Undal

---

title: "Undal" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["lyngdal", "lindesnes", "former-municipalities-of-norway", "1838-establishments-in-norway", "1845-disestablishments-in-norway"] description: "Former municipality in Vest-Agder, Norway" topic_path: "geography/norway" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undal" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Former municipality in Vest-Agder, Norway ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox kommune"]

Field	Value
name	Undal
herred	yes
former	yes
idnumber	1027
county	Vest-Agder
district	Sørlandet
established	1 Jan 1838
preceded	none
disestablished	1 Jan 1845
succeeded	Nordre Undal and
Søndre Undal municipalities
area_footnotes
area_total_km2	368
population_as_of	1845
population_total	4695
population_density_km2	auto
coordinates
::

|name = Undal |herred = yes |former = yes |native_name = |native_name_lang = |other_name = |official_name = |image_skyline = |image_caption = |idnumber = 1027 |county = Vest-Agder |district = Sørlandet |capital = |established = 1 Jan 1838 |preceded = none |disestablished = 1 Jan 1845 |succeeded = Nordre Undal and Søndre Undal municipalities |demonym = |language = |coatofarms = |flag = |mayor = |mayor_party = |mayor_as_of = |area_rank = |area_footnotes = |area_total_km2 = 368 |area_land_km2 = |area_water_km2 = |area_water_percent = |population_as_of = 1845 |population_rank = |population_total = 4695 |population_density_km2 = auto |coordinates =

Undal is a former municipality that was located in the old Vest-Agder county in Norway. The 368 km2 municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1845. It encompassed parts of the present-day municipalities of Lyngdal and Lindesnes. The municipality encompassed most of the Audnedalen valley which follows the river Audna southwards to the sea.

History

The parish of Undal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The municipality was short-lived and it existed only until 1845, when it was divided into the new municipalities of Nordre Undal (population: 802) in the north and Søndre Undal (population: 3,893) in the south. Prior to the split Undal had a population of 4,695.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Audnedalen valley (), but over time the name was shorted due to a corruption of the language. The first element is the genitive case of the river name Auðna (now Audna). The river name is derived from the word which means "destruction" or "wasteland" (because of the flooding that often happens along the river). The last element is which means "valley" or "dale". The municipality was dissolved in 1848, but the name lived on. In the early 20th century, the name Undal was Norwegianized to Audnedal, bringing back its more original spelling.

Government

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.

Mayors

The mayors () of Undal:

• 1837–1841: Rev. Lassen
• 1841–1844: Bertel Person Roland

References

References

1. (1903). "Norges land og folk: Lister og Mandals amt". H. Aschehoug & Company.
2. Store norske leksikon. "Undal".
3. Jukvam, Dag. (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen". [[Statistics Norway.
4. Rygh, Oluf. (1912). "Norske gaardnavne: Lister og Mandals amt". W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri.
5. Store norske leksikon. "Audnedal".
6. (2022-09-20). "kommunestyre". [[Kunnskapsforlaget]].
7. Bergstøl, Tore. (1960). "Vigmostadboka. 2 : Nærings- og kulturlivet". Trykki Salvesen.

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