "sound".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms has been used since 1900 or 1901. The blazon is "Or, a mount surmounted by four linden trees vert". This means the arms have a field (background) has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The charge is a group of linden trees on a green hill. This design was chosen to represent the town of Farsund since there were four old linden trees on the town square. Originally, these trees grew in the garden of the Lund merchant dynasty, where they were probably planted in the middle of the 18th century. The trees also appear in the trade seal of the family. In 1957, the old trees were removed and replaced with new ones. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has three parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Farsund. It is part of the Lister og Mandal prosti deanery in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

History
There is evidence of settlement in Farsund and Lista since the Stone Age.

Farsund held a strategic location in the Atlantic wall during World War II, with the Lundebanen and over 400 bunkers built in Farsund municipality, many that can be visited. Between 1940 and 1945, large Soviet prison camps were located at Lista, with prison camps at Kåde and Ore holding over 600 prisoners. The Soviet prisoners were used as forced labour to build Farsund Airport, bunkers, barracks, and fortifications.

Farsund previously had a hospital, which was closed down in 2007.

Government
Farsund Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Farsund is made up of 29 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Farsund:


 * 1838-1838: Fredrik Christian Thrane Abel
 * 1839-1839: Christian Larsen
 * 1840-1840: Fredrik Christian Thrane Abel
 * 1841-1841: Hans Paludan Smith Bøckman
 * 1842-1842: Christian Larsen
 * 1843-1843: Johan C. Eliesen
 * 1844-1844: Johan Henrik Lund
 * 1845-1845: Hans Paludan Eide
 * 1846-1846: Fredrik Christian Thrane Abel
 * 1847-1847: Hans Paludan Eide
 * 1848-1849: Hans Paludan Smith Bøckman
 * 1850-1850: Gabriel G. Lund
 * 1851-1851: E. Røhl
 * 1853-1853: Gottlieb Gundersen
 * 1854-1854: E. Røhl
 * 1855-1855: Gottlieb Gundersen
 * 1856-1856: Hans Paludan Eide
 * 1857-1860: Gottlieb Gundersen
 * 1861-1861: Sigbjørn Salvesen
 * 1862-1862: Gottlieb Gundersen
 * 1863-1863: Sigbjørn Salvesen
 * 1864-1864: Gottlieb Gundersen
 * 1865-1865: Sigbjørn Salvesen
 * 1866-1868: Gottlieb Gundersen
 * 1869-1869: Sigbjørn Salvesen
 * 1870-1870: Fredrik Adam Otto
 * 1871-1873: Peter Sundt
 * 1874-1874: Theodor August Overwien
 * 1875-1875: Severin Jahnsen
 * 1876-1876: Theodor August Overwien
 * 1877-1877: Peter Severin Pedersen
 * 1878-1878: Adolf Julius Wichstrøm
 * 1879-1879: Peter Severin Pedersen
 * 1880-1880: Peter Sundt
 * 1881-1881: Peter Severin Pedersen
 * 1882-1882: Severin Abrahamsen
 * 1883-1884: Fredrik Julius Kloumann
 * 1885-1895: Peter Severin Pedersen
 * 1896-1896: Harald Hansen
 * 1897-1897: Peder Simonsen Holmesland (V)
 * 1898-1898: Harald Hansen
 * 1899-1899: Peder Simonsen Holmesland (V)
 * 1900-1900: Einar Bärnholdt
 * 1901-1902: Peder Simonsen Holmesland (V)
 * 1903-1903: Harald Hansen
 * 1904-1904: Ivar Svenningsen
 * 1905-1907: Anders Vesthassel (V)
 * 1908-1908: Hans M. Meyer (AvH)
 * 1909-1910: Alfred Abrahamsen (LL)
 * 1911-1913: Thales Johnsen (H)
 * 1914-1914: Anders Vesthassel (V)
 * 1915-1916: Tharald Brøvig Sr. (H)
 * 1917-1918: Sigvald Nyvold (V)
 * 1919-1919: Anders Vesthassel (V)
 * 1920-1922: Tharald Brøvig Sr. (H)
 * 1923-1925: Thales Johnsen (H)
 * 1926-1937: Tharald Brøvig Sr. (H)
 * 1938-1940: Karl Briseid (V)
 * 1945-1945: Karl Briseid (V)
 * 1946-1947: Sverre Carlsen (H)
 * 1948-1948: Finn Reinertsen (H)
 * 1949-1949: Harald Brøvig (H)
 * 1950-1950: Finn Reinertsen (H)
 * 1951-1964: Harald Brøvig (H)
 * 1965-1973: Sveinung Tveit (V)
 * 1974-1975: Martin Sudland (Sp)
 * 1976-1979: Richard Urbye Buch (H)
 * 1980-1987: Julius Andersen (H)
 * 1988-1991: Ole Conrad Evenstad (KrF)
 * 1992-2003: Ove Rullestad (H)
 * 2003-2007: Margit Brøvig (H)
 * 2007-2011: Stein Arve Ytterdahl (Ap)
 * 2011-2015: Richard Ivar Buch (H)
 * 2015-2023: Arnt Abrahamsen (Ap)
 * 2023-present: Ingrid Williamsen (FrP)

Economy
The largest industries are Alcoa Lista, an aluminium plant that employs 270; A maker of auto parts, Aludyne Norway has c. 250 employees.

Farsund Aluminium Casting AS, which makes auto parts out 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 of forest, and 11 km2 freshwater areas. Farsund was already organized as a trading centre in 1795, and in 1995 celebrated its 200-year jubilee.

Trade and shipping laid the foundation for prosperity, and "the city of the strait" was a period one of the world's largest shipping towns in relation to the size of population.

Geography
The municipality sits in southwestern Norway along the North Sea. The Fedafjorden and Listafjorden lie along the northwestern side of the municipality and the Lyngdalsfjorden lies in the eastern part of Farsund. The coastal municipality has two lighthouses: Lista Lighthouse in the west and Søndre Katland Lighthouse in the south.

Climate
Farsund has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb). The driest season is April - July, and the wettest season is October - January. In January 1987, Lista recorded a low of -17.5 °C, and July 2018 recorded a high of 28.3 °C. The Lista lighthouse weather station has been recording since 1867.

Farsund Airport
Farsund Airport, Lista (FAN) was closed in 2002. The airport had from 1955 to 2002 scheduled traffic to Stavanger, Bergen and Oslo. Airlines which have frequented at Lista are among others Braathens SAFE, Norving and Air Stord.

The Airport was built by Luftwaffe in 1940, and they operated the airport with several fighter squadrons during World War II. After the war, the Royal Norwegian Air Force took over the airport, and for a period it was used as training camp for conscripts.

Today, the airport is privatized and is an industrial area with only minor GA-traffic.

Education
Farsund has 3 primary schools, located in Farsund, Vanse, and Borhaug. Furthermore, there are two junior high schools, in Farsund and Vanse, and two high schools also located in Farsund and Vanse.

Outdoor Activities

 * Farsund is a town linked to the fjords. Its guest harbour was considered one of the best in Norway, and is full of boats in summer months.
 * Every year, Strandmila (5k / 10k run) takes place in Husenby Park. The course covers countryside trails, forest paths and sand beaches.
 * The annual Kaperdagene (Pirate Town) festival takes place in July and depicts a battle between British and Norwegian ships who were fighting a war in the 1800s. It has been running since 1996.
 * The American Festival (Last weekend in June) is considered one of the most popular festivals in the region. It takes place, as mention in their name, in the last weekend in June in Vanse. And it celebrates the American heritage that many families from Lista brought home with them from the United States in the late 60s and early 70s. It is celebrated with an American inspired parade and also an old Am-Car Parade.

Twin towns
Farsund has sister city agreements with the following places:
 * Skagen, Denmark

Notable people

 * Jochum Brinch Lund (1743–1807), a merchant and shipowner who founded the town of Farsund
 * Thomas Fasting (1769–1841), a Norwegian Naval officer and government minister
 * Evert Andersen (1772–1809), a Norwegian-Danish sea captain who fought in the Gunboat War
 * Gabriel Lund (1773–1832), a merchant and representative at the Norwegian Constituent Assembly
 * Eilert Sundt (1817–1875), a theologist and sociologist, who worked on mortality and marriage
 * James DeNoon Reymert (1821–1896), an American newspaper editor, mine operator, lawyer, and pioneer settler in Wisconsin Territory
 * Lorentz Severin Skougaard (1837-1885), a Norwegian tenor who moved to the US in 1866
 * Abraham Berge (1851–1936), the mayor of Lista in 1882 and Prime Minister of Norway in 1923-1924
 * Halfdan Sundt (1873–1951), a physician who was president of the Norwegian Medical Association
 * Vigleik Trygve Sundt (1873–1948), a Norwegian attorney, genealogist, and politician
 * Richard Birkeland (1879–1928), a mathematician who wrote on the theory of algebraic equations.
 * Einar Høiland (1907–1974), a meteorologist who studied the theory of lee waves
 * Olav Selvaag (1912–2002), a Norwegian engineer and residential contractor with an innovative approach to designing and building affordable housing
 * Odd Starheim DSO (1916–1943), a Norwegian resistance fighter and SOE agent in WWII
 * Vesla Vetlesen (born 1930), a Norwegian weaver, trade unionist, writer, and politician
 * Alf Meberg (born 1942), a Norwegian pediatrician who works on congenital heart defects
 * Toril Moi (born 1953), an academic and writer who works on feminist theory and women's writing
 * Kjell Elvis (born 1968), a Norwegian professional Elvis impersonator
 * Ingvild Stensland (born 1981), a footballer with 144 caps with Norway women