page_title: Gjerstad
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Gjerstad / History
caption_attribution_description: Norsk bokmål: Husmannsplassen Lia i Gjerstad. Ukjent fotograf. Fra Riksantikvarens Kulturminnesøk.
context_page_description: Gjerstad is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional region of Sørlandet, in the southeastern part of the county, along the border with Telemark county. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Gjerstad. Other villages in the municipality include Ausland, Eikeland, Fiane, Gryting, Østerholt, Rød, Sundebru, and Vestøl.
  The 322-square-kilometre municipality is the 264th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Gjerstad is the 295th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,511. The municipality's population density is 8.2 inhabitants per square kilometre and its population has decreased by 0.1% over the last decade.
context_section_description: Until about 1650, the prestegjeld of Gjerstad (the precursor to today's municipality) was named Vissedal (from vidr-ser-dalr meaning "wood-sea-dale"), a very proper description of the area. Gjerstad has been inhabited from the Stone Age and Viking Age through modern times. Agriculture has long been important, and until only decades ago the more marginal outfields in Upper Gjerstad were still utilized. Forestry also provided an important historic economic contribution, and logs were driven on rivers and streams in the municipality. To aid log transport by floating, numerous dams were constructed. Eikeland Ironworks were a significant contribution to the economy as well.
caption: View of a cotter's home at Lia in Gjerstad
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