Herefoss (municipality)

Herefoss is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1967 when it was merged into Birkenes municipality in what is now Agder county. Herefoss was a 148 km2 area surrounding the Herefossfjorden (part of the river Tovdalselva). The administrative centre was the village of Herefoss where the Herefoss Church is located. The other main village was Søre Herefoss, located in the southern part of the municipality.

History
The municipality of Heirefos was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1900, 610 people lived in the municipality on 67 different farms. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1967, Herefoss (population: 585) was merged with the neighboring municipalities of Birkenes (population: 1,883) and Vegusdal (population: 582), forming the new municipality of Birkenes with its administrative centre located at Birkeland.

Herefoss was historically the seat of public officials in this region. The fogd resided here from 1680 to 1820, and the sorenskriver (district judge) also lived here from 1724 to 1852. Herefoss was established as a prestegjeld in 1875. Herefoss Church was consecrated by Bishop Jacob von der Lippe in 1865.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Herefoss farm (Hegrafors) since the first Herefoss Church was built there. The first element is the name of the local river, Hegra. This name is derived from the word which means "heron", likely the grey heron which inhabits the area. The last element is which means "waterfall". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Hegrefoss. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Herefoss.

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 Herefoss was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.