Hægebostad
Hægebostad is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tingvatn. Other villages in Hægebostad include Eiken, Haddeland, and Snartemo. The municipality encompasses the northern end of the Lyngdalen valley which follows the river Lygna. The Sørlandet Line runs through the municipality from east to west, stopping at Snartemo Station in Snartemo. To get into and out of the valley in which Hægebostad is located, the trains must go through two of the longest railway tunnels in Norway: Hægebostad Tunnel and Kvineshei  Tunnel. The municipality is the 216th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Hægebostad is the 297th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,680. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 3.4% over the previous 10-year period. General information. The parish of Hægebostad was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1915, the municipality was divided into two municipalities: Eiken (population: 932) in the north and Hægebostad (population: 867) in the south. On 1 January 1963, the two municipalities were merged  back together as the municipality of Hægebostad once again. Prior to the merger, Hægebostad had 813 residents and Eiken had 784 residents. Name. The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old "Hægebostad" farm (), since the first Hægebostad Church was built there. This farm is now on the north side of the village of Snartemo. The first element of the name is "helg-" which means "holy" and the last element is the plural form of "bólstaðr" which means "homestead" or "farm". Before 1889, the name was written "Hegebostad". Coat of arms. The coat of arms was granted on 4  April 1986. The arms show the two gold swords pointing downwards on a red background. The swords represent the two swards of Snartemo and Eiken dating from the 4th–6th century that were found in the municipality. The swords were highly decorated with silver and gold. Churches. The Church of Norway has two parishes () within the municipality of Hægebostad. It is part of the Lister og Mandal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. Government. All municipalities in Norway, including Hægebostad, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social  services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor. The municipality falls under the Lister District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal. Municipal council. The municipal council () of Hægebostad is made up of 15 representatives that are elected to four year terms. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows: Geography. Hægebostad is an inland municipality, with Åseral municipality to the northeast, Kvinesdal to the west and Lyngdal to the south and east. The municipality covers the upper Lyngdalen valley from the mountains in the  north, along the river Lygna to Lyngdal municipality in the south. The lake Lygne lies in the central part of the municipality.