# Mandal, Norway

Mandal is a town in Lindesnes municipality in Agder county, Norway. Mandal is the fourth largest town in Agder as well as the administrative centre of Lindesnes municipality. It is located at the mouth of the river Mandalselva at the southern end of the Mandalen valley. The 6.63-square-kilometre (1,640-acre) town has a population (2019) of 11,053 and a population density of 1,667 inhabitants per square kilometre (4,320/sq mi). In Norway, Mandal is considered a by which can be translated as either a "town" or "city" in English.
The town lies along the European route E39 highway, about 40 kilometres (25 mi) southwest of the town of Kristiansand and about 60 kilometres (37 mi) southeast of the town of Flekkefjord. Mandal has a few suburban villages lying just outside its borders such as Ime immediately to the east and Sånum to the southwest. The village of Krossen lies about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the north, along the Mandalselva river.

## History

The area in which today's town of Mandal is located was not developed during the Middle Ages. During the 1300s, a trading post called Vester-Risør grew up along the Skogsfjorden, just west of the present-day town. The town began when King Eric of Pomerania gave the town the right to trade salmon. By the 1500s, Vesterrisør was a bustling port and trading centre, making it one of the oldest in Agder. In 1632, the trading post was given ladested rights, which included special trading privileges. During the mid-1600s, the name of the town was changed to Mandal. Salmon fishing and the timber industry pushed the town's growth even more during the 1700s. In 1779, the town's ladested status was formalized in the law. Mandal Church was completed in 1821 after the old church burned down in the town's fire of 1810.
On 1 January 1838, the small ladested was granted self-governing rights under the new formannskapsdistrikt law. In 1921, Mandal was designated as a kjøpstad, giving it full town status under the law. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the town of Mandal (population: 5,446) was merged with the neighboring municipality of Halse og Harkmark (population: 3,676) and most of the municipality of Holum (population: 1,127) to form a new, larger municipality of Mandal. Today, the town is also a tourist destination, especially due to its Sjøsanden beach.

### Name

The town is named after the valley (and river) in which it is located: Mandalen. The name Mandal which comes from the Old Norse name Marnardalr. The first element is the genitive case of the river name Mǫrn (now Mandalselva) and the last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale".
Prior to 1653, the town was named Vesterrisør (meaning "western Risør"). The name was originally referring to the island Risøya outside the town, and the first element was added in the 16th century to distinguish it from the town of Østerrisør (meaning "eastern Risør"), which is now simply called Risør.

### Municipal self-government (1838-1963)

In 1838, the formannskapsdistrikt law granted towns municipal self-government. During this time, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.

#### Mayors

The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Mandal:
* 1837–1838: Anton Henrik Scheel
* 1839–1841: Johan Malthe Hübert
* 1842-1842: Hans Peter Erichsen
* 1843-1843: Gulow Andorsen
* 1844-1844: Niels Nielsen Vogt
* 1845–1846: Gulow Andorsen
* 1847-1847: Niels Nielsen Vogt
* 1847-1847: Daniel Peter Christian Isaachsen
* 1848–1852: Ole Andreas Ohlsen
* 1853–1854: Niels Nielsen Vogt
* 1855-1855: Svennik Svensen
* 1856-1856: Thomas Madsen
* 1857-1857: Carl Emil Salvesen
* 1858-1858: Albert Jacobsen
* 1859-1859: Edvard Hieronimus Bassøe Wattne
* 1860-1860: Jens Henrik Beer Gundersen
* 1861–1862: Svennik Svensen
* 1863–1867: Lauritz Jacobsen
* 1868-1868: Jens Henrik Beer Gundersen
* 1869–1879: Lauritz Jacobsen
* 1879–1880: Jens Henrik Beer Gundersen
* 1881-1881: Hans Peter Rude
* 1882–1888: Gabriel Egidius Johan Henrik Sem
* 1889–1891: Hjalmar Selmer
* 1892-1892: Johan Fredrik Ekholm Reymert
* 1893–1899: Jens Kraft
* 1900-1900: Jørgen Peter Jørgensen
* 1901-1901: Adolf Paludan Ulriksen
* 1902–1904: Jørgen Peter Jørgensen
* 1905–1907: Torkild Tonstad
* 1908–1916: Christen Andreas Christensen
* 1917–1919: Kristen Schmidt
* 1920–1922: Christen Andreas Christensen
* 1923–1928: Marcus Halfdan Kastrud
* 1929–1931: Hans Peter Tallaksen
* 1932–1937: Marcus Halfdan Kastrud
* 1938–1940: Johan Birger Pedersen
* 1945-1945: Johan Birger Pedersen
* 1946-1946: Arne Syrdahl (Ap)
* 1947-1947: Viktor Nygaard
* 1948–1951: Jørgen Ørbech Bugge
* 1952–1954: Viktor Nygaard
* 1955-1955: Olav Gundersen
* 1956–1957: Viktor Nygaard
* 1959–1959: Herman Gulowsen
* 1960–1963: Olav Gundersen

#### Municipal council

The municipal council (Bystyre) of Mandal was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
Mandal bystyre 1960–1963 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 9 |
| | Conservative Party (Høyre) | 7 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 3 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 10 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 29 |
Mandal bystyre 1956–1959 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 11 |
| | Conservative Party (Høyre) | 7 |
| | Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti) | 1 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 2 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 8 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 29 |
Mandal bystyre 1952–1955 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 9 |
| | Conservative Party (Høyre) | 7 |
| | Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti) | 1 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 2 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 7 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 2 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 28 |
Mandal bystyre 1948–1951 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 9 |
| | Conservative Party (Høyre) | 7 |
| | Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti) | 2 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 1 |
| | Joint list of the Liberal Party (Venstre) and the Radical People's Party (Radikale Folkepartiet) | 7 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 2 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 28 |
Mandal bystyre 1945–1947 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 8 |
| | Conservative Party (Høyre) | 5 |
| | Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti) | 3 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 3 |
| | Joint list of the Liberal Party (Venstre) and the Radical People's Party (Radikale Folkepartiet) | 6 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 3 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 28 |
Mandal bystyre 1938–1940* :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 8 |
| | Temperance Party (Avholdspartiet) | 7 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 6 |
| | Joint list of the Conservative Party (Høyre) and the Free-minded People's Party (Frisinnede Folkeparti) | 7 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 28 |
| Note: Due to the German occupation of Norway during World War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945. |||
Mandal bystyre 1935–1937 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 8 |
| | Temperance Party (Avholdspartiet) | 6 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 7 |
| | Joint list of the Conservative Party (Høyre) and the Free-minded People's Party (Frisinnede Folkeparti) | 7 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 28 |
Mandal bystyre 1932–1934 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 7 |
| | Temperance Party (Avholdspartiet) | 6 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 7 |
| | Joint list of the Conservative Party (Høyre) and the Free-minded People's Party (Frisinnede Folkeparti) | 8 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 28 |
Mandal bystyre 1929–1931 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 6 |
| | Temperance Party (Avholdspartiet) | 8 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 5 |
| | Joint list of the Conservative Party (Høyre) and the Free-minded Liberal Party (Frisinnede Venstre) | 9 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 28 |
Mandal bystyre 1926–1928 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 5 |
| | Temperance Party (Avholdspartiet) | 6 |
| | Conservative Party (Høyre) | 8 |
| | Social Democratic Labour Party (Socialdemokratiske Arbeiderparti) | 2 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 4 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 3 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 28 |
Mandal bystyre 1923–1925 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 6 |
| | Temperance Party (Avholdspartiet) | 7 |
| | Social Democratic Labour Party (Socialdemokratiske Arbeiderparti) | 1 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 5 |
| | Joint list of the Conservative Party (Høyre) and the Free-minded Liberal Party (Frisinnede Venstre) | 9 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 28 |
Mandal bystyre 1920–1922 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 6 |
| | Liberal Party (Venstre) | 10 |
| | Joint list of the Conservative Party (Høyre) and the Free-minded Liberal Party (Frisinnede Venstre) | 10 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 2 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 28 |

## Media gallery

* View of part of the town center
* View of the Vestnes area of Mandal
* View of the bridge in Mandal
* View of the town centre and beach area
* View of the Mandal Church