What is "kvinesdal"

Kvinesdal is a municipality in the county of Vest-Agder, Norway.

Kvinesdal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Feda was separated from Kvinesdal on 1 January 1900 but again merged with Kvinesdal on 1 January 1963. Fjotland was also merged with Kvinesdal on that date. (Fjotland was in addition a part of Kvinesdal in the period 1841-1858.)

Kvinesdal is an elongated mountain-to-coast municipality, reaching saltwater at the head of the Fedafjord, which provides access to the North Sea in the south. Further north, the landscape is cut by narrow valleys with scattered small villages. There are also abandoned mines at Knaben, a popular ski resort. Because Kvinesdal resembles the geography of the nation as a whole, it is often referred to as "Little Norway".

Kvinesdal belongs to a central area in the Norwegian south from which many people emigrated to North America, particularly the United States, from the 1850s until the 1950s. It is noted for being an "American village" ( Norwegian: Amerika-bygd) because of the high number of American residents. These are typically either Norwegians who moved to the States, obtained US Citizenship and later moved back to Norway, or are descendants of Norwegians who have never acquired Norwegian citizenship.