Video: Smaabyen Flekkefjord SAIs happiness finding a lake all to yourself and casting your line? Or a swim with the family after a day at work? Then you should know about Hægebostad, with its nearly 1,000 lakes, large and small. Far from mass tourism and busy shopping centres, the municipality in the heart of Agder offers something quite different. The real thing.
- Residents
- ~1,800
- Lakes
- 988
- Area
- 424 km²
- Administrative centre
- Birkeland
- Highest point
- Oddevassheia, 966 m
- Railway
- Snartemo station, Sørland Line
The lakes
Nearly 1,000 lakes — and 1,800 people to share them
In Hægebostad it is easy to find peace. Perhaps on a small forest lake where you are the only one casting a line, and a fine trout takes the hook. Perhaps in a canoe gliding silently across the water. Or on a smooth rock where the children jump in while dinner simmers over the fire.
And you don’t have to wait for the weekend. This can be a perfectly ordinary Tuesday after work.
Outdoor life here is not about queues, car parks or fully marked tourist trails. It is about finding your own place. And about having nature almost entirely to yourself.
988lakes
Large and small, counted by the municipality itself.
1,800residents
In round figures — fewer than two people per lake, if everyone spread out.
We live right in the middle of Norway! I can stand here eating sugar snap peas from my own garden while I look out over the beautiful mountains. And right down there is the railway station, which can take me to Kristiansand, for example, in less than an hour.
Get the places to live in Hægebostad that suit you. Send a message to a relocation guide who lives there.
Places to live
Two places to live
People live spread out, and each village has its own character. Snartemo has the railway station, Eiken in the north has white sandy beaches, and Birkeland has the town hall, kindergarten, school and grocery shop.
The map
One valley, from the station northwards
Hægebostad follows the river Lygna: Snartemo and the station in the south, Tingvatn and the ancient monument park in the middle, Eiken and the mountains in the north. Between them lie the 988 lakes.
All points on the map
Municipalities (1)
Places to live (2)
Distances
Closer than you think
14 trains a day stop at Snartemo, and two airports are within three hours’ drive. You can get around with or without a car: the train beats the car to Kristiansand, Egersund and Stavanger, and goes to Oslo without a single change.
Explore travel times from ListerTravel time from Hægebostad
- Kvinesdal: 34 minutes by car
- Lyngdal: 36 minutes by car
- Flekkefjord: 54 minutes by car
- Farsund: 54 minutes by car
- Kristiansand: 56 minutes by train from Snartemo station
- Mandal: 1 hour 4 minutes by car
- Sirdal: 1 hour 19 minutes by car
- Egersund: 1 hour 20 minutes by train from Snartemo station
- Kristiansand: 1 hour 27 minutes by car
- Egersund: 1 hour 56 minutes by car
- Stavanger: 2 hours 17 minutes by train from Snartemo station
- Stavanger: 2 hours 46 minutes by car
- Oslo: 3 hours 30 minutes by car and plane
- Copenhagen: 4 hours by car and plane
- Bergen: 4 hours 30 minutes by car and plane
- Amsterdam: 4 hours 30 minutes by car and plane
- Hirtshals: 5 hours 30 minutes by car and ferry
- London: 5 hours 30 minutes by car and plane
- Oslo: 5 hours 35 minutes by train from Snartemo station
- Berlin: 6 hours by car and plane
- Paris: 6 hours 30 minutes by car and plane
- Rome: 7 hours 30 minutes by car and plane
Growing up
A safe childhood close to nature
There is no shortage of trees to climb and country roads to cycle along in Hægebostad. With small communities where people know and care about each other, these are good places for children to grow up.
Cultural life in the municipality is marked by strong volunteering and community spirit. Clubs and associations are central to activities, community and belonging — and to helping newcomers find their way in.
Culture and volunteering
Carried by people who show up
People meet across generations at the library and at the Volunteer Centre, which also runs a village café. The cultural walking stick for older people, bonfire dinners, BUA equipment lending and visiting friends bring residents together across age, language and background.
“Cultural life in Hægebostad is created by people who take care of history, build community and give new generations room to take part,” says Ståle Olsen.
The municipality has a wealth of heritage: old churches, burial mounds, Barnevandrerstien (the children’s migration trail) and Tingvatn ancient monument park. They contribute to identity and a sense of local belonging.
The strength lies in people who create activities locally, often with few resources and a great deal of voluntary effort. Nature, history and living village communities are an important part of the municipality’s cultural identity.
Heritage
The sword that put Hægebostad on the map
Walking through the landscape around Snartemo, it is easy to forget that one of Norway’s most spectacular archaeological finds was made right here. Underground lie traces of a history stretching back more than 1,500 years.
Many exciting finds have been made in Hægebostad, but one stands out. The Snartemo sword is a magnificent sword from the Migration Period, found in a grave and dated to around the year 500 — some three hundred years before the Viking Age even began. The sword was hardly used in battle, but was reserved for ritual ceremonies.
The woven bands found together with the sword became the origin of the distinctive Snartemo pattern. This intricate geometric pattern still inspires artists and craftspeople today, and so the history lives on in our time.
The two gold swords in the coat of arms are not decoration. They are this find — the municipality carries grave finds from Snartemo and Eiken in its own emblem.
Working life
A highly varied business community
There are many different kinds of jobs in Hægebostad. More than 500 active companies are registered in the municipality, and the largest private employer is Sørlandets rehabiliteringssenter Eiken, a rehabilitation centre.
The businesses range from rehabilitation and health services to railways, mechanical engineering, furniture making, a bakery, contracting, cabin building, transport, farming and tourism.
In the years ahead the municipality will need both skilled workers and highly educated specialists. The biggest opportunities are in health and care, industry and technical trades, building and construction, education and digitalisation.
For anyone who wants to start their own business, Driv Agder and Lister Nyskaping offer guidance, courses and networks.
“We are a small municipality with big opportunities,” says Ståle Olsen.
There aren’t many of us, but we can do a lot. In Hægebostad we create jobs with skill, good craftsmanship and the will to get things done.
Ståle Olsen, head of operations, Hægebostad municipalityPhoto: private
Open positions
Source: NAV Arbeidsplassen. Active listings are updated regularly. The listings are written in Norwegian by the employer.
Four quick ones
Business in Hægebostad
Practical
Much of the value created comes from building, producing, repairing and getting things done.
Skilled
Several businesses deliver specialised products and services.
Locally rooted
The companies are closely tied to the different villages in the municipality.
Diverse
Health, industry, crafts, construction, food production and nature-based industries.
Photo: Kristina Skeie Thorsland
Finally
A place to live, not just a place to visit
Nearly 1,000 lakes lie waiting. You don’t need to wait for the holidays or plan the Sunday outing down to the last detail. It can be a Tuesday afternoon with the fishing rod over your shoulder, dinner round the fire with the children, a bike ride along the country road or a cup of coffee in the garden with the neighbour, with the mountains as your view.
Here you don’t have to think about traffic jams and rush hour. Home, work, nature and people are close together. You can have a job you enjoy, live everyday life with nature close by, and build a family life with a little less rush.
So perhaps the question is not just what you can find in Hægebostad. Perhaps the question is what you can find time for when you live here.
For anyone who wants to know more about moving to Hægebostad
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