Øyestad

Øyestad kommune
Former Municipality

Øyestad church
Coordinates: 58°24′43″N 08°38′55″E / 58.41194°N 8.64861°E / 58.41194; 8.64861Coordinates: 58°24′43″N 08°38′55″E / 58.41194°N 8.64861°E / 58.41194; 8.64861
Country Norway
County Aust-Agder
District Sørlandet
Municipality ID NO-0920
Adm. Center Øyestad
Area
 • Total 93 km2 (36 sq mi)
Created as Formannskapsdistrikt in 1838
Merged with Arendal in 1992

Øyestad is a former municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is located in the present-day municipality of Arendal in the Sørlandet region. The municipality of Øyestad encompassed most of the coastline between the towns of Grimstad and Arendal, along with the forested areas along the Nidelva river.[1]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Øiestad farm (Old Norse: Øyjarsstaðir), since the first church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the male name Øyjarr and the last element is staðir which means "homestead" or "farm".[2]

History

The parish of Øiestad was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). In 1846, the area of Fjære (population: 2,806) was split off to form a separate municipality. The municipality was again split when the area of Froland (population: 1,976), leaving Øiestad with 5,215 inhabitants. On 1 January 1875, an area of neighboring Arendal municipality (population: 52) was transferred to Øyestad. Then on 1 January 1881, the area of Hisøy (population: 2,652) was separated to form a municipality of its own. This left Øyestad with a population of 4,474. In 1936, an area of Øyestad (population: 33) was transferred to neighboring Moland municipality.

On 1 January 1962, the uninhabited area of Salvestjønn was transferred from Øyestad to Landvik. On 1 January 1992, Øyestad was incorporated into the municipality of Arendal, along with Hisøy, Tromøy, and Moland. Prior to the merger Øyestad had a population of 8,679.[3][4]

Øyestad Church

Øyestad Church (Øyestad kirke) is a Medieval, Gothic nave church. The church built in stone with 300 seats. Dating is uncertain, but it is generally assumed that it was built ca. 1200. The congregation celebrated the church's 800th anniversary in 2000. Øyestad was formerly the main church for several parishes: Øyestad, Fjære, Grimstad, Froland and Hisøy. The church was damaged by fire in 1900. The choir, sacristy, tower, altarpiece and pulpit were destroyed along with the paintings on the walls. The church was restored and rededicated in 1902. In 2008 the church underwent extensive restoration.[5]

Notable residents

References

  1. ↑ "Øyestad" (in Norwegian). Store Norske Leksikon. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
  2. ↑ Rygh, Oluf (1905). Norske gaardnavne: Nedenes amt (in Norwegian) (8 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 105.
  3. ↑ "Hjemmehørende folkemengde Aust-Agder 1801-1960" (in Norwegian). Registreringssentral for historiske data: University of Tromsø.
  4. ↑ Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå.
  5. ↑ "Øyestad kirke". kulturminnesok. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
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