Gjerstad kommune
—  Municipality  —
Coat of arms Aust-Agder within Norway
Gjerstad within Aust-Agder
Coordinates (city): 58°53′33″N 8°57′24″E / 58.8925°N 8.95667°E / 58.8925; 8.95667Coordinates: 58°53′33″N 8°57′24″E / 58.8925°N 8.95667°E / 58.8925; 8.95667
Country	Norway
County	Aust-Agder
District	Sørlandet
Municipality ID	NO-0911
Administrative centre	Gjerstad
Government
- Mayor (2007)	Rune Hagestrand (H)
Area (Nr. 263 in Norway)
- Total	322 km2 (124.3 sq mi)
- Land	308 km2 (118.9 sq mi)
Population (2004)
- Total	2,513
- Density	8/km2 (20.7/sq mi)
- Change (10 years)	-0.6 %
- Rank in Norway	298
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Official language form	Neutral
Norwegian demonym	Gjersdøl Gjersdøling[1]
Website	www.gjerstad.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Gjerstad is a municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional region of Sørlandet. The parish of Gjerrestad was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt).

Contents 1 General information 1.1 Name 1.2 Coat-of-arms 2 History 3 Geography 4 Attractions 5 Notable residents 6 References 7 External links

[edit] General information

[edit] Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Gjerstad farm (Old Norse: Geirreksstaðir), since the first church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the male name Geirrekr and the last element is staðir which means "homestead" or "farm".^[2]

[edit] Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 18 April 1986. The arms show three knives as a symbol for the smithies and knife makers in the municipality. Knife making has long been a local tradition for which the village is well-known.^[3]

[edit] History

Gjerstad was originally called Visedal. Gjerstad has been inhabited from the Stone Age and Viking Age through modern times. Agriculture has long been important, and until only decades ago the more marginal outfields in Upper Gjerstad were still utilized. Forestry also provided an important historic economic contribution, and logs were driven on rivers and streams in the municipality. To aid log transport by floating, numerous dams were constructed. Eikeland Ironworks were a significant contribution to the economy as well.

[edit] Geography

Gjerstad municipality has numerous glacially formed features, including a U-shaped valley, tarns and lakes. It is bordered in the north by Nissedal, Telemark and Drangedal, Telemark; in the east by Kragerø, Telemark; in the south by Risør, Aust-Agder; and in the southwest by Vegårshei, Aust-Agder.

[edit] Attractions

• The remains of Eikeland Ironworks can still be seen in the upper valley. Gjerstad was famous for its beautiful handmade knives and the coat-of-arms recognizes this heritage.
• Holmen Farm (Norwegian: Holmen Gård) in upper Gjerstad is a Norwegian national center for handicraft.
• Horga is a pagan place of sacrifice which was destroyed by Olav Trygvason, which lies 300 metres (980 ft) from Holmen Gård.

[edit] Notable residents

Niels Henrik Abel (1802-1829), Norwegian mathematician, was the son of Søren Georg Abel. His grandfather, Hans Mathias Abel, served as minister to Gjerstad municipality from 1785 to 1804. His father became minister in Gjerstad in 1804, so Abel spent his boyhood in the rectory at Gjerstad. Abel spent his last months at the nearby Froland Verk.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gjerstad

Look up Gjerstad in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
• Aust-Agder travel guide from Wikitravel
• Gjerstad.org (Norwegian)
• Culture in Gjerstad on the map (Norwegian)

v • d • e Municipalities of Aust-Agder Åmli · Arendal · Birkenes · Bygland · Bykle · Evje og Hornnes · Froland · Gjerstad · Grimstad · Iveland · Lillesand · Risør · Tvedestrand · Valle · Vegårshei