Lillesand () is municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of Lillesand. Some of the larger villages in Lillesand municipality include Åkerøyhamn, Brekkestø, Gamle Hellesund, Helldal, Høvåg, Ribe, Skottevik, Trøe, Ulvøysund, and Vesterhus.

The municipality is the 306th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Lillesand is the 100th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 11,419. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 13.8% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

thumb|left|upright|[[Lillesand Church in the centre of the town]]

The town of Lillesand was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law).

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, the following areas were merged into a new, larger municipality of Lillesand:

  • the town of Lillesand (population: 1,041)
  • the rural municipality of Høvåg (population: 1,330)
  • the rural municipality of Vestre Moland (population: 2,454)
  • the Gitmarkgårdene area of Eide municipality (population: 22)

Name

The municipality was named after the town of Lillesand, originally just Sand (). The name is identical to the word which means "sand" or "sandy beach". The prefix is , which means "little", was added after the founding of Christianssand in 1641 to distinguish it from the greater and more important town nearby.

Coat of arms

thumb|left|100px|Current coat of arms (since 1987)

thumb|left|100px|Previous coat of arms (1954–1987)

The coat of arms was granted on 11 September 1987. The official blazon is "Azure, three anchors argent in pall annulets conjoined" (). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is three anchors. The anchors have a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The blue color in the field and the anchors were chosen to symbolize the connection that the municipality has with the sea. There are three anchors to symbolize the three smaller municipalities that were merged in 1964 to form the present municipality. The arms were designed by Daniel Rike. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

The previous coat of arms for Lillesand was approved on 15 December 1954 and in use until 10 September 1987. The blazon was "Azure, an anchor under a tern volant argent". This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is an anchor with an Arctic tern flying above it. The anchor and tern have a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. Both symbols refer to the long coastline of the municipality and the importance of fishing and shipping for the local economy. The arms were designed by Jens T. Thommasen and Kjell Westermark Mørch. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Agder District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council () of Lillesand is made up of 27 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayors () of Lillesand (incomplete list):

  • 1907-1937: Noan Christian Gauslaa (V)
  • 1938-1945: Henrik Rønnevig
  • 1946-1951: Kristoffer Knudsen
  • 1952-1955: Ole Grimnes (H)
  • 1956-1957: Sigurd Aanonsen (H)
  • 1958-1961: Kjell Rosenberg (V)
  • 1962-1963: Birger Gauslaa (V)
  • 1964-1967: Daniel Steen Varen (V)
  • 1968-1973: Håkon A. Østberg (H)
  • 1974-1975: Eigil Bjørk Knudsen (KrF)
  • 1976-1983: Bjørgulf Aune (H)
  • 1984-1987: Kristian Sundtoft (H)
  • 1988-1991: Gunnar Oftedahl (H)
  • 1992-1995: Ragnhild Omdal Mollatt (H)
  • 1995-1999: Kristian Sundtoft (H)
  • 1999-2003: Odd Steindal (H)
  • 2003-2019: Arne Thomassen (H)
  • 2019–present: Einar Holmer-Hoven (H)

Attractions

thumb|Øvre gate with white wooden houses in the town center of Lillesand

The Norwegian National Park Skjærgårdsparken lies between Risør and Lillesand. Skjærgårdsparken, "the Park of Archipelago" is a paradise of islands, skerries, and rocks. Blindleia is a 12 kilometers Inland waterway between Lillesand and Ulvøysund with much small boat traffic in the summertime. The village of Brekkestø is tourist area on the island of Justøya.

Lillesand Town- and Maritime Museum is a local, culture historic museum, located in the centre of the town. The museum is also called Carl Knudsen-gården.

The Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder refers to this town in several of his books, for example in Sophie's World, where The Solitaire Mystery refers to Lillesand.

Churches

Lillesand Church is a wooden church which was built in 1887–1889 in Gothic Revival/Swiss style. The architect was Henrik Thrap-Meyer who also designed the pulpit, altarpiece and baptismal font. The altarpiece was done by Abraham Tønnessen. Lillesand Church is perched high above the city on a hill at Kirkeheia.

In the current Lillesand municipality are also the medieval stone churches Vestre Moland Church and Høvåg Church, both of which are listed cultural heritage sites.

Notable people

130px|thumb|Knut Hamsun, 1939

130px|thumb|Jorunn Lossius, 2018

  • Christian Jensen Lofthuus (1750–1797), the owner of Lofthus farm and leader of the peasant revolt Lofthusreisingen which was commemorated with a monument at the harbour in Lillesand
  • Mads Langaard (1815 in Lillesand – 1891), a brewery owner who founded Frydenlunds bryggeri, now a division of Ringnes
  • N. O. Nelson (1844 in Lillesand – 1922), the founder of N. O. Nelson Manufacturing Company in St. Louis, Missouri, and founder of the village of LeClaire as a model company town
  • Knut Hamsun (1859–1952), a writer and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature bought Nørholm, a dilapidated manor house between Lillesand and Grimstad where he lived and worked
  • Gabriel Scott (1874–1958), a poet, novelist, playwright, and children's writer who was brought up in Høvåg
  • Mathis Mathisen (born 1937 in Lillesand), a teacher, novelist, playwright, and children's writer
  • Liv Stoveland (born 1965 in Lillesand), a soprano and singing teacher
  • Jorunn Gleditsch Lossius (born 1980), a politician and deputy Mayor of Lillesand
  • Jan Trygve Røyneland (born 1981 in Lillesand), a TV and film writer
  • Sophie's World (written in 1991), a book by writer Jostein Gaarder about Sophie Amundsen, a 14-year-old girl who lives in Lillesand
  • Heroes & Zeros (formed in 2003), a rock band from Lillesand whose lead singer is Hans Jørgen Undelstvedt

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Lillesand has sister city agreements with the following places:

  • Kalundborg, Region Sjælland, Denmark
  • Kimitoön, Southwest Finland, Finland
  • Nynäshamn, Stockholm County, Sweden

References

  • Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
  • Municipal website
  • Lillesand on www.visitnorway.com
  • Welcome to Lillesand Municipality Lillesand Municipality
  • The Sailors of Lillesand
  • Lillesands-Posten, local newspaper, homepage