Halse og Harkmark

Halse og Harkmark is a former municipality in the old Vest-Agder county, Norway. The 105 km2 municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Halse, which at that time was a suburb of the town of Mandal. It was located in the southern part of the municipality of Mandal. The municipality of Halse og Harkmark encompassed the rural areas that surrounded the town of Mandal, including many islands such as Hille, Skjernøy, and Pysen (Norway's southernmost point). It is now located within Lindesnes Municipality in what is now Agder county.

History
Mandals landdistrikt was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). It encompassed all the rural areas surrounding the town of Mandal. In 1865, the name was changed to Halse og Harkmark since those were the names of the two parishes surrounding Mandal. On 1 July 1921, a part of Halse og Harkmark (population: 221) was transferred to the town of Mandal. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Halse og Harkmark (population: 3,676) was merged with the town of Mandal and most of the neighboring municipality of Holum (population: 1,127) to form a new Mandal municipality.

Name
The two suburban parishes of Halsaa and Hartmark were merged in 1838 and the new, resulting municipality was given the name Mandals landdistrikt, meaning the "district around Mandal". In 1865, it was decided to give the municipality its own name separate from the neighboring town of Mandal. The municipality chose to use the compound name Halsaa og Hartmark, literally meaning "Halsaa and Hartmark", the two parishes that make up the municipality. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Halse og Harkmark.

The parish of Halsaa is named after the old Halsaa farm (Halshaugar) since the first Mandal Church was built there. The first element is which means "neck", referring to the piece of land between the Skogsfjorden and the river Mandalselva. The last element is which means "burial mound" or "cairn". Over time, the pronunciation of the original name was compressed and abbreviated to simply Halsaa; in 1917, it was changed again to Halse to represent the local pronunciation of the name.

The parish of Hartmark is named after the old Hartmark farm (Harpmark or Harkmark) since the first Harkmark Church was built there. The meaning of the first element is uncertain. It is possibly derived from the old name of a local river. The name could possibly come from which means "harp" or  which is a norse name for the European grayling. Historically the first element has been written as Hart-, Harp, and Hark. This variation in spelling is likely due to a misunderstanding of the hearing of the name over time. It is uncertain which one was the original form, but it was likely either the "p" or "k" spelling that was original. The last element is derived from the genitive case of which means "forest" or "woodland". The name was written Hartmark until 1917 when it was changed to Harkmark.

Government
While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Halse og Harkmark was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.