Editing Bygland (section)

==General information==
[[File:Bygland ose Reiaarsfossen IMG 7433.JPG|thumb|left|View of the [[Reiårsfossen]] waterfall]]
[[File:Bygland kyrkje 2011-12-06 03 acrrW.jpg|thumb|upright|left|View of [[Bygland Church]]]]
The [[prestegjeld|parish]] of Bygland was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see [[formannskapsdistrikt]] law). Since that time, the municipal boundaries have not changed.<ref name="Dag">{{Cite book |last=Jukvam |first=Dag |url=http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/90/rapp_9913/rapp_9913.pdf |title=Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen |publisher=[[Statistics Norway|Statistisk sentralbyrå]] |year=1999 |isbn=9788253746845 |language=no}}</ref>

===Name===
The municipality (originally the [[prestegjeld|parish]]) is named after the old ''[[Bygland (village)|Bygland]]'' farm ({{langx|non|Byggland}}) since the first [[Bygland Church]] was built there. The first element is {{wikt-lang|non|bygg}} which means "[[barley]]". The last element is {{wikt-lang|non|land}} which means "land" or "farm".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rygh |first=Oluf |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u4pBAAAAIAAJ |title=Norske gaardnavne: Nedenes amt |publisher=W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri |year=1905 |edition=8 |location=Kristiania, Norge |pages=204 |language=no |author-link=Oluf Rygh}}</ref>

===Coat of arms===
The [[coat of arms]] was granted on 15 November 1991. The official [[blazon]] is ''"[[Vert (heraldry)|Vert]], a lynx [[rampant]] [[Or (heraldry)|Or]] [[langued]] [[gules]] and the tips of ears and tail [[Sable (heraldry)|sable]]"'' ({{langx|no|På grøn grunn ei oppspringande gull gaupe}}). This means the arms have a green [[field (heraldry)|field]] (background) and the [[charge (heraldry)|charge]] is a [[Eurasian lynx|European lynx]] (''Lynx lynx'') with a red tongue and with the tips of ears and tail being black. The lynx has a [[tincture (heraldry)|tincture]] of [[Or (heraldry)|Or]] which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The green color in the field symbolizes the importance of the [[agriculture]] and forests in the municipality. The lynx was chosen to symbolize the wild and rich nature in the rural highlands of the municipality. The arms were designed by Daniel Rike. 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=Bygland |access-date=2023-01-19 |publisher=Heraldry of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bygland, Aust-Agder (Norway) |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/no-09-38.html |access-date=2023-01-19 |website=Flags of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1991-11-15 |title=Godkjenning av våpen og flagg |url=https://lovdata.no/dokument/LF/forskrift/1991-11-15-769?q=flagg |access-date=2023-01-19 |website=Lovdata.no |publisher=Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet |language=no}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kommunevåpenet |url=http://www.bygland.kommune.no/kommunevaapen.295217.nn.html |access-date=2017-04-23 |publisher=Bygland kommune |language=no}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bygland kommune, våpen |url=https://foto.digitalarkivet.no/fotoweb/archives/5003-Kommunev%C3%A5pen/Kart%20og%20tegninger%20og%20segl/he10081205030439.tif.info#c=%2Ffotoweb%2Farchives%2F5003-Kommunev%25C3%25A5pen%2F%3Fq%3Dbygland |access-date=2023-07-10 |website=Digitalarkivet |publisher=Arkivverket |language=no}}</ref> {{see also-text|the coats of arms of [[Coat of arms of Hamarøy|Hamarøy]] and [[Coat of arms of Hemsedal|Hemsedal]]}}

===Churches===
The [[Church of Norway]] has two parishes ({{lang|no|sokn}}) within the municipality of Bygland. It is part of the [[Otredal prosti]] ([[deanery]]) in the [[Diocese of Agder og Telemark]].

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ style="font-size:medium"|'''''Churches in Bygland'''''
!Parish ({{lang|no|sokn}})!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built
|-
|rowspan="3"|Bygland||[[Austad Church (Aust-Agder)|Austad Church]]||[[Tveit, Bygland|Tveit]]||1880
|-
|[[Bygland Church]]||[[Bygland (village)|Bygland]]||1838
|-
|[[Sandnes Church (Aust-Agder)|Sandnes Church]]||[[Åraksbø]]||1844
|-
|rowspan="1"|Årdal||[[Årdal Church (Aust-Agder)|Årdal Church]]||[[Grendi]]||1828
|}