Hornnes is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. Hornnes was located in what is now the present-day municipality of Evje og Hornnes in the traditional district of Setesdal in Agder county. The 378-square-kilometre (146 sq mi) municipality of Hornnes existed from 1886 until 1960. The administrative centre was the village of Hornnes where the Hornnes Church is located.

History

The municipality of Hornnes was created on 1 January 1886 when the old municipality of Hornnes og Iveland was divided into two separate municipalities: Hornnes (population: 1,113) and Iveland (population: 1,103). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1960, Hornnes was merged with the neighboring municipality of Evje to form a new municipality called Evje og Hornnes (literally "Evje and Hornnes"). Prior to the merger Hornnes had a population of 1,280.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Hornnes farm (Old Norse: Hornnes) since the first Hornnes Church was built there. The first element is horn which means "horn". The last element is nes which means "headland". So the meaning of Hornnes is "the headland shaped like a horn". This is likely referring to the two horn-shaped peninsulas that jut out into the river Otra at the entrance to the lake Breidflå. Historically, the name was spelled Hordnæs.

Government

While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Hornnes was made up of 21 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Hornnes:

Attractions

Hornnes Church

Hornnes Church is an octagonal building that was constructed in 1828. Historical records show that there was a church in Hornnes as far back as 1327. There are also records in Rome referring to "Ornes i Odralen" (Hornnes Church is part of the Otredal prosti).

Mining

Mining is prevalent throughout the region, and Hornnes is home to the Hornnes Mineralparken. Visitors can tour a mine and learn about the minerals such as quartz and feldspar that are mined there.

Notable people

• Hartvig Caspar Christie (1893-1959), a Norwegian politician
• Torleiv Hannaas (1874-1929), a Norwegian philologist who was chairman of Noregs Mållag
• Geir Kjetsaa (1937-2008), a professor

See also

• List of former municipalities of Norway