Spangereid


Spangereid is a former municipality in Vest-Agder county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1889 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality was located in the southwestern part of the present-day municipality of Lindesnes. The municipality included the whole Lindesnes peninsula, plus part of the mainland adjacent to the narrow isthmus which connects the peninsula to the mainland. The administrative centre was the village of Høllen where the Spangereid Church is located.
The area is one of Norway's richest archaeological sites. The abundant remnants from the Bronze Age and Viking Age show the Spangereid was a very important place at that time. Spangereid is strategically connected at the Lindesnes peninsula, Norway's southernmost point, where the east coast meets the west coast.

Name

The municipality was named after the old Spangereid farm. This is where the local Spangereid Church was located. The first element comes from the Old Norse word spǫng which means a "small piece of land" and the last element is eið which is identical with the word for "isthmus", since the church is located on an isthmus which connects the Lindesnes peninsula to the mainland.

History

The municipality of Spangereid was established on 1 January 1899 when it was separated from the municipality of Sør-Undal. The initial population of the new municipality was 1,734. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1963, the Gitlevåg area of Spangereid was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Lyngdal. On 1 January 1964, Spangereid was merged with Sør-Audnedal and Vigmostad to form the new municipality of Lindesnes.

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