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Arendal

Arendal kommune
Municipality
August 2006 view of Arendal
August 2006 view of Arendal
Coat of arms of Arendal kommune
Coat of arms
Official logo of Arendal kommune
Aust-Agder within
Norway
Arendal within Aust-Agder
Arendal within Aust-Agder
Coordinates: 58°28′56″N 8°46′57″E / 58.48222°N 8.78250°E / 58.48222; 8.78250Coordinates: 58°28′56″N 8°46′57″E / 58.48222°N 8.78250°E / 58.48222; 8.78250
Country Norway
County Aust-Agder
District Sørlandet
Administrative centre Arendal
Government
 • Mayor (2015) Robert Cornels Nordli (AP)
Area
 • Total 270.00 km2 (104.25 sq mi)
 • Land 256.05 km2 (98.86 sq mi)
 • Water 13.95 km2 (5.39 sq mi)
Area rank 289 in Norway
Population (2010)
 • Total 41,655
 • Rank 19 in Norway
 • Density 163.7/km2 (424/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years) 5.6 %
Demonym(s) Arendalitt
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-0906
Official language form Bokmål
Website www.arendal.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Arendal [ˈɑːrənˈdɑːl]  (listen) is a town and municipality in the county of Aust-Agder, Norway. Arendal belongs to the region of Sørlandet.

The town of Arendal is the administrative center of the municipality and also of Aust-Agder county. Other villages in the municipality include Tromøy, Rykene, Eydehavn, Strengereid, Kongshamn, Kilsund, and Hisøy.

The offices of UNEP/GRID-Arendal are located in the town of Arendal.

The Old Norse form of the name was probably Arnardalr. The first element is the genitive case of ǫrn, 'eagle' and the last element is dalr, meaning 'valley' or 'dale'.

The coat-of-arms were granted on 7 November 1924 (based upon an older seal). The arms show a sailing ship as a symbol for the importance of fisheries and sailing to the local economy. A ship appeared on the oldest known seal of the town, dating back to the 17th century. In the late 19th and early 20th century the arms showed the ship in the upper part and a landscape with the coat of arms of Norway in the base of the shield.


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