Holt, Aust-Agder

Holt is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The 176-square-kilometre (68 sq mi) municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1960 when it was merged into the present-day municipality of Tvedestrand which is now in Agder county. The administrative centre of Holt was located just south of the village of Fiane where Holt Church is located.[2]

Holt herred
Former municipality
View of Holt Church
Aust-Agder within
Norway
Holt within Aust-Agder
Coordinates: 58°36′24″N 08°52′16″E
CountryNorway
CountyAust-Agder
DistrictØstre Agder
Established1 Jan 1838
Disestablished1 Jan 1960
Administrative centreFiane
Area
 • Total176 km2 (68 sq mi)
 *Area at municipal dissolution.
Population
 (1960)
 • Total3,759
 • Density21/km2 (55/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Holting[1]
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-0914
Created asFormannskapsdistrikt in 1838
Succeeded byTvedestrand in 1960
Data from Statistics Norway

Holt Church probably dates from the twelfth century and has an ancient baptismal font. The interior was decorated by Torsten Hoff. The Nordkalottruta trail runs through the Holt area in Tvedestrand.

History

The parish of Holt was established as a civil municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). According to the 1835 census, the municipality had a population of 3,116.[3]

On 1 January 1881, a part of Holt with 52 inhabitants was moved to the neighboring municipality of Dypvåg, and on 1 July 1919 another part of Holt with 14 inhabitants was moved to the neighboring municipality of Moland. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1960, the municipalities of Holt (population: 3,759) and Dypvåg (population: 1,805) plus the town of Tvedestrand (population: 868) were merged to form an enlarged municipality of Tvedestrand.[4]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Holt farm (Old Norse: Holt), since the first Holt Church was built there. The name comes from skogholt (lund) which means "grove (of trees)".[5]

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Holt, 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 was governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elected a mayor.[6]

Municipal council

The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Holt was made up of 21 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

Holt Herredsstyre 1956–1959 [7]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)8
 Conservative Party (Høyre)2
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)3
 Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)3
 Liberal Party (Venstre)4
 List of workers, fishermen, and small farmholders
(Arbeidere, fiskere, småbrukere liste)		1
Total number of members:21
Holt Herredsstyre 1952–1955 [8]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)8
 Conservative Party (Høyre)2
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)2
 Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)3
 Liberal Party (Venstre)5
Total number of members:20
Holt Herredsstyre 1948–1951 [9]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)8
 Conservative Party (Høyre)2
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)3
 Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)3
 Joint list of the Liberal Party (Venstre) and
the Radical People's Party (Radikale Folkepartiet)		4
Total number of members:20
Holt Herredsstyre 1945–1947 [10]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)9
 Conservative Party (Høyre)1
 Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)5
 Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)2
 Joint list of the Liberal Party (Venstre) and
the Radical People's Party (Radikale Folkepartiet)		3
Total number of members:20
Holt Herredsstyre 1938–1941* [11]  
Party Name (in Norwegian)Number of
representatives
 Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)6
 Conservative Party (Høyre)3
 Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)4
 Liberal Party (Venstre)5
 List of workers, fishermen, and small farmholders
(Arbeidere, fiskere, småbrukere liste)		2
Total number of members:20

Attractions

Holt Church

Holt Church (Holt Kirke) is a cruciform church dating from the 1100s. The medieval-era church was constructed of stone. In 1753, it was expanded. The extension, choir and transepts were built of wood. The rebuilt church was also equipped with a chancel arch, decorated in the rococo style. The church has a baptismal font made out of soapstone, carved in high Gothic style. The Baroque altarpiece from 1732 is carved with a painting of Jesus in Gethsemane.[12]

Notable residents

See also

References
  1. "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  2. Thorsnæs, Geir, ed. (24 July 2015). "Holt". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  3. "Hjemmehørende folkemengde Aust-Agder 1801-1960" (in Norwegian). University of Tromsø: Registreringssentral for historiske data.
  4. Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå.
  5. Rygh, Oluf (1905). Norske gaardnavne: Nedenes amt (in Norwegian) (8 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 45.
  6. Hansen, Tore, ed. (12 May 2016). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  7. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  8. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  9. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  10. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  11. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  12. Aldin Thune, Nina, ed. (16 March 2012). "Holt kirke". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 1 January 2018.

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