Birkenes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| County | Aust-Agder | |
| District | ||
| Municipality | NO-0928 | |
| Administrative centre | Birkeland | |
| Mayor (2004) | Harald Vestøl (H) | |
| Official language form | Neutral | |
| Area - Total - Land - Percentage |
Ranked 164 674 km² 630 km² 0.21 % |
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| Population - Total (2004) - Percentage - Change (10 years) - Density |
Ranked 220 4,339 0.09 % 7.0 % 7/km² |
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| Coordinates | ||
| www.birkenes.kommune.no |
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Birkenes is a municipality in the county of Aust-Agder, Norway. In 1967, Birkenes municipality was combined with the former municipalities of Herefoss and Vegusdal.
The municipality is bounded by Kristiansand and Vennesla municipalities in Vest-Agder and Iveland, Evje og Hornnes, Froland, Grimstad and Lillesand municipalities in Aust-Adger.
Birkeland is the municipality center and about half of the municipality residents live here. Birkeland is 30-kilometers from Kristiansand and 13-kilometers from Lillesand.
[edit] The name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old farm Birkenes (Norse Birkines), since the first church was built there. The first element is birki n 'birch wood', the last element is nes n 'headland'.
[edit] Economy
Agriculture and timbering are important sources of employment, but the municipality also has small industry with about 400 different work sites. The largest enterprise is Owens Corning with approximately 180 employees. Other larger businesses include Uldal Vinduer og Dører, Foss Bad, Scanflex, KOAB Industrier, and Birkeland Trykkeri.
The Sørlandsbanen provides rail service at Herefoss station.
[edit] External links
| Municipalities of Aust-Agder |  |
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Arendal | Birkenes | Bygland | Bykle | Evje og Hornnes | Froland | Gjerstad | Grimstad | Iveland | Lillesand | Risør | Tvedestrand | Valle | Vegårshei | Åmli |
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