Editing Vegårshei (section)

==History==
[[File:Faersnes barn.JPG|thumb|left|Farm area in Færsnes]]
[[File:Haukenes Sag - panoramio.jpg|thumb|left|Haukenes area]]
[[File:Vegårshei kirke.jpg|thumb|left|[[Vegårshei Church]]]]
The [[prestegjeld|parish]] of ''Vegaardsheien'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see [[formannskapsdistrikt]] law). The borders of the municipality have not changed since that time.<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>

The population was at its largest in 1930, population 2161.<ref name="snl.no">{{Cite web |title=Vegårshei – Store norske leksikon |url=https://snl.no/Veg%c3%a5rshei |access-date=2022-08-13 |publisher=Snl.no}}</ref>

===Name===
The municipality (originally the [[prestegjeld|parish]]) is named after the old name for the area ({{langx|non|Vigisheiðr}}) since the first [[Vegårshei Church]] was built there. The first element is the [[genitive case]] of the name of the lake [[Vegår]]. The meaning of the lake name is uncertain. One theory is that it comes from the word {{wikt-lang|non|vé}} which means "[[norse pagan|pagan]] [[sanctuary]]". Another theory is that it comes from the verb {{wikt-lang|non|vígja}} which means "to [[consecrate]]" or "to dedicate". The last element is {{wikt-lang|non|heiðr}} which means "[[heath (habitat)|heath]]" or "[[Moorland|moor]]". Historically, the name was spelled as ''Wegaardsheien'' or ''Vegaardsheien'', and sometimes it was abbreviated as simply ''Heien''.<ref name="snl" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rygh |first=Oluf |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u4pBAAAAIAAJ |title=Norske gaardnavne: Nedenes amt |date=1905 |publisher=W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri |edition=8 |location=Kristiania, Norge |page=1 |language=no |authorlink=Oluf Rygh}}</ref> On 3 November 1917, a [[royal decree|royal resolution]] changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to ''Vegaarshei''.<ref>{{Cite journal |year=1917 |title=Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. 1917. Samling af Love, Resolutioner m.m |url=https://www.nb.no/items/URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2015102381014_001 |journal=[[Norsk Lovtidend]] |language=no |location=Kristiania, Norge |publisher=Grøndahl og Søns Boktrykkeri |pages=1057–1065}}</ref> On 21 December 1917, a [[royal decree|royal resolution]] enacted the [[Norwegian language conflict|1917 Norwegian language reforms]]. Prior to this change, the name was spelled ''Vegaarshei'' with the [[digraph (orthography)|digraph]] "[[Aa (digraph)|aa]]", and after this reform, the name was spelled ''Vegårshei'', using the letter [[å]] instead.<ref>{{Cite journal |year=1917 |title=Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. 1917. Samling af Love, Resolutioner m.m |url=https://www.nb.no/items/URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2015102381014_001 |journal=[[Norsk Lovtidend]] |language=no |location=Oslo, Norway |publisher=Grøndahl og Søns Boktrykkeri |page=1000}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.nb.no/items/7c810cb2510e5454433266c698b8808e |title=Den Nye rettskrivning : regler og ordlister |publisher=Den Mallingske Boktrykkeri |year=1918 |location=Kristiania, Norge |language=no}}</ref>

===Coat of arms===
The [[coat of arms]] was granted on 30 April 1987. The official [[blazon]] is "[[Gules]], a fox [[sejant]] [[argent]]" ({{langx|no|I rødt en sittende sølv rev}}). This means the arms have a red [[field (heraldry)|field]] (background) and the [[charge (heraldry)|charge]] is a [[fox]]. The fox 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 fox was chosen as a representative of the local [[wildlife]] and also for the [[Fur farming|fox farming]] in 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=Vegårshei |access-date=2023-01-16 |publisher=Heraldry of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Vegårshei, Aust-Agder (Norway) |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/no-09-12.html |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=Flags of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1987-04-30 |title=Godkjenning av våpen og flagg |url=https://lovdata.no/dokument/LF/forskrift/1987-04-30-425?q=flagg |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=Lovdata.no |publisher=Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet |language=no}}</ref>