Lardal (
The highest point in Lardal is Pikstein, which is located in western Lardal along the Buskerud county border.
General information
The
prestegjeld of
Laurdal (later spelled
Lardal) was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The municipality included the three sub-parishes of Svarstad,
Styrvoll, and Hem. On 1 January 1983, an unpopulated area of Bergan, just south of Steinsholt, was transferred to Lardal from the neighboring municipality of
Hedrum. On 9 January 1987, another unpopulated area was transferred to Lardal from the neighboring municipality of
Hedrum.
On 1 January 2018, the municipality of Lardal was merged into the neighboring Larvik Municipality.
Name
The municipality (originally the
prestegjeld) is named after the Lardal valley (). The first element is the
genitive case of which means "
water" or "
river" (referring to the local river Numedalslågen). The last element is which means "
valley" or "dale". Prior to 1889, the name was spelled
"Laurdal". In 1889, the spelling was changed to "Lardal".
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 17 July 1992. The official
blazon is
"Gules, a hulder Or" (). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a
hulder. The hulder has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The hulder is a part of old Scandinavian folklore. This was chosen to represent the large
areas in Lardal that were said to be inhabited by hulder. The arms were designed by
Arvid Steen. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.
Churches
The Church of Norway had three parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Lardal. It was part of the
Larvik prosti (
deanery) in the Diocese of Tunsberg.
| Churches in Larvik
!Parish (sokn)!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built |
| c. 1100 |
| c. 1150 |
| 1657 |
Government
+ Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Lardal by country of origin in 2017 |
|
| 41 |
| 35 |
| 22 |
While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient
Health care,
old age services,
unemployment,
Social work,
zoning, economic development, and municipal
. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of
Direct election representatives. The
mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.
The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Vestfold District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.
Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Lardal was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political
Political party.
Mayors
The mayors () of Lardal:
-
1838-1842: C.F. Blehr
-
1842-1845: Engebret L. Sverkholt
-
1845-1852: Jacob Schjerven
-
1852-1856: Nils Hem
-
1856-1861: Jacob Schjerven
-
1861-1863: K. Olafsen
-
1863-1865: Nils Hem
-
1865-1867: Jacob Schjerven
-
1867-1871: M.O. Aschjem
-
1871-1873: Christian Smukkestad
-
1873-1881: H.J. Aschjem
-
1881-1884: Halvor L. Sogn
-
1884-1886: Gullik Hogstvedt
-
1886-1897: O.J. Schjerven
-
1897-1898: M.O. Aschjem
-
1898-1901: Gullik Hogstvedt
-
1901-1907: Rasmus Lie
-
1907-1910: J. Stensholt
-
1910-1916: Olaf G. Hogstvedt
-
1920-1922: Nils Jakob Schjerven (H)
-
1923-1928: Hans J. Lie
-
1929-1931: Nils Jakob Schjerven (H)
-
1934-1940: Halvor Sogn
-
1945-1945: Halvor Sogn
-
1946-1951: Syvert H. Lie
-
1952-1975: Nefton S. Melås
-
1976-1981: Tjodolf Hoff (Sp)
-
1984-1987: Borger Steinsholt (Ap)
-
1987-1992: Dag Terje Andersen (Ap)
-
1992-1998: Dagfinn Gjerden (Ap)
-
1998-2003: Rune Høiseth (Ap)
-
2003-2007: Nils Røsholt (Sp)
-
2007-2015: Liv Grinde (Ap)
-
2015-2017: Knut Olav Omholt (Ap)
See also
-
List of former municipalities of Norway
External links
