Vegårshei


Vegårshei is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative center is the village of Myra. Other villages in Vegårshei include Mo and Ubergsmoen.
The municipality is the 256th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Vegårshei is the 321st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,104. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 12.9% over the last decade.

General information

The parish of Vegaardsheien was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. The borders of the municipality have not changed since that time.

Name

The Old Norse form of the name may have been Vigisheiðr. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the lake Vegår. The last element is heiðr which means "heath" or "moor". Historically, the name was spelled as Wegaardsheien or Vegaardsheien, and sometimes it was abbreviated as simply Heien.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 30 April 1987. The arms show a fox as a representative of the local wildlife and also for the fox farming in the village.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish ' within the municipality of Vegårshei. It is part of the Aust-Nedenes prosti in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.
Parish 'Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
VegårsheiVegårshei ChurchMyra1808

Geography

Vegårshei is bordered on the north by the municipalities of Nissedal and Gjerstad, on the east by Risør, on the south by Tvedestrand, and on the west by Åmli. The lake Vegår dominates the northern part of the hilly and forested municipality.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Vegårshei, are responsible for primary education, 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.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Vegårshei is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:

Economy

Vegårshei used to be primarily an agricultural and lumber-based community. It is well-suited for hunting and fishing for residents and tourists alike.

Transportation

The Sørlandsbanen railway line runs through the municipality, stopping at Vegårshei Station, just north of the village of Myra. There are several Norwegian county roads that cross the municipality, connecting it to its neighbors. Some of the roads include Norwegian County Road 414, Norwegian County Road 415, Norwegian County Road 416, and Norwegian County Road 417.