Editing Arendal (section)

==General information==
[[File:Arendal from ocean.jpg|thumb|left|Arendal viewed from the harbour]]
[[File:Arendal-Nidelva-a.JPG|thumb|left|River Nidelva in Arendal]]

===Municipal history===
The town of Arendal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see [[formannskapsdistrikt]] law). On 1 January 1875, a small area with 22 inhabitants was transferred from the town to the neighboring municipality of [[Austre Moland|Østre Moland]] and another small area with 52 residents was transferred to the neighboring municipality of [[Øyestad]].<ref name="Dag">{{Cite book |last=Jukvam |first=Dag |year=1999 |title=Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen |url=http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/90/rapp_9913/rapp_9913.pdf |publisher=[[Statistics Norway|Statistisk sentralbyrå]] |language=no |isbn=9788253746845}}</ref>

On 1 January 1902, the rural municipality of [[Barbu, Norway|Barbu]] (population: 6,787) was merged into the town of Arendal. In 1944, a small area of [[Moland]] with a population of 21 inhabitants was transferred to Arendal as well. On 1 January 1992, the town was vastly expanded. The neighboring rural municipalities of [[Hisøy]] (pop: 4,026), [[Moland]] (pop: 8,148), [[Tromøy]] (pop: 4,711), and [[Øyestad]] (pop: 8,679) were all merged with the town of Arendal which had a population of 12,478, bringing the total population of the new municipality of Arendal to 38,042.<ref name="Dag" />

===Origin of the name===
The [[Old Norse]] form of the name was probably {{lang|non|Arnardalr}}. The first element is the [[genitive case]] of {{wikt-lang|non|ǫrn}} which means "[[eagle]]". The last element is {{wikt-lang|non|dalr}} which means "[[valley]]" or "dale", thus meaning the "valley of the eagle".<ref name="snl" />

A link for the name also has been theorized to the [[Vasconic substrate hypothesis]], for similarity to placenames like [[Val d'Aran]] and [[Arundel]].{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

===Coat of arms===
The [[coat of arms]] was granted on 7 November 1924 (based upon an older seal). The [[blazon]] is ''"Per fess, [[Azure (heraldry)|Azure]] with a three-masted ship argent over barry wavy of seven [[argent]] and [[azure (heraldry)|azure]]"''. This means the arms have a blue [[field (heraldry)|field]] (background) and the [[charge (heraldry)|charge]] is an 18th-century, three-masted [[sailing ship]] above seven, thin, wavy stripes. The charge has a [[tincture (heraldry)|tincture]] of [[argent]] which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The arms usually have a gold [[mural crown]] above the shield. The design was chosen as a symbol for the importance of [[Fishery|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]]. The arms were designed by Miss C. Aubert who based it off a draft by Fred Barth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen |url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Arendal |access-date=2023-07-10 |publisher=Heraldry of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Arendal, Aust-Agder (Norway) |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/no-09-06.html |access-date=2023-07-10 |website=Flags of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Byvåpenet |url=https://www.arendal.kommune.no/politikk-og-organisasjon/velkommen-til-arendal-en-sorlandsperle/historie-og-fakta-om-arendal/byvapenet/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220183849/https://www.arendal.kommune.no/politikk-og-organisasjon/velkommen-til-arendal-en-sorlandsperle/historie-og-fakta-om-arendal/byvapenet/ |archive-date=20 December 2019 |access-date=2017-12-09 |publisher=Arendal kommune |language=no}}</ref>

===Churches===
[[File:Arendal Trefoldighetskirke a.jpg|thumb|right|[[Trinity Church (Arendal)]]]]
The [[Church of Norway]] has six parishes ({{lang|no|sokn}}) within the municipality of Arendal. It is part of the [[Arendal prosti]] ([[deanery]]) in the [[Diocese of Agder og Telemark]].

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ style="font-size:medium"|'''''Churches in Arendal'''''
!Parish ({{lang|no|sokn}})!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built
|-
|rowspan="1"|Barbu||[[Barbu Church]]||[[Barbu, Norway|Barbu]]||1880
|-
|rowspan="1"|Hisøy||[[Hisøy Church]]||[[His, Aust-Agder|His]]||1849
|-
|rowspan="3"|Moland||[[Austre Moland Church]]||[[Brekka]]||1673
|-
|[[Flosta Church]]||[[Flostaøya]]||1632
|-
|[[Stokken Church]]||[[Saltrød]]||1878
|-
|rowspan="1"|Trefoldighet||[[Trinity Church (Arendal)|Trinity Church]]||[[Arendal (town)|Arendal]]||1888
|-
|rowspan="2"|Tromøy||[[Færvik Church]]||[[Færvik]]||1884
|-
|[[Tromøy Church]]||[[Brekka, Tromøy|Brekka]]||{{Circa|1150}}
|-
|rowspan="3"|Øyestad||[[Bjorbekk Church]]||[[Bjorbekk]]||1884
|-
|[[Engene Church]]||[[Nedenes]]||1849
|-
|[[Øyestad Church]]||[[Rykene]]||{{Circa|1200}}
|}