Lillesand is a municipality and a town in Agder. The municipality
borders in the west towards Kristiansand, in the north towards
Birkenes, and in the northeast towards Grimstad. There are 10,700
people living in Lillesand municipality, but the population is
increasing sharply in summer. The municipality's center is the old
charging station Lillesand, now a town and town, and most of the
municipality's inhabitants live here. The town has 7,966 inhabitants
as of 1 January 2020. The municipality is characterized by growth
due to, as well as its reputation as a southern idyll and holiday
resort. Blindleia runs through large parts of the municipality.
Today's municipality has its history from 1962, when the former
municipalities Vestre Moland and Høvåg and the charging station
Lillesand were merged.
History
Vestre Moland parish
Steinkirken by Møglestu was
the center of Vestre Moland parish, and the building is probably
from the end of the 12th century. It has since been added; only the
wall part is original. The parish is first mentioned in a medieval
letter from 13 December 1347. The parish of Modgulandar is
mentioned.
Vestre Moland belonged together with Høvåg and
Lillesand together in one parish until Høvåg became its own parish
by royal resolution 25.02.1860. The farms Vatne, Ådnevig, Eftevåg,
Grønnevoll and Romstøl remained at res. of 31.08.1861 transferred
from Høvåg parish to Randesund parish in Oddernes parish. By royal
resolution on 18 December 1886, Lillesand also became its own
parish. The scheme came into force in 1889 when Lillesand got its
own church. By royal resolution on 27.06.1975, Høvåg was again
placed under Vestre Moland parish.
On 1 January 1962, Høvåg
parish, Vestre Moland parish and Gitmark farms in Eide were merged
with Lillesand parish.
The cemetery has previously had two
tombstones or coffin lids from the Middle Ages, but one was
destroyed in the interwar period. The other is still to be found by
the south wall, and is shield-shaped with a cross in relief on. The
stone belongs to the Romanesque style.
Sand skipreide
In
medieval letters, Sand's shipwreck on Agder is mentioned; shipyard
was a geographical area that had a duty to equip one lead ship in
times of unrest. Place names such as Vardåsen and Vardeheia testify
to the presence of the management scheme. Probably Sand's shipyard
consisted of the parishes Vestre Moland, Høvåg, Birkenes and Eide,
cf. letter in Diplomatarium Norvegicum and younger sources.
Lillesand by
On the farm Møglestus land, the beach resort Sanden
grew up in the early 17th century as a shipping place for timber.
The first inhabitant mentioned in written sources is Jens smith, who
in 1610 is mentioned in a tax list. Before Kristiansand was founded,
the beach resort was called Sanden. This was due to the location of
the charging station at the Sandsbekken outlet; the whole of
Lillesand lies on sand. The current name was introduced to
distinguish between these two neighbors.
The city grew slowly
through the 17th and 18th centuries, but it was in the 19th century
that the growth took off in earnest.
By law in 1821,
Lillesand was granted status as a charging station. In 1830, the
boundaries that separated Lillesand from the surrounding Vestre
Moland were crossed, and some of the boundary bolts can still be
seen in the terrain.
The ports
The ports were the
municipality's oldest communication centers. Ship traffic in the
Skagerrak and along the coast has for centuries used the ports for
accommodation and a port of refuge or to wait for a legal voyage for
further sailing. Here foreign merchants and local farmers met to buy
timber. The best known ports are Brekkestø on Justøy and Ulvøysund.
In the summer of 2011, marine archeological investigations were
carried out on a wreck find in Ulvøysund in Høvåg, just west of the
municipality. C14 dating of a cut reindeer antler found under a
stack of millstones shows that this has been a merchant ship from
the period 1020-1030. This clearly shows that the trade route along
the coast has passed Blindleia, even in very ancient times. Bishop
Håkon Erlingsson of Bergen was weatherproof in Ulvøysund from 24
August 1339, he wrote in a letter to the country's most powerful and
richest nobleman, Mr. Erling Vidkunsson on 28 August the same year.
The bishop and his entourage were on their way to King Magnus
Eriksson in Eastern Norway. Since the bishop sent a letter to Mr.
Erling and asked for advice regarding further travel, it is probable
that the bishop's entourage was in Ulvøysund for several days.
In the same area there are several compass roses carved into the
rock, the oldest from the 15th century. Ulvøysund is also mentioned
on old Dutch maps from the second half of the 16th century, then in
the form Wolfsondt. On the same maps are i.a. Olde Hil Sont, known
to us as Gamle Hellesund.
The farms from the Middle Ages
Most farm names in Lillesand municipality are from the Middle Ages
or before, and among those mentioned in medieval sources are Moland
(now just called Prestegården), Flørenes, and Eigeland in Vestre
Moland parish, as well as the hay farms Kvannes and Høvåg. In 1962,
Lillesand and the neighboring municipalities of Høvåg and Vestre
Moland were merged.
Maritime history
Apart from tourism,
the city is best known for its rich maritime history. In the 18th
century, sailing ships began to be built here, but it was not until
the 19th century that it really took off. The timber trade was a
very important factor, and there were several shipping companies and
many shipyards in the city and the surrounding area. The City and
Maritime Museum is an old shipyard, which at one time belonged to
the shipowner Carl Knudsen.
Railway
Between Lillesand and Flakksvann in Birkenes
municipality, a privately operated, narrow-gauge railway, the
Lillesand – Flaksvand line, was built in 1895 with two steam
locomotives, three passenger cars and 34 freight cars (see also
Railway in Norway). This track had four manned stations (from the
south and north: Lillesand, Tveide, Birkeland and Flakksvann) and
transported mainly timber, peat litter from Myhre peat straw factory
on Tveide and other goods. The track ran a deficit for most years,
and was finally closed in 1953. All the stations except Birkeland
are still standing.
Occupation history
During the German
invasion of Norway in 1940, the German troop transport ship "Rio de
Janeiro" was torpedoed off Lillesand. This happened on April 8, the
day before the invasion itself. The ship was sunk by the Polish
submarine Orzel, which was later sunk by German planes. Local
fishermen helped save German soldiers and crew.
The Germans
built a troop camp at Møglestu, where the upper secondary school is
today. A coastal fort was also built on Justøya, and in 1944 they
also moved a coastal fort from Marivold near Grimstad to Vestre
Moland vicarage. Around the center of Lillesand there are still a
number of smaller positions and Hitler teeth.
Recession
After motorized shipping, first with steam and then internal
combustion engine, took over the market, Lillesand lost much of the
wealth that had been accumulated. The growth stopped, and the place
remained as it was. What was to speed up Lillesand again was the
Norton factory, which produced silicon carbide. This factory is
still in operation, now under the name Fiven.
Large parts of
Lillesand city center are covered by the NB! Register, a list of
urban environments in Norway that have a national
cultural-historical conservation interest.