Evje a town, trade center and administration center in Evje and Hornnes municipality in Agder. The settlement has 2,508 inhabitants as of 1 January 2020. Evje was previously its own municipality in Setesdal in Aust-Agder from 1 January 1877 to 31 December 1959.
Evje is a so-called Tettsted, i.e. a settlement that is counted as one area for statistical purposes. The place is situated on the banks of the river Otra, in the center of the municipality of Evje og Hornnes.
On January 1, 1877, the municipality of Evje og Vegusdal was split up
and Evje became an independent municipality. The independence ended with
the merger of the two communities Evje and Hornnes to today's Evje og
Hornnes. At the merger on January 1, 1960, 1646 people lived in Evje.
Until the end of 2019, Evje belonged to what was then Fylke Aust-Agder,
which was transferred to the newly created province of Agder as part of
the nationwide regional reform on January 1, 2020.
Evje used to
have a station on the route of the former Setesdal Railway, which
operated from 1896 to 1962. Today there is a shopping center that
includes a bookstore, a restaurant and many retail shops.
From
1912 to 2002, Evje was the site of the Evjemoen military camp, which was
used as a camp for Soviet prisoners of war under German occupation
during World War II. Today there are still some overgrown minefields in
the forest. A part of the military area is still used periodically for
military exercises.
In Evjemoen there is municipal administration and a few businesses.
The municipality's military museum can also be visited there during the
Norwegian summer holidays. Because of the rich mineral deposits, mines
were operated in Evje for a long time. In Evje there were nickel mines
and nickel processing. The Flåt nickel-copper mine (1872–1946) was
Europe's largest producer of nickel ore at the time. Ore mined in Evje
was also used in Kristiansand's metal industry. Today, however, these
mines are closed and only one tourist mine is open (the so-called
Mineralsti).
The Geology Museum at Fennefoss Waterfall runs a
mineral and heritage collection, as well as the old pharmacy, which was
also a former police station. The museum building is one of the oldest
surviving buildings in the area.