The parish of Vennesla was established in 1864 when it was separated from the larger municipality of Øvrebø. Initially, Vennesla had 1,103 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Vennesla was merged with most of the neighboring municipality of Øvrebø and with all of another neighboring municipality, Hægeland which created a new, much larger municipality of Vennesla. On 1 January 1978, a small area of Vennesla was transferred to neighboring Songdalen municipality. Then again on 1 January 1984, the unpopulated Hauglandsvatnet area was transferred from Vennesla to Songdalen municipality. On 1 January 1990, the unpopulated Røssebrekka area, just east of the village of Vennesla was transferred from Kristiansand municipality to Vennesla.
Name
The municipality is named after the old Vennesla farm, since the first Vennesla Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of vendill which means "small twig" and the last element is lá which means "swamp".
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times; they were granted on 15 May 1971. The arms have a red background. There are three wavy lines diagonally crossing the arms which symbolises the river Otra, which runs through the municipality. Above the lines are golden outlines of six trees which symbolize the importance of forestry to the local economy. Below the river are two gold colored cogwheels which symbolize the local industry. There is a three-pointed crown on top of the arms which represent the three municipalities that were merged in 1964 to form the present municipality: Vennesla, Øvrebø, and Hægeland.
The municipal council of Vennesla is made up of 27 representatives that are elected to four year terms. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:
Geography
Vennesla municipality is situated in Vest-Agder county, Norway, about north of the city of Kristiansand. The neighboring municipalities to the west are Marnardal and Songdalen, Birkenes and Iveland are to the east, Evje og Hornnes is to the northeast, and Kristiansand municipality is to the south. The river Otra runs through the municipality from north to south. Both of the lakes Kilefjorden and Venneslafjorden are located along the river. The river Songdalselva runs through the western part of the municipality.
Climate
Economy
Vennesla has a small industrial base, primarily with Hunsfos Fabrikker AS, a paper mill, as the cornerstone of the community. During recent decades, however, the number of employees has drastically declined from around 1,200 in the 1970s, to 200 in 2005 and 120 in 2007. In 2010 there was only 135 employees at the paper mill. In 2011, Hunsfos Fabrikker AS celebrated 125 years as a paper mill.
Media
The newspaper Vennesla Tidende has been published in Vennesla since 1989.
Attractions
Vikeland Hovedgård
Vikeland Hovedgård is a manor house located along the Otra River in the village of Vennesla. Vigeland Manor was completed in 1847. The building was constructed of wood in both Empire and Swiss style. It was built as part of Vigeland Brug, then one of the largest sawmills in the area. Vigeland Manor was built by Caspar Wild who bought the farm and adjacent sawmill in 1833. In 1894, the farm was sold to John Clarke Hawkshaw whose family retained the manor until around 1960. The current annex was built around 1900. During the 1980s, there was restoration with the main building subsequently used as lodging, corporate, and meeting facilities. The manor house has been said to be haunted by a ghost known as "the Blue Lady" . Mari was a farm worker who fell in love with the owner's son. They were not allowed to marry, so it is said Mari committed suicide in the "blue room", hence the title "the Blue Lady".
Vennesla Church
serves Vennesla parish in Otredaldeanery. The church was completed in 1829 and consecrated the following year. The church was built of stone and brick, while the west tower with side buildings are wooden. The church replaced a church from the first half of the 1600s. The tower was made higher in 1886, and the interior was restored in 1925.
