Hægebostad

Hægebostad is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tingvatn. Other villages in Hægebostad include Eiken, Haddeland, and Snartemo. The municipality encompasses the northern end of the Lyngdalen valley which follows the river Lygna.

The Sørlandet Line railroad runs through the municipality from east to west, stopping at Snartemo Station in Snartemo. To get into and out of the valley in which Hægebostad is located, the trains must go through two of the longest railway tunnels in Norway: Hægebostad Tunnel and Kvineshei Tunnel.

The 461 km2 municipality is the 215th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Hægebostad is the 296th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,750. The municipality's population density is 4.1 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 4.9% over the previous 10-year period.

Nine units of Sheltered housing are under construction (in 2022) after the previous ones were demolished.

History
The parish of Hægebostad was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1915, the municipality was divided into two municipalities: Eiken (population: 932) in the north and Hægebostad (population: 867) in the south. On 1 January 1963, the two municipalities were merged back together as the municipality of Hægebostad once again. Prior to the merger, Hægebostad had 813 residents and Eiken had 784 residents.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Hægebostad farm (Helgabólstaðir) since the first Hægebostad Church was built there. This farm is now on the north side of the village of Snartemo. The first element is helg- which means "holy". The last element is the plural form of bólstaðr which means "homestead" or "farm". Before 1889, the name was written Hegebostad.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 4 April 1986. The official blazon is "Gules, two swords Or, points to the base" (På raud grunn to gull sverd med oddane ned). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is two swords that are pointing downwards. The swords have a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The swords represent the two swards of Snartemo and Eiken dating from the 4th–6th century that were found in the municipality. The swords were highly decorated with silver and gold, but the ones on the arms are a more stylized heraldic design. The arms were designed by John Digernes. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Geography
Hægebostad is an inland municipality, with Åseral municipality to the northeast, Kvinesdal to the west and Lyngdal to the south and east. The municipality covers the upper Lyngdalen valley from the mountains in the north, along the river Lygna to Lyngdal municipality in the south. The lake Lygne lies in the central part of the municipality.

Government
Hægebostad 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 Hægebostad is made up of 17 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 Hægebostad (incomplete list):


 * 1889-1897: Aasulv Olsen Bryggesaa (V)
 * 1999-2011: Ånen Werdal (H)
 * 2007-2011: John Fidjeland (KrF)
 * 2011-2015: Ånen Werdal (H)
 * 2015-2023: Margrethe Handeland (Sp)
 * 2023-present: Jan Petter Gysland (H)

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

Notable people

 * Johan Arnt Wenaas (1941 in Hægebostad – 2015), a priest and writer