Halse og Harkmark


Halse og Harkmark is a former municipality in Vest-Agder county, Norway. The 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 present-day municipality of Mandal. When it was a municipality, it encompassed the rural areas that surrounded the town of Mandal, including many islands such as Hille, Skjernøy, and Pysen.

History

Mandals landdistrikt was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. 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 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 was merged with the town of Mandal and most of the neighboring municipality of Holum to form a new Mandal municipality.

Name

Halse og Harkmark is a combination of the names of two parishes surrounding the town of Mandal. The name Halse is the name of the site where Mandal Church is located. The name comes from the Old Norse name Halshaugar, where hals means a low area of land between two waters and haugr meaning hill or mound. The name Harkmark may be derived from an old river name.