Southern Norway
Southern Norway
Sørlandet | |
---|---|
Descending, from top: Lindesnes fyr, Bystranda in Kristiansand, Kardemommeby in Kristiansand Zoo, The Lista beaches, Downtown Kristiansand, Flekkerøy outside Kristiansand, Arendal, Risør, Brekkestø in Lillesand, Mandal. Collage of Sørlandet | |
![]() | |
Country | Norway |
Capital | Kristiansand, Arendal |
Counties (fylker) | Aust-Agder Vest-Agder |
Area | |
• Total | 16,434 km2 (6,345 sq mi) |
Population (2009) | |
• Total | 277,250 |
• Density | 17/km2 (44/sq mi) |
Demonym | Southlendic people |
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1951 | 172,753 | — |
1960 | 185,302 | +7.3% |
1970 | 215,874 | +16.5% |
1980 | 225,429 | +4.4% |
1990 | 240,906 | +6.9% |
2000 | 257,869 | +7.0% |
2010 | 279,024 | +8.2% |
Source: Statistics Norway [1][2]. |
Southern Norway (Norwegian: Sørlandet) (lit. "south country") is the geographical region (landsdel) of the Skagerrak coast of southern Norway consisting of the two counties of Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder. The total combined area of Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder is 16,493 square kilometres (6,368 sq mi).[3]
History
The name Agder is around 1500 years old and means edge, edge of the land towards the sea, but Agder (Vest and Aust) was never a region of its self. It was a border land between Eastern Norway and Western Norway. Western Norway started outside of Telemark and was an important place cause of the shore. The old main road from Oslo through Kristiansand to Stavanger was called Western Main Road and Skagerrak was often called Agdersiden.
Southern Norway is the youngest region of Norway, it was established short after Northern Norway. The first village builder was Vilhelm Krag who thought Southern Norway should have been bigger than it is today, from Egersund to Grenland, but even today it isn't entirely sure where the border goes. All the way back in 1865, it was talked about "the southern Norway boats". These boats were built in Lista and the invention was from a man from Lofoten, Northern Norway. So the expression "Sørlandet" first appeared in 1902.
The name and modern concept of this part of the country being considered as a separate region was introduced as late as 1902 by the local author Vilhelm Krag. Prior to this, the area was considered part of Western Norway. Southern Norway coincides roughly with the historic petty kingdom of Agder, which lends its name to the two constituent counties: Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder, as well as the University of Agder.
Occasionally, adjacent parts of the county of Rogaland and Telemark might be considered part of this region, as well.
If defined as an informal region, Southern Norway is perhaps more properly defined as the Skagerrak coastal belt, thus excluding the inland valleys to the north.
In the Middle Ages, the easternmost border of the Agder region was Rygjarbit[4] right north or south of today's Risør.
List of cities and towns
About 80% of the population of the two counties live along the coast, which has the warmest climate as well as offering quick access to the rich fishing grounds and maritime roads of the Skagerrak. In Southern Norway there are also a number of smaller inland municipalities. Key industries are forestry, agriculture and tourism. There are also popular ski resorts like Hovden in the valley of Setesdal and Bortelid in Åseral municipality. The list of the cities and towns in Southern Norway are:
Coat of arms | City | Adm. center | Population (2015) | Region | Location | County | Photo | Map | Language |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
Kristiansand | Kvadraturen | 90,000 | Kristiansandsregionen | Coast | Vest-Agder | ![]() |
![]() |
Bokmål |
![]() |
Arendal | Arendal | 44,219 | Østre Agder | Coast | Aust-Agder | ![]() |
![]() |
Bokmål |
![]() |
Grimstad | Grimstad | 20,497 | Østre Agder | Coast | Aust-Agder | ![]() |
![]() |
Bokmål |
![]() |
Mandal | Mandal | 15,061 | Lindesnesregionen | Coast | Vest-Agder | ![]() |
Bokmål | |
![]() |
Vennesla | Vennesla | 14,095 | Kristiansandregionen | Inland | Vest-Agder | ![]() |
![]() |
Bokmål |
![]() |
Søgne | Tangvall | 11,217 | Kristiansandregionen | Coast | Vest-Agder | ![]() |
![]() |
Bokmål |
![]() |
Farsund | Farsund | 9,433 | Listerregionen | Coast | Vest-Agder | ![]() |
![]() |
Bokmål |
![]() |
Flekkefjord | Flekkefjord | 9,069 | Listerregionen | Coast | Vest-Agder | ![]() |
![]() |
Bokmål |
![]() |
Lillesand | Lillesand | 9,040 | Kristiansandregionen | Coast | Aust-Agder | ![]() |
![]() |
Bokmål |
![]() |
Lyngdal | Alleen | 8,335 | Listaregionen | Coast | Vest-Agder | ![]() |
Bokmål | |
![]() |
Risør | Risør | 6,894 | Østre Agder | Coast | Aust-Agder | ![]() |
![]() |
Bokmål |
![]() |
Songdalen | Nodeland | 6,354 | Kristiansandregionen | Inland | Vest-Agder | ![]() |
![]() |
Bokmål |
![]() |
Kvinesdal | Liknes | 5,984 | Listerregionen | Coast | Vest-Agder | ![]() |
![]() |
Bokmål |
![]() |
Froland | Blakstad | 5,532 | Østre Agder | Inland | Aust-Agder | ![]() |
![]() |
Bokmål |
![]() |
Lindesnes | Vigeland | 4,880 | Lindesnesregionen | Coast | Vest-Agder | ![]() |
![]() |
Bokmål |
![]() |
Birkenes | Birkeland | 4,689 | Kristiansandregionen | Inland | Aust-Agder | ![]() |
![]() |
Bokmål |
![]() |
Evje og Hornnes | Evje | 3,567 | Setesdal | Inland | Aust-Agder | ![]() |
![]() |
Bokmål |
![]() |
Gjerstad | Gjerstad | 2,478 | Østre Agder | Inland | Aust-Agder | ![]() |
Bokmål | |
![]() |
Marnardal | Heddeland | 2,294 | Lindesnesregionen | Inland | Vest-Agder | ![]() |
Bokmål | |
![]() |
Vegårshei | Myra | 2,018 | Østre Agder | Inland | Aust-Agder | ![]() |
![]() |
Bokmål |
![]() |
Sirdal | Tonstad | 1,838 | Listerregionen | Inland | Vest-Agder | ![]() |
Nynorsk | |
![]() |
Åmli | Åmli | 1,832 | Østre Agder | Inland | Aust-Agder | ![]() |
Nynorsk | |
![]() |
Audnedal | Konsmo | 1,750 | Lindesnesregionen | Inland | Vest-Agder | ![]() |
Nynorsk | |
![]() |
Hægebostad | Tingvatn | 1,693 | Lindesnesregionen | Inland | Vest-Agder | ![]() |
Nynorsk | |
![]() |
Iveland | Birketveit | 1,315 | Kristiansandregionen | Inland | Aust-Agder | ![]() |
Netrual | |
![]() |
Valle | Valle | 1,251 | Setesdal | Inland | Aust-Agder | ![]() |
Nynorsk | |
![]() |
Bygland | Bygland | 1,189 | Setesdal | Inland | Aust-Agder | ![]() |
Nynorsk | |
![]() |
Bykle | Bykle | 933 | Setesdal | Inland | Aust-Agder | ![]() |
Nynorsk | |
![]() |
Åseral | Kyrkjebygda | 925 | Lindesnesregionen | Inland | Vest-Agder | ![]() |
Nynorsk |
Image gallery
-
Kirkehavn on Hidra, Vest-Agder, Norway
-
Arendal
-
Risør
-
Kristiansand harbor
See also
- Demographics of Southern Norway
- Kashubian vetch - Sørlandsvikke (Kasjubiasvikke)
References
External links
South Norway travel guide from Wikivoyage
- Southern Norway www.visitnorway.com
- Getting to Southern Norway and around
- Agder
- Visit Sørlandet
- University of Agder
- Tonal characteristics of some varieties of spoken South Norwegian.