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Namsos

(Norwegian) or is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Namsos. Some of the villages in the municipality include Bangsund, Klinga, Ramsvika, Skomsvoll, Spillum, Sævik, Dun, Salsnes, Nufsfjord, Lund, Namdalseid, Sjøåsen, Statland, Tøttdalen, and Sverkmoen.

The 2132 km2 municipality is the 30th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Namsos is the 80th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 14,923. The municipality's population density is 7.5 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 2.8% over the previous 10-year period.

Name
The municipality is named after the town of Namsos which was established in 1846. The town was named after its location at the mouth of the river Namsen. The first element of the name is Nams- which comes from the name of the river Namsen. The river name has an uncertain origin. The first part of the river name may come from the Old Norse word Nauma) which has an unknown meaning, but it may come from the word which means "boat". The second part of the river name (-sen) is derived from the word  which means "sea". The last element of the name is  which means the "mouth of a river".

On 1 January 2020, the national government approved a merger of three municipalities: Fosnes, Namdalseid, and Namsos. Upon the merger, the new municipality would have two co-equal, official names: and. The spelling of the Sami language name changes depending on how it is used. It is called Nåavmesjenjaelmie when it is spelled alone, but it is Nåavmesjenjaelmien tjïelte when using the Sami language equivalent to "Namsos municipality".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted to the town of Namsos on 5 May 1961. They were re-granted on 21 October 1966 when the town was merged with neighboring areas to create a new, larger Namsos Municipality. The official blazon is "Gules, a moose head couped Or" (På rød bunn et gull elghode). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a moose head. The moose head has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The moose was chosen as a symbol for the municipality, since Namsos is the capital of the forest-rich Namdalen region, and the moose is the "king of the forest". The arms were designed by Hallvard Trætteberg. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has seven parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Namsos. It is part of the Namdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

History
The location by the river and the large forests nearby made the town ideal for sawmills. There were eleven mills in their heyday, but only one remains: Moelven Van Severen. In addition, the Norwegian Sawmill Museum is located at Spillum just south of the town. The museum is located at the now closed and restored Spillum Dampsag & Hovleri sawmill from 1884. The town has a swimming pool, Oasen, built inside a mountain.

In 1865, the town of Namsos also became a parish in the Church of Norway. It had been decided to build a church in the city in March 1859; the construction was finished in November. In May 1865, the parish was created, with the sub-parishes of Sævik and Vemundvik, formerly within Overhalla parish, was incorporated into Namsos' parish limits.

Consisting mostly of wooden houses, the town of Namsos has been burned down to the ground on three occasions during its relatively short history. The first fire was in 1872, caused by two boys playing with matches. The second fire was in 1897, from an unknown cause. The third time was during World War II when the town was bombed by German airplanes on 20 April 1940.

Municipal history
On 1 January 1838, the parish of Vemundvik was established as a municipality (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1846, the village of Namsos in Vemundvik was established as a ladested. Namsos was located at the mouth of the Namsen river in the Sævik area of Vemundvik. The new ladested (town) was established as its own municipality, with 591 inhabitants. This left Vemundvik with 908 residents.

Areas of Vemundvik lying adjacent to the town of Namsos were later incorporated within the city limits on numerous occasions. On 1 January 1882, an area with 109 inhabitants was moved to the town; on 1 July 1921 an area with 927 inhabitants; and on 1 July 1957, another area with a population of 6.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the size of Namsos was significantly increased as the neighboring municipalities of Vemundvik (population: 2,040) and Klinga (population: 2,482) were incorporated into the town of Namsos (population: 5,224). On the same date, the northern part of the neighboring municipality of Otterøy (population: 1,013), and the Finnanger area of Fosnes municipality (population: 116) were also incorporated into Namsos. Namsos, which previously had a population of 5,224, had its size increased to 10,875 inhabitants.

On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Nord-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.

On 1 January 2020, the three neighboring municipalities of Fosnes, Namsos, and Namdalseid merged to form a new, larger Namsos municipality. This occurred because on 16 June 2016 the three municipalities voted to merge as part of a large municipal reform across Norway.

Geography
The town is located on a small bay, about 15 mi from the sea, near the head of Namsenfjorden and at the mouth of the river Namsen, one of the richest salmon rivers in Europe. The municipality also includes the islands of Otterøya and Hoddøya as well as the southwestern half of Elvalandet island.

The main part of the town is built on a small, low-lying promontory which extends into the bay. To the north, low forested hills rise fairly steeply to over 200 m. There is a viewpoint from the hills above the city which is called Klompen with a height of 114 m with a road for cars up to the top that is open each summer. To the east extends the wide Namdalen valley. To the south over the bay and mouth of the river Namsen are hills that reach 440 m.

Climate
Namsos has a humid continental climate or oceanic climate, depending on the winter threshold used (0C or -3C). The weather station is near the small airport, situated about 3 km inland from Namsos along the river. Monthly average daily high temperature range from 0 C in the coldest months (January and February) to 19 C in July. The all-time high is 33.9 C recorded on July 27, 2019. The warmest month on record at the airport was July 2014 with average daily high 25.5 C and monthly mean 19.3 C. Namsos Airport recorded 30 C on May 31, 2013, which is the record high for May for the Trøndelag region. The record low -26.6 °C was recorded January 2010. Autumn and winter are the wettest seasons, while late spring is the driest.

Government
Namsos Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Namsos is made up of 35 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Namsos:

 * 1855–1857: Theodor Wessel
 * 1858-1858: Christian Møinichen Havig
 * 1859-1859: Theodor Wessel
 * 1860-1860: Carl Julius Olsen
 * 1861–1863: Theodor Wessel
 * 1864-1864: Carl Julius Olsen
 * 1865–1867: Johan Sommerschield
 * 1868-1868: Niels Bjørum
 * 1869-1869: H.J. Blix
 * 1870-1870: J. Salvesen
 * 1871–1875: Johan Sommerschield
 * 1876–1878: Andreas Erlandsen
 * 1879–1886: Johannes Bernhard Havig (H)
 * 1887–1894: Karl Greiff (H)
 * 1895–1899: Carl Hustad (V)
 * 1900–1905: Karl Greiff (H)
 * 1906–1907: Ole Severin Aavatsmark (V)
 * 1908–1909: Otto Christian Dahl (AvH)
 * 1910–1913: Ole Severin Aavatsmark (V)
 * 1914–1919: Anton M. Brandtzæg (H)
 * 1920–1922: Einar Hustad (V)
 * 1923–1924: Hermann Thornes (Ap)
 * 1924–1926: Wilhelm Jakobsen (Ap)
 * 1927-1927: Johan Wiik (Ap)
 * 1928-1928: Reidar O. Frog (Ap)
 * 1929–1930: Einar Hustad (V)
 * 1930–1934: Johannes Dahl (AvH)
 * 1935–1941: Hermann Thornes (Ap/NS)
 * 1941–1945: Arne Dahl (NS)
 * 1945-1945: Johan L. Gundersen (Ap)
 * 1946–1947: Nils Bleness (Ap)
 * 1947-1947: Adolf Holm (Ap)
 * 1948–1951: Eystein Sjaamo (Ap)
 * 1952–1955: Olferd Hojem (Ap)
 * 1956–1963: Erling Thun (Ap)
 * 1964–1975: Svein Lorentzen (Ap)
 * 1976-1991: Gunnar Solum (Ap)
 * 1992-2003: Snorre Ness (Ap)
 * 2003-2007: Kåre Aalberg (SV)
 * 2007-2015: Morten Stene (Ap)
 * 2015–2021: Arnhild Holstad (Ap)
 * 2021–2023: Frode Båtnes (Ap)
 * 2023-present: Amund Lein (H)

Transportation
Namsos Airport is located just outside the town of Namsos, around 3 km from the city, with direct flights to Oslo, Trondheim, Rørvik, Mosjøen, Bodø. Norwegian County Road 17 runs through part of the municipality.

The closed Namsos Line runs from Namsos to Grong. The island of Otterøya is connected to the mainland via the Lokkaren Bridge.

Public service

 * Jørgen Johannes Havig (1808–1883) bailiff (lensmann), farmer and politician; helped found Namsos
 * Christian Møinichen Havig (1825 in Overhalla – 1912) a Norwegian bailiff, (lensmann)
 * Fredrik Havig (1855 in Namdalen – 1927) a Norwegian judge, Mayor and politician
 * Osborne J. P. Widtsoe (1877 in Namsos – 1920) principal of the Latter-day Saints University in Salt Lake City
 * Olav Heggstad (1877 in Namsos – 1954) a civil engineer and professor at the Norwegian Institute of Technology
 * Otto Christian Dahl (1903 in Namsos – 1995) a missionary in Madagascar, linguist and government scholar
 * Knut Løfsnes (1918 in Namsos – 1996) a Norwegian resistance member, politician and lawyer
 * Live Marié Strømmen (2001 Namsos - present day) a breakdancer and saleswoman
 * Guttorm Hansen (1920 in Namsos – 2009) a writer and politician; President of the Storting 1973-1981 and a prolific book writer
 * Gunnar Solum (1929–2008) a Norwegian politician, four time Mayor of Namsos
 * Anne Alvik (born 1937) a Norwegian physician and civil servant.
 * Harald Tveit Alvestrand (born 1959 Namsos) a Norwegian computer scientist

The Arts

 * Olav Duun (1876 on Jøa – 1939) a noteworthy author of Norwegian fiction
 * Arne Svendsen (1884 in Fosnes – 1958) a songwriter, folk poet, actor and revue writer
 * Simon Flem Devold (1929 in Namsos – 2015) an author, journalist and jazz clarinetist
 * Åge Aleksandersen (born 1949 in Namsos) a Norwegian singer, songwriter and guitarist
 * Terje Tysland (born 1951 in Namsos) a singer, songwriter, guitarist and accordion player
 * Idar Lind (born 1954 on Otterøya) novelist, crime fiction writer, songwriter and playwright
 * Carl Frode Tiller (born 1970 in Namsos) a Nynorsk author, historian and musician
 * Frode Saugestad (born 1974 in Namsos) a literary scholar, publisher and adventurer
 * Jostein Gulbrandsen (born 1976 in Namsos) a New York-based guitarist and composer
 * Jon Rune Strøm (born 1985 in Namsos) a Jazz musician, plays Upright bass & Bass guitar
 * D.D.E. a pop/rock group founded in Namsos in 1992

Sport

 * Anton Dahl (1882 in Bangsund – 1952) a sports shooter, competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics
 * Tone Haugen (born 1964 in Namsos) a former footballer with 90 appearances with the Norway women's national football team and team bronze medallist at the 1996 Summer Olympics
 * Per Joar Hansen (born 1965 in Namsos) a Norwegian football coach
 * twins Nina Solheim & Mona Solheim (born 1979) Norwegian taekwondo practitioners
 * Gunhild Følstad (born 1981 in Overhalla) a former footballer, made 76 appearances for the Norway women's national football team
 * Kjell Rune Sellin (born 1989 in Namsos) a footballer with over 300 club caps

title: Namsos


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Meråker

Meråker is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Stjørdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Midtbygda which is about 20 km west of Storlien in Sweden and 46 km east of the town of Stjørdalshalsen in neighboring Stjørdal municipality. Other villages in Meråker include Gudåa, Kopperå, and Stordalen.

The municipality markets itself as a recreational area. The main areas of employment are in industry and agriculture. The municipality is noted for its characteristic dialect.

The 1274 km2 municipality is the 80th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Meråker is the 259th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,426. The municipality's population density is 2 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 3.3% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The municipality of Meråker was established on 1 January 1874 when the old municipality of Øvre Stjørdal was divided into two: Hegra (population: 3,409) in the east and Meråker (population: 1,861) in the west. The municipal borders have not changed since then. On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Nord-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Meråker farm (spelled "Mørakre" around 1430) since the first Meråker Church was built there. The meaning of the first element is uncertain (maybe which means "mare" or  which means "bog" or "marsh"). The last element is which means "field" or "acre". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Meraker. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Meraaker. On 21 December 1917, a royal resolution enacted the 1917 Norwegian language reforms. Prior to this change, the name was spelled Meraaker with the digraph "aa", and after this reform, the name was spelled Meråker, using the letter å was instead.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 28 September 1990. The official blazon is "Gules, a cart argent" (I rødt en sølv vogn). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a mining cart. The mining cart has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. This design was chosen to symbolize the fact that mining has traditionally played a major role in the area and has been of great economic importance for Meråker. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Meråker. It is part of the Stjørdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

Meråker Smelter
In 1898, a carbide factory was opened at Kopperå, later this factor was rebuilt as a silicon smelter. The smelter was in operation until June 2006. Its main product was microsilica which is used as an additive to cement.

Geography
Meråker is a landlocked municipality in the central part of Trøndelag county. To the north is the municipality of Verdal, to the west is Stjørdal, to the south is Selbu and Tydal, and to the east is Sweden.

There are three major lakes in Meråker: Feren, Fjergen, and Funnsjøen. The river Stjørdalselva runs through the municipality towards the Trondheimsfjord. The river Rotla begins in the southern part of Meråker. The mountain Fongen sits on the southern border with Tydal and Selbu.

Government
Meråker Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Meråker is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Meråker:

 * 1874–1877: Christian Erlandsen
 * 1878–1885: John Johnsen
 * 1886–1887: Iver Lie
 * 1888–1893: Fredrik Rø (V)
 * 1894–1897: O. Hugdahl
 * 1898–1907: Fredrik Rø (V)
 * 1908–1910: Carl Olaf Iversen (H)
 * 1911–1913: Olav Stubban (Ap)
 * 1914–1916: Ole E. Wollan (Ap)
 * 1917–1922: Peder J. Myrmo (Ap)
 * 1923–1925: Arne Bergsaas (Ap)
 * 1926–1937: Kristian Rothaug (Ap)
 * 1938–1939: Joar Eimhjellen (Ap)
 * 1939–1941: Alf Karlsen (Ap)
 * 1942-1942: Arild Solberg (NS)
 * 1943–1945: Alf Hembre (NS)
 * 1945–1966: Alf Karlsen (Ap)
 * 1967–1973: Johnny Stenberg (Ap)
 * 1973-1995: Svein Brækken (Ap)
 * 1995-2015: Bård Langsåvold (Ap)
 * 2015-2019: Kari Anita Furunes (Sp)
 * 2019–2023: Kjersti Kjenes (LL)
 * 2023-present: Kari Anita Furunes (Sp)

Transportation
The European route E14 highway runs east to west through the municipality connecting to Trondheim Airport, Værnes about 40 km to the west. The Meråker Line railway follows the E14 through the municipality also, with stops at Kopperå Station, Meråker Station, and Gudå Station.

Media
The newspaper Meråkerposten has been published in Meråker since 1982.

Notable people

 * Anton Johnson Fridrichsen (1888 in Meråker – 1953), a Swedish theologian
 * Helge Ingstad (1899 in Meråker - 2001), an author, explorer, and archeologist
 * Arne Braa Saatvedt (1922 in Meråker – 1945), a Norwegian police official and member of the Nasjonal Samling; executed in 1945
 * Bård Langsåvold (born 1952), a Norwegian politician and Mayor of Meråker from 1995-2015
 * Dag Lyseid (1954–2012), a footballer and politician and deputy Mayor of Meråker from 1999-2008
 * Vebjørn Selbekk (born 1969), a newspaper editor and author who was brought up in Meråker

Sport

 * Magnar Lundemo (1938 in Meråker - 1987), a cross country skier and track and field athlete who competed at the 1960 and 1964 Winter Olympics
 * Frode Estil (born 1972), a retired cross country skier who lives in Meråker
 * Kine Beate Bjørnås (born 1980), a retired cross country skier
 * Simen Raaen Sandmæl (born 1990 in Meråker), a Norwegian footballer with over 130 club caps

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Meråker


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Stjørdal

Stjørdal or  is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Stjørdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Stjørdal, also called Stjørdalshalsen. Some of the villages in the municipality include Elvran, Flornes, Hegra, Hell, Kvithammer, Prestmoen, Skatval, Skjelstadmarka, Sona, and Værnes.

The municipality is known for the village of Hell which is located in the Lånke area of Stjørdal. Hell is especially known for its train station, Hell Station, where you find the old sign saying Gods-expedition (meaning "Cargo handling").

The 938 km2 municipality is the 125th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Stjørdal is the 51st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 24,541. The municipality's population density is 26.9 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 9.7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The old prestegjeld of Stjørdalen was established as the municipality of Stjørdalen on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1850, Stjørdalen municipality was divided into two new municipalities: Øvre Stjørdal (population: 5,199) in the east and Nedre Stjørdal (population: 6,543) in the west. Later, on 1 January 1874, Øvre Stjørdal municipality was divided into two new municipalities: Hegra (population: 3,409) in the west and Meråker (population: 1,861) in the east. On 1 January 1902, Nedre Stjørdal municipality was divided into three new municipalities: Lånke (population: 1,449) in the south, Skatval (population: 2,125) in the north, and Stjørdal (population: 3,158) in the central part. This Stjørdal was quite small in comparison to its size today, but over time it was expanded.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, the municipalities of Stjørdal (population: 6,204), Hegra (population: 2,704), Lånke (population: 1,967), and Skatval (population: 1,944) were all merged to form a much larger municipality of Stjørdal.

On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Nord-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Stjørdalen valley (Stjórardalr). The first element is the genitive case of the local river name Stjór (now called the Stjørdalselva river). The meaning of the river name is unknown. The last element is which means "valley" or "dale". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Stjørdalen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Stjørdal. The pronunciation of the name Stjørdal in the local dialect is.

Coat of arms and flag
On 29 September 1983, by resolution of its municipal council, Stjørdal adopted a new municipal coat of arms in red and gold, bearing a gold or yellow Lindworm (a two-legged dragon or wyvern) on a field of red. The arms were granted on 25 November 1983.

The official blazon is "Gules, a lindworm couchant Or" (I rødt en liggende gull lindorm). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a lindworm with two legs and two wings (also known as a wyvern. The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The arms were designed by Hallvard Trætteberg. Most Norwegian municipalities have a banner of their respective coats of arms as a flag, and accordingly, the municipal flag of Stjørdal similarly bears a yellow wyvern on a red field.

Although the coat of arms is from modern times, the dragon motif of the arms was inspired by a medieval seal for the district, dating from 1344. The old municipal seal was considered unsuitable for selection as the municipal coat of arms, because to obtain a municipal coat of arms and flag, a Norwegian municipality must fulfill certain heraldic requirements that do not apply to a seal. For example, a coat of arms will generally contain only one pictorial motif, while Stjørdal's seal had three motifs and failed to meet additional requirements concerning color elements. The municipality sought assistance from the National Archives of Norway, and was referred to archivist Hallvard Trætteberg, resulting in a collaboration to develop the new coat of arms.

The dragon is a symbol of Saint Margaret of Antioch, and its depiction is derived from Stjørdal's old seal, which showed Saint Margaret standing on a slain dragon. According to Stjørdal's municipal website, both the four-legged dragon and the two-legged wyvern are used in ancient designs of arms going back thousands of years, and have "always stood as a symbol of authority, power, and exalted dignity of great national cultures."

Churches
The Church of Norway has four parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Stjørdal. It is part of the Stjørdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

History
The Leirfall rock carvings is one of the largest collections of petroglyphs in the Nordic region, with a total of approximately 900 figures.

Stjørdal is the location of Steinvikholm Castle, the residence of Norway's last Catholic archbishop, Olav Engelbrektsson. It is located on the Skatval peninsula.

Hegra Fortress is located in the central part of the municipality. It was used as a defense against the Swedish military. It was also used during World War II in the Battle of Hegra Fortress.

The Stjørdal Folk Academy was founded in 1908 by Nils Anton Vaagland, who was later mayor of Stjørdal and also served as the academy's director for 10 years.

Government
Stjørdal Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Stjørdal is made up of 37 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Stjørdal:

 * 1902–1907: Bernhard Øverland (V)
 * 1908–1910: Peter Andreas Hofstad (V)
 * 1911–1925: Nils M. Vaagland (V)
 * 1926–1934: Marius Stokke (Bp)
 * 1935–1937: Gustav Johnsen (V)
 * 1938–1941: Peder Bjerve (V)
 * 1941–1942: Agnar Nordback (NS)
 * 1942–1944: Reidar Foss (NS)
 * 1944–1945: Arnt Hegstad (NS)
 * 1945-1945: Peder Bjerve (V)
 * 1946–1951: Arne Holtesmo (Ap)
 * 1952–1955: Johan A. Vikan (Bp)
 * 1956–1959: Joar Eimhjellen (Ap)
 * 1960–1966: Johan A. Vikan (Sp)
 * 1966–1967: Lars Bidtnes (V)
 * 1968–1975: Karl Eidsvik (Sp)
 * 1976–1979: Kaare J. Forø (V/DNF)
 * 1980–1985: Håvard Alstadheim (V)
 * 1986–1993: Alf Daniel Moen (Ap)
 * 1994–1995: Einar Wollebæk Andersen (H)
 * 1995–1999: Alf Daniel Moen (Ap)
 * 1999–2013: Johan Arnt Elverum (Sp)
 * 2013–2022: Ivar Vigdenes (Sp)
 * 2022–present: Eli Arnstad (Sp)

Geography
Stjørdal consists of the old municipalities of Skatval, Hegra, Lånke, and Stjørdal. The Stjørdalselva river runs through the Stjørdalen valley, with the Skatval peninsula on the northern side. The Forbordsfjellet mountain sits in the northern part of the municipality. The Skarvan and Roltdalen National Park lies in the eastern part of the municipality, as is a tiny part of the lake Feren.

The village of Stjørdal declared town status in 1997. Stjørdal is one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Trøndelag due to its proximity to the city of Trondheim and also to Statoil's presence (it controls a large part of the petroleum activity in the Norwegian Sea from Stjørdal).

Trondheim is only about 32 km from Stjørdal either by road (European route E6) or train (Trønderbanen). Stjørdal is in the process of "growing together" with Trondheim, a show of regional urbanization. The distance to Steinkjer is about 90 km, and the towns of Levanger and Verdalsøra are both about 48 to 60 km to the north. All four of these towns are located on the eastern shore of Trondheimsfjord.

Climate
Trondheim Airport Værnes in Stjørdal is used by Norway's met office as climate reference station for the Trøndelag region, and is sometimes used as reference station for the city of Trondheim. The weather station started operating in 1946. The location near the wide and deep Trondheimsfjord moderates winter temperatures. The coldest month recorded at Værnes was February 1966 with mean -9.9 °C and average daily high -6 °C. The warmest month was July 2014 with mean 19.5 °C and average high 24.9 °C, while the weather station at nearby Kvithammar in Stjørdal recorded average high 26.1 °C in July 2014. On June 27, 2020, Værnes set a new record high with 34.3 °C. The record lows are all from before year 2000, the most recent is the January record low from 1996. Half of the monthly record highs are from 2000 or later. The warmest temperature ever recorded in Stjørdal was at an earlier weather station on 17 July 1945 with 34.5 °C, the warmest temperature recorded in the former Nord-Trøndelag county.

The driest month at Værnes was January 1972 with 0.8 mm of precipitation, and the wettest was December 1975 with 270.2 mm. The largest snow depth recorded is 130 cm in March 1956, while the largest snow depth after 1980 is 71 cm in January 1986. There are on average 14 days during winter with at least 25 cm of snow cover on the ground based on the years 1971–2000. Temperatures have tended to be warmer in more recent decades with less snow cover in winter due to melting. The only year air frost has been recorded in August was in 1956, and the second-coldest low recorded in August is 1.3 °C in 1966. The only recording of air frost in June was in 1975.

Birdlife
The Stjørdal area has a rich bird life with well over 260 recorded species and several good birding localities. Though Stjørdal can not boast of a long coastline (it's only 25 km long) some of best birding areas are to be found along Stjørdalfjorden. Halsøen is virtually situated near the centre of Stjørdal, and can be easily viewed from a number of advantage points from route E6 in the east or Langøra in the west. Formed by the old river outlet, this tidal area is well worth checking. Due to the shallow waters and extensive areas of mud at low tide, Halsøen is used both as a wintering area and a migration stopover point by many species.

Culture
Kimen kulturhus is a culture house that opened in 2015, which includes a 3-auditorium cinema, a public library, and concert halls.

The radio station Radio Trøndelag is based in Stjørdal, which broadcasts programming targeted to rural Trøndelag audiences, and is the only significant radio station in the Trondheim metropolitan area that still broadcasts on FM.

Sports-wise, the southern farming-based district of Lånke is the place of the Lånkebanen, a rallycross complex that hosts annual rounds of the FIA World Rallycross Championship and the FIA European Rallycross Championship. The municipality's primary sports team is IL Stjørdals-Blink, whose men's football team currently plays in the 2. divisjon.

Transportation
Stjørdal is a regional transportation centre that is near the regional airport, Trondheim Airport, Værnes, as well as port facilities, European route E6, European route E14, and the Nordland Line going through the municipality from Trondheim to Bodø with stops at Hell Station, Trondheim Airport Station, Stjørdal Station, and Skatval Station. In addition, the Meråkerbanen railway line goes from Hell east to Åre Municipality in Sweden. Stations on that railway line include Hell Station, Hegra Station, Sona Station, and Flornes Station.

Regional bus services connect Stjørdal to Trondheim, Melhus, Orkanger, Steinkjer and Selbu 7 days a week, while two local routes connecting downtown Stjørdal with its northern and southern neighbourhoods run 6 and 5 days a week respectively.

Public service & public thinking

 * Petter Johnsen Ertzgaard (1784 in Stjørdal – 1848), a farmer, elected official, military officer, and representative at the Norwegian Constitutional Assembly
 * Ole Vig (1824 in Kvithammer – 1857), a Norwegian teacher, poet, non-fiction writer, magazine editor, and early proponent of universal public education
 * Olaf Alfred Hoffstad (1865 in Stjørdal – 1943), a botanist, writer, school principal, and politician
 * Andreas Fleischer (1878 in Hegra – 1957), a theologian, missionary to China, and Bishop of Diocese of Bjørgvin
 * Johan Peter Trøite (1880 in Hegra – 1977), a politician and Mayor of Hegra from 1937-1941
 * Jon Leirfall (1899 in Hegra – 1998), a Norwegian politician and Mayor of Hegra from 1959–1961
 * Alf Amble (1909–1950), a petty criminal, anti-Semitic activist, writer, and Nazi sympathiser in WWII who was brought up in Stjørdal
 * Petter Jakob Bjerve (1913 in Stjørdal – 2004), an economist, statistician, politician, director of Statistics Norway from 1949–1980, and president of the International Statistical Institute from 1971 to 1975
 * Reidar Kvaal MC (1916 in Stjørdal – 2016), a Norwegian military officer who fought in Kompani Linge
 * Håvard Alstadheim (1936 in Stjørdal – 1998), an economist, politician, and Mayor of Stjørdal from 1980-1985
 * Arnstein Øverkil (1937 in Hegra – 2014), a Norwegian police chief, freemason, and civil servant
 * Alf Daniel Moen (born 1950 in Hegra), a forester, politician, and Mayor of Stjørdal from 1986–1994 & 1995–1999
 * Eli Arnstad (born 1962 in Stjørdal), a Norwegian civil servant, sports official, and politician
 * Marit Arnstad (born 1962 in Stjørdal), a Norwegian lawyer and politician

The Arts

 * Kjell Arnljot Wig (1924 in Stjørdal – 2015), a Norwegian media personality & TV host
 * Mona Grudt (born 1971 in Stjørdal), a TV host, model, editor, and Miss Universe 1990
 * Bjørn Marius Hegge (born 1987 in Elvran), a jazz musician and composer who plays upright bass and guitar

Sport

 * Tor Richter (1938 in Stjørdal – 2010), a sports shooter who competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics
 * Arild Holm (born 1942 in Stjørdal), an alpine skier who competed at the 1964 Winter Olympics
 * Kjell Alseth (born 1960 in Stjørdal), a Norwegian football FIFA referee
 * Fredrik Midtsjø (born 1993 in Stjørdal), a Norwegian footballer with 230 club caps

Twin towns – sister cities
Stjørdal is twinned with:
 * 🇫🇮 Karstula, Finland

title: Stjørdal


text:
Frosta

Frosta is the smallest municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The administrative centre is the village of Frosta. The municipality is located along the Trondheimsfjord, on the Frosta peninsula, just north of the city of Trondheim. It also includes the island of Tautra which is connected to the mainland by a causeway bridge.

The 76 km2 municipality is the 337th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Frosta is the 245th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,645. The municipality's population density is 35.6 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 0.7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
Frosta was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). It is one of very few municipalities in Norway with unchanged borders since that date. In 2018, the municipality, which was part of the old Nord-Trøndelag county became part of the new Trøndelag county.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named Frosta (Frosta). The meaning of the name is unknown. Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Frosten. On 31 December 1908, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Frosta.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 26 June 1987. The official blazon is "Vert, a sceptre fleury Or" (I grønt et gull liljesepter). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is a sceptre or mace with a Fleur-de-lis design at the top. The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The coat of arms was inspired by the old seal of the medieval Frostating assembly, where King Magnus VI the law-mender is sitting with a lily sceptre in his hand. Frosta was one of the historic places of justice, so this was chosen to commemorate that fact. The arms were designed by Einar H. Skjervold.

Churches
The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Frosta. It is part of the Sør-Innherad prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

History
Several rock engraving sites can be found in the parish, together with burial mounds from Viking times. Archaeologists have for the first time found the remnants of a Viking harbour (Vikinghavna på Fånestangen) in Norway at Frosta. A number of logs sticking up along the shoreline at Frosta have been dated back to around year 1000.

Norway's oldest court, Frostating, had its seat here at Tinghaugen, close to the medieval church at Logtun. On the island of Tautra can be found the remains of Tautra Abbey, a Trappist (Reformed Cistercian) convent, established in 1207.

Economy
Agriculture makes up the largest business in Frosta, which is sometimes called "Trondheim's kitchen garden" due to the substantial production of vegetables, strawberries, and flowers.

Geography
Frosta is on a peninsula in the Trondheimsfjord, about 20 km northeast of Trondheim. By road the distance is about 75 km Frosta is sometimes nicknamed "Trondheim's kitchen garden" due to many farms with production of vegetables, as well as a good microclimate.

Climate
Frosta has a predominantly temperate oceanic climate/marine west coast climate (barely humid continental if 0 °C is used as winter threshold). The driest month is May and the wettest is December. The all-time high temperature is 34.1 °C recorded July 2019; the all-time low is -20.7 °C recorded in February 2010. The warmest month on record was July 2014 with average high 25.9 °C, average low 14.9 °C and mean 19.7 °C. The coldest month on record was December 2010 with average high -3.6 °C, average low -8.9 °C and mean -6 °C. The weather station was established in December 1989.

Government
Frosta Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Frosta is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Frosta:

 * 1838–1842: Isak Jørgen Coldevin
 * 1843–1845: Rasmus Stene
 * 1846–1849: Haagen Einersen
 * 1850–1853: Aage Hagerup
 * 1854–1857: Haagen Einersen
 * 1858–1861: Henning Wedege
 * 1862–1863: Aage Hagerup
 * 1864–1865: Haagen Einersen
 * 1866–1869: Arnt Peter Island
 * 1870–1871: Johan Peter Qvarme
 * 1872–1873: Hans Juberg
 * 1874–1885: Arnt Peter Island
 * 1886–1889: Hans Juberg (V)
 * 1890–1891: Hans Faanes (V)
 * 1892–1897: Lars Flegstad (V)
 * 1898–1913: Andreas Galtvik (V)
 * 1914–1916: Haakon Rochseth (Riksmålspartiet)
 * 1917–1919: Andreas Galtvik (V)
 * 1920–1922: Haakon Rochseth (Riksmålspartiet)
 * 1923–1925: Andreas Galtvik (V)
 * 1926–1931: Ole Andreas Aursand (V)
 * 1932–1940: Asbjørn Hogstad (V)
 * 1941–1945: Bjarne Rokseth (NS)
 * 1945-1945: Asbjørn Hogstad (Bp)
 * 1945–1947: Kristian Rangnes (Ap)
 * 1948–1951: Asbjørn Hogstad (Bp)
 * 1952–1955: Lars Viken (Bp)
 * 1956–1961: Erling Wollan (Ap)
 * 1962–1963: Johan Petter Skogseth (Sp)
 * 1964–1967: Erling Wollan (Ap)
 * 1968–1969: Gunnar Stenhaug (Ap)
 * 1970–1971: Bjarne Sundfær (H)
 * 1972–1975: Erling Wollan (Ap)
 * 1976–1991: Karl Viken (Sp)
 * 1992–1999: Jens Hagerup (Sp)
 * 1999-2003: Boje Reitan (Sp)
 * 2003-2009: Lars Myraune (H)
 * 2009-2011: Frode Revhaug (H)
 * 2011-2015: Johan Petter Skogseth (Sp)
 * 2015-2019: Trine Haug (Sp)
 * 2019–present: Frode Revhaug (H)

Notable people

 * Lars Myraune (born 1944 in Frosta), a military leader, politician, and Mayor of Frosta 2003–2009
 * Karin Pettersen (born 1964 in Frosta), a team handball player and team silver medalist at the 1988 Summer Olympics and 1992 Summer Olympics
 * Vidar Riseth (born 1972 in Frosta), a former football player with over 400 club caps and 52 for Norway
 * Anna Ceselie Brustad Moe (born 1975), a politician for the Centre Party

title: Frosta


text:
Leksvik

Leksvik is a former municipality in the old Nord-Trøndelag county (now in Trøndelag county), Norway. The administrative center of the municipality was the village of Leksvik. Other villages in Leksvik included Vanvikan, Seter, and Dalbygda. Norwegian County Road 755 is the main road that connected the whole municipality from north to south.

The villages of Leksvik and Vanvikan were the two largest urban areas in Leksvik, notable for their high tech industries which have developed to become advanced and in demand. Areas with agriculture were also widespread, but most of the municipality was covered in forests and mountains where the wildlife ruled with animals such as moose and reindeer. The moose are sometimes seen in the heart of Leksvik and Vanvikan, where modern downtown areas with commercial and residential developments are growing.

The 430 km2 municipality was the 220th largest by area out of the then 426 municipalities in Norway at the time of its dissolution. Leksvik was the 249th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,480. The municipality's population density was 8.7 PD/km2 and its population had decreased by 0.1% over the last decade.

General information
Leksvik was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). It was one of very few municipalities in Norway with unchanged borders since that date.

The municipality of Leksvik was merged with the neighboring municipality of Rissa on 1 January 2018. The new municipality was named Indre Fosen and is located in the newly merged Trøndelag county.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Leksvik farm (Lexuvík) since the first Leksvik Church was built there. The first element is Lexa which is the genitive case of a river name. The name of the river is possibly derived from the word which means "salmon". The last element is which means "inlet". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Leksvigen or Leksviken. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Leksvik, removing the definite form ending -en.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 28 September 1990 and they were in use until 1 January 2018 when the municipality was dissolved (the same arms were re-adopted for the new Indre Fosen Municipality after the merger of Leksvik and Rissa Municipality on that date). The official blazon is "Per chevron embowed azure and argent point ending in trefoil" (I blått en innbøyd sølv spiss som ender i et kløverblad). This means the arms have a field (background) that is divided by a line in the shape of a chevron with curved sides that meet at a point. A trefoil is located on top of this point. The background above the line is blue and the background below this line has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The blue part represents the Trondheimsfjord and the white/silver part represents the land, particularly the Amborneset peninsula where King Sverre Sigurdsson fought his last sea battle on 8 June 1198. There is a clover/trefoil design at the end of the silver part which represents life and growth. The arms were designed by Einar H. Skjærvold.

Churches
The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Leksvik. It was part of the Fosen prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

Geography
Leksvik was located on the eastern side of the Fosen peninsula along the coast of Trondheimsfjorden. There are two large lakes located in Leksvik: Storvatnet and Meltingvatnet.

Government
While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elected a mayor.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Leksvik was made up of 25 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

Mayors
The mayors of Leksvik:

 * 1838–1840: Johan Albricht Carl Dons
 * 1840–1841: Nils Hjellup
 * 1842–1845: Christopher Winther Scheen
 * 1845-1846: Ole H. Krabseth
 * 1846–1849: Petter A. Grande
 * 1850–1857: Ole J. Moholdt
 * 1858–1859: Ole Aalberg
 * 1860–1863: Hans Bull Motzfeldt
 * 1864–1865: Ole J. Moholdt
 * 1866–1869: Ole Aalberg
 * 1870–1871: Aage Casper Larsen Winge
 * 1872–1883: Hans Bull Motzfeldt (H)
 * 1884–1888: Carl Ludvig Møller (H)
 * 1888–1893: Ole Moxnes (V)
 * 1894–1895: Hans Strand (H)
 * 1896–1897: Ole Moxnes (V)
 * 1898–1916: Hans Strand (H)
 * 1917–1922: Karl Myran (Av)
 * 1923–1925: Arnt Bye
 * 1926–1937: Edvard Grande (V)
 * 1938–1941: P.A. Rosvold (H)
 * 1941–1945: Hartvig Dalsaune
 * 1945–1947: P.A. Rosvold (H)
 * 1948–1949: Ole Graven (V)
 * 1950–1951: Ole Hindrum (Bp)
 * 1952–1960: Elias Grande (V)
 * 1961–1963: Johan Hindrum (Sp)
 * 1964–1967: Hans Kirkhus (V)
 * 1968–1979: Ingvar Sæther (Sp)
 * 1980–1983: Olav Moholdt (KrF)
 * 1984–1985: Ingvar Sæther (Sp)
 * 1986–1995: Ingebjørg Karmhus (Sp)
 * 1995–2003: Einar Strøm (Sp)
 * 2003–2007: Borghild Husdal Buhaug (Sp)
 * 2007–2015: Einar Strøm (Sp)
 * 2015–2017: Steinar Saghaug (H)

History
The first inhabitants are believed to have moved to Leksvik some 3,000 years ago. They left several pieces of cutting tools which are now placed in museums. But Leksvik does not appear in recorded history before the Viking Age when the villages Leksvik and Hindrem became quite important in the local area. In both Leksvik and Hindrem there have been found great tombs and ruins of buildings and longboats. On Borgen, there is a hill between Hindrem and Seter that may have been a great Viking fortress, but this could also be tracks made by the glaciers during the last ice age. After the Black Death struck Norway in 1349, Leksvik fell into silence for some 300 years.

In more modern history, Leksvik and Hindrem are small and relatively isolated villages, north of Trondheim Fjord. Two churches stood here, a church in Leksvik and a stave church in Hindrem, but this broke down in 1655 and was replaced by a modern wooden church. In the 19th century, the church of Hindrem was demolished, and the new Stranda Church was built in Vanvikan. Leksvik became well known for its goats and had 5,000 of them at their peak number.

During World War II, Leksvik was settled by German troops with the main camp on the top of Våttåhaugen, a hill north of the village of Leksvik. But as a small and isolated village, nothing of great importance happened there during the war, and it was mostly peaceful although bombs fell over Trondheim, on the south side of the fjord. After electric power first came to Leksvik, Bjørn Lyng founded the first industry in Vanvikan and Leksvik. After the first road was finally finished in the early 1960s, industry grew rapidly and replaced the goats.

title: Leksvik


text:
Levanger

Levanger is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the district of Innherred. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Levanger. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Alstadhaug, Ekne, Hokstad, Markabygd, Momarka, Frol, Mule, Nesset, Okkenhaug, Ronglan, Skogn, and Åsen.

The town of Levanger lies at the mouth of the Levangselva river along the Trondheimsfjord. One of the main roads through the town is Kirkegata. The 5.74 km2 town has a population (6 October 2020) of 10,333. The population density is 1959 PD/km2. The town has held "town status" as of 1997 and houses a campus of the Nord University as of 2016.

Levanger is a member of the Italian initiative, Cittaslow, for slow towns that don't adopt a "fast-lane" approach that is so common in most modern towns.

The 646 km2 municipality is the 174th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Levanger is the 62nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 20,344. The municipality's population density is 33.4 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 6.6% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The kjøpstad of Levanger was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1856, the kjøpstad (market town) of Levanger (population: 1,017) and the rural areas surrounding the town (population: 2,290) were separated and the rural area became the rural municipality of Levanger landsogn (the name was later changed to Frol). On 13 November 1951, a small area of Frol Municipality (population: 51) was transferred to the town of Levanger.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, the town of Levanger (population: 1,669) was merged with the neighboring municipalities of Frol (population: 3,774), Åsen Municipality (population: 1,939), and Skogn Municipality (population: 4,756) to form a new, larger municipality called Levanger. Then, on 1 January 1964, the island municipality of Ytterøy was merged with the newly enlarged municipality of Levanger. Before the merger, Levanger had 12,281 residents, and Ytterøy added 772 to bring the municipality to a population of 13,053. On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Nord-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Levanger farm (Lifangr) since the first Levanger Church was built there. The first element is Lif which means "sheltered". The last element is which means "fjord".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 25 November 1960 as the arms of the town of Levanger. In 1962, the town was enlarged when three neighboring municipalities were merged with the town, creating a new, larger municipality of Levanger. The old arms of the town were adopted as the arms of the new municipality on 26 March 1965 (the old arms were chosen since none of the other municipalities had their own coats of arms). The official blazon is "Gules, a horse at bay Or" (På rød bunn en stående gull hest). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a horse. The horse has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The horse is a symbol for the town as a major trading center between Sweden and Norway for many centuries. The arms were designed by Hallvard Trætteberg.

Churches
The Church of Norway has seven parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Levanger. It is part of the Sør-Innherad prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

History
Levanger can probably be traced back to the Iron Age, and with certainty back to the Viking Age. Alvshaugen (from the Old Norse word haugr meaning mound) is a large burial mound located in the middle of the cemetery at Alstadhaug Church. The burial mound has been dated to 300–600 CE. It is about 40 m in diameter, and about 5 to 6 m tall.

The name "Levanger" is listed in Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu. The historic town site was located in a place somewhat different from the current town center, probably in relation to the Halsstein bygdeborg (hill fort). In the Middle Ages, the area now part of the municipality of Levanger was part of the county of Skeyna in the traditional district of Innherred. The county was ruled by earls who resided at the manor of Geite, situated on a hill nearby the present town. The county was divided into six parishes: Ekne, Alstadhaug, Levanger, Frol, Ytterøy, and Leksvik. The county church was located in Alstadhaug, which also contained the fylking, while Levanger was the main port and market town. Not much is known about the earls of Skeyna, as few documents still exist that document their existence. The Reformation and the Danish occupation of Norway in 1537 caused the Norwegian nobility to disintegrate, and the last earl was most likely executed during the Reformation. The Danish rulers united Skeyna with four other counties in Innherred, creating the county of Steinvikholm. Later, the Levanger area was part of Trondhjems amt which was later divided in Nordre Trondhjems amt. That was later renamed Nord-Trøndelag fylke. On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Nord-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.

Town
The town of Levanger was founded by King Charles XIV John of Sweden on 18 May 1836, on the site where the village of Levanger already existed. The village had expanded from the traditional winter fair, known as the marsimartnan (lit. the St. Marcus Market of Levanger), dating back to the 13th century. In October 1836, as the town's borders set, Commissioner Mons Lie proposed that "the town shall bear the name of Carlslevanger, so the name of this ancient soil can be united with that of the new town's glorious founder". Despite the suggestion's being refused, the town protocols spoke of Carlslevanger Stad instead of Kjøpstaden Levanger until 1838. In 1838, the formannskapsdistrikt law classified this town as a ladested or port town.

The inhabitants of Levanger were not prepared for becoming a town, and so it took a long time before the town was constituted. In these early days the town was ruled by the Foged (Royal rural administrator). At that time there were already established a trade organization, "Levangerpatrisiatet", from 1695, based on the market. But only citizens of Trondheim could be members, until Levanger became a town in its own right. In 1839, the first guild of the town was established, and in the following years several new trades and craftsmen settled in the town.

In 1841, the first official elections were held, and Hans Nicolai Grønn was elected the first mayor of the town. Two years later, the town got its first water-pipe system, its first two primitive street lamps and a town hall.

The fire-security report of 1844 clearly confirmed the great risk of disastrous fire in the town's narrow lanes; all houses were wooden houses. Therefore, the mayor hired Major Johannes Mathias Sejersted (1797–1886) to make a general report and draw up a new regulation plan, showing Levanger as a more "continental" town. And already in 1846, two years later the town was nearly totally ruined by a great fire. Sejersted's regulation plan was used when the town was rebuilt. Levanger was damaged by two great fires after that time, in 1877 and 1897, but each time the town has been rebuilt as a wooden town, and still today most houses are wooden houses.

Throughout the 19th century, the famous market's economical importance faded out, and the ancient arrangement was reduced to a tradition without much content. That was the end of Levanger as an important port of foreign trade between Sweden and Norway. However, in the early 20th century, the town of Levanger was pleased by new establishments such as county hospital and college of education. The German occupation in 1940 was the beginning of a 40-year-long "interregnum" of the traditional "Marsimartnan".

In 1961, the town of Levanger decided to merge with its neighbors. On 1 January 1962, Frol Municipality, Skogn Municipality, and Åsen Municipality were merged with Levanger, and at the same time, it lost its "town status". The neighboring Ytterøy Municipality was merged with Levanger two years later.

Over thirty years later, in 1997, as a result of the resurrection of the "Marsimartnan" in 1989, the town of Levanger was re-established, though the town still is part of Levanger municipality. But the center of administration is to be found in the town of Levanger, which is also, in historical terms, the administrative basis for the municipality. And Levanger's town traditions and culture go way back. The town is laid out according to an urban and regulated plot with proper streets such as Kirkegata. It's more than just a town hall and a city square. In fact, Levanger's always been a town, though not always officially, and every inhabitant in the town area carries this piece of knowledge with pride. Thus there does exist a sense of distinction between town people and the people from the countryside.

In 2002, Levanger joined the Cittaslow movement, although there have been some violations of the Cittaslow charter, of which can be mentioned the construction of the unharmonic new mini mall in Sjøgata, down by the seaside. This mini mall includes two grocery stores and several electrical appliances stores.

Government
Levanger Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Levanger is made up of 35 representatives that are elected every four years. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
Since the municipal merger in 1961 that created the present municipality of Levanger, there have been several people who have served as mayor (ordfører).

Economy
The world's largest paper-producing company, Norske Skog, built its first ever factory in Skogn, south of the town of Levanger. This factory started production in 1966, is working today, and it provides 530 jobs at the plant, and an additional 1,900 jobs in transportation and forestry. Levanger encompasses some of the best agricultural areas in Trøndelag. The Fiborgtangen industrial area is located in Skogn and has freight access to the Nordland Line.

Most of the town's commercial area is concentrated around the main street, called Kirkegata (Church Street), and in more recent years around the shopping mall Magneten, located at the suburban area of Moan. Magneten has since its beginning faced rapid growth, and several stores earlier located in Kirkegata have now moved to Moan and/or Magneten. The Inntrøndelag District Court is also located in the town. The Levanger Hospital and the Nord University also are major employers in the municipality.

Transportation
The main street of the town of Levanger has roads connecting to the E6 highway at both ends and the Norwegian County Road 774 at the north end which connects to the Levanger–Hokstad Ferry, which regularly runs between the town of Levanger and the island of Ytterøya in the Trondheimsfjord.

The Nordland Line runs to the north through the municipality. It stops at the following stations: Åsen Station, HiNT Station, Ronglan Station, Skogn Station, and Levanger Station. The train used to stop at Levanger Hospital at the Innherred Sykehus Station, but that station is now closed.

Geography
The municipality is located in the Innherred region of Trøndelag county. It lies on the eastern shore of the Trondheimsfjord and it includes the island of Ytterøya. There are many lakes in the municipality, including Byavatnet, Feren, Hammervatnet, Hoklingen, Movatnet, and Sønningen. The Levangselva river runs through the municipality. The Rinnleiret beach area lies on the Levanger–Verdal border.

Attractions

 * Alvshaugen burial mound at Alstadhaug
 * Alstadhaug Medieval church (next to Alvshaugen burial mound)
 * Brusve Museum
 * Falstad Center
 * Falstad concentration camp
 * Fenka art gallery
 * Hveding Auto Museum
 * Munkeby Abbey ruins
 * Halsteinen hillfort
 * The Iron to Viking Age gravemounds at Gjeite

Public service and public thinking

 * Frederik Heidmann (1777 in Skogn – 1850), a military officer, civil servant and politician
 * Oluf Christian Dietrichson (1856 in Skogn – 1942), a polar explorer and military officer
 * Peter August Poppe (1870 in Skogn – 1933), an engineer, designer and developer of engines and complete motor vehicles for the British motor industry
 * Arne Falstad (1874 at Skjerpengen – 1958), an attorney, banker, and Mayor of Levanger in the 1930s
 * Albert Fredrik Eggen (1878 at Østborg – 1966), a farmer, politician, and pre-WWII Mayor of Stod
 * Helge Klæstad (1885–1965), a Norwegian judge and Supreme Court Justice from 1929-1946
 * Bjarne Skard (1896 in Levanger – 1961), the Bishop of Tunsberg
 * Erling Gjone (1898 in Levanger – 1990), an architectural historian and antiquarian
 * Henry Rinnan (1915 in Levanger – 1947), a Gestapo agent and Nazi collaborator
 * Martin Stavrum (born 1938), a politician and Mayor of Levanger from 1996-1999
 * Erling Folkvord (born 1949 in Levanger), a left wing politician and writer
 * Per Erik Bergsjø (born 1958 in Levanger), a Supreme Court Justice from March 2012
 * Per Sandberg (born 1960 in Levanger), a politician

The Arts

 * Martin Aagaard (1863 in Levanger – 1913), a Norwegian painter of marine paintings
 * Benny Motzfeldt (1909 in Levanger – 1995), a visual artist, glass designer, and sculptor
 * Jens Bolling (1915 in Levanger – 1992), a Norwegian actor and theatre director
 * Sverre Valen (born 1925 in Levanger – 2023), a Norwegian choir conductor
 * Eli Rygg (born 1955), a TV personality and children's writer who was brought up in Levanger
 * Frode Haltli (born 1975 in Levanger), a Norwegian accordion player

Sport

 * Einar Jørum (1924 in Åsen – 1997), a footballer and president of the Football Association of Norway from 1970-1980
 * Knut Knudsen (born 1950), a retired track-cyclist and gold medallist at the 1972 Summer Olympics
 * Sturla Voll, (Norwegian Wiki) (born 1954), a Norwegian soccer coach
 * Marit Breivik (born 1955 in Levanger), a former handballer and head coach for the national team
 * Tina Svensson (born 1966 in Levanger), a footballer and team bronze medallist at the 1996 Summer Olympics
 * Stein Berg Johansen (born 1969 in Levanger), a retired Norwegian football striker and coach
 * Jon Olav Hjelde (born 1972 in Levanger), a former footballer with over 250 club caps
 * Trond Viggo Toresen (born 1978 in Levanger), a footballer with over 250 club caps
 * Eldar Rønning (born 1982 in Levanger), a cross-country skier, competed in two Winter Olympics
 * Per Verner Rønning (born 1983 in Levanger), a former footballer with 380 club caps
 * Johan Kjølstad (born 1983 in Levanger), a cross-country skier, competed in two Winter Olympics
 * Birgit Skarstein (born 1989), a paraplegic competitive rower and cross-country skier
 * Dardan Dreshaj (born 1992 in Levanger), a football striker with over 250 club caps

Expatriates

 * Zakarias Toftezen (1821 in Levanger - 1901), an early settler in the State of Washington
 * Bernt Julius Muus (1832 in Levanger – 1900), a Lutheran minister and church leader in Northfield, Minnesota
 * Bernt B. Haugan (1862 in Skogn – 1931), a Lutheran minister, politician, and temperance leader
 * Edin Cornelius Alfsen (1896 in Skogn – 1966), a Lutheran missionary who founded the Norwegian Tibet Mission

title: Levanger


text:
Talk:List of ski areas and resorts

Older comments
re the european ski areas typically referred to by their closest town? matt 21:43 Feb 2, 2003 (UTC)
 * I would say so, especially since they are usually more or less located in said town. Egil 22:18 Feb 2, 2003 (UTC)
 * Sometimes. Often it's more complicated. For example the 'Portes du Soleil' area is an amalgam of smaller ski areas, such as Chatel. DJ Clayworth

Any reason why the Middle East is not considered part of Asia? Grutness 05:40, 10 Nov 2004 (UTC)
 * (fixed long ago)

Move to List of ski RESORTS
Saw note that "Tuckerman is not a 'true' ski area, as there are no lifts." (apparently inserted last June by User:DavidWBrooks). Really? Since when does a "ski area" need to have lifts? Perhaps this article should be moved to List of ski resorts, if it is going to exclude ski areas that are used exclusively for Nordic skiing, backcountry skiing or ski mountaineering. Skiing is not carried out solely in places having "lifts," and there are probably hundreds of non-lift ski areas that may therefore need their own list. Lupinelawyer 01:00, 4 Mar 2005 (UTC)

You have to set some criteria to determine candidacy in this list; if a ski area is any place you can ski, then every hill over 10 degrees with snow is a ski area. That's pretty much every mountain, park, and golf course in Canada. That sounds somewhat like compiling a 1:1 map of the world. I think a ski area should be defined as location that has permanent, fixed, uphill transportation; heli-ski and snowcat operations should not be included in this list.--Baoluo 09:28, 16 July 2006 (UTC)
 * If the skiing is good and it's a place I might want to go to legally ski, it should be listed, in my opinion. Heliskiing definitely fits this category, though the article should clearly indicate advance arrangements needed, which I wouldn't expect of a regular ski area.  Most golf courses wouldn't do because I have to walk uphill, right?  And they're fairly little hills?
 * The distinction between resort and area seems a little cloudy, but I would draw the line at whether it is possible to leave the hotel room and ski without an intermediate ride in an auto, bus, etc. —EncMstr 19:41, 16 July 2006 (UTC)
 * "if the skiing is good" is definitely POV; if ski areas that were demonstrably poor were excluded from this list, then the great majority of ski areas in central and eastern North America shouldn't be here. I agree that a distinction be made between resorts and areas. This is a difficult distinction to make however; should it be made based on calculation of skier capacities, the physical size of the area, the presence of on-hill accomodations, or by some other criteria?  I do think a distinction also needs to made between ski areas that charge user fees and provide up-hill transportation from back- or side-country skiing areas where users must power themselves up hill.  This is a radically different activity, and as such deserves its own list.  Additionally, ski areas with permanent lifts and ropeways are radically different from ski areas that move skiers uphill via snowmobile, snowcat, helicopter or ski plane; I think this category also deserves a separate list.--Baoluo 06:40, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Let me add my two cents on this. Wikipedia's own entry for "ski area" says that "A ski area is a developed recreational facility, usually on a mountain, containing ski trails, ski lifts and vital supporting services. At a minimum a ski area has food, rental equipment, parking facilities and a lift system catering to the sports of skiing and snowboarding."  In my mind this certainly disqualifies places like Tuckerman Ravine and possibly the Mt. Washington Cog Railway, and it also disqualifies all cross-country skiing facilities.  I don't know if that's good or bad (there are lots of XC areas listed here, at least in some places), but I personally would like to see a separate list for XC.  I would like to see this list contain only (1) areas that offer alpine skiing and/or snowboarding, (2) areas that still operate, and (3) areas that offer uphill transportation to one or more defined ski trails or runs (thus excluding, say, heli-ski operations). Charolastra charolo 22:41, 31 December 2006 (UTC)
 * I would make it really simple: A ski area is an area that charges you to ski. Lake Mountain in Australia is a well-known cross country skiing location/area/resort/place. It would just be weird to see a list with Hotham, Falls Creek, Buller, Buffalo - and not Lake Mountain. OTOH, there is a need to split this huge list. Stevage 06:02, 21 January 2007 (UTC)
 * IMO Paradise Lodge on Mt Rainier, WA should be removed from this list. The area used to be an actual ski resort from the 1930's through 1972 but now its a hike-only, BC ski area. As stated further up the thread, besides having a lodge on the hill, there is nothing there that would qualify Rainier as an actual ski area.  The lodge on the mtn was not built to be spcifically as a ski lodge, so its not like its leftover from the ski area. Any thoughts? Mrhyak 23:40, 9 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Snow Bunny is a similar article. It's been decades since there was a lodge or ski lift there, and I've had bad luck finding any reference at all which states there used to be a lift there.  As long as the article notes the historical and current status, I'm 80% in favor of leaving it linked in.  (How's that for divided? :-)  —EncMstr 00:01, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Centers of Ski Culture
There is no mention of Vail, Karuizawa, or Burlington in this or the main skiing article. That is like creating a suite of surfing articles without mentioning California or Oahu. --McTrixie 16:44, 2 November 2005 (UTC)

List of trail maps
Is there any interest in starting a list which has external links to trail maps for ski resorts? Or does such a thing already exist on the wikipedia? Or what would people think of adding it to this list? Reason I ask is that when working out where to go for a ski holiday, I really like to see the trail map to get a sense of scale, and layout. A big list that contained direct links to this information would be very handy (for me, and presumably for others too). -- All the best, Nickj (t) 04:34, 15 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Sounds uninteresting to me and probably non-encyclopedic. Do not add it to this list because it would clutter it ...maelgwntalk 09:42, 15 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Fair enough, consider it dropped. -- All the best, Nickj (t) 05:48, 17 March 2006 (UTC)
 * check out google earth; you can get a pretty good sense of a ski area that way.--Baoluo 09:29, 16 July 2006 (UTC)
 * It would probably be helpful to add direct links to the relevant trail maps in the articles. A "list of trail maps" per se would get deleted by someone. Stevage 06:02, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

Splitting up?
Hi guys, I'm finding this list a bit unmanageable. I'm trying to work on the NZ ski resorts and it's a real pain working on such a large list. Would it be so bad to have separate lists for each country? Or maybe to do both: Make this list just transclude all the sublists? I might try this for NZ so you can see what you think. Stevage 06:02, 21 January 2007 (UTC)
 * You don't have to edit the whole page at once. Just click on the relevant section Edit link.  —EncMstr 23:58, 9 February 2007 (UTC)
 * I am also considering splitting up the list, mainly because it is just unmanageably long to read. I was just about to post here myself regarding this issue.
 * Another problem with its length is while checking diffs to revert vandalism and unhelpful changes, in which case section ediiting / diff checking is impossible. I think the time for a split has come.  In addition, the list should be renamed List of ski areas and resorts to match the recent renaming of all categories in the Category:Ski areas and resorts tree, and its new sublists should be "List of ski areas and resorts in . . ." for consistency.  --Seattle Skier (See talk tierS) 22:15, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Renamed and split
I decided to go ahead and do the rename to List of ski areas and resorts, along with the split. All areas except Africa (which has too few ski areas to need its own list) are now split into separate list articles:

 * List of ski areas and resorts in Asia
 * List of ski areas and resorts in Australia
 * List of ski areas and resorts in New Zealand (previously split and transcluded by Stevage in January 2007)
 * List of ski areas and resorts in Europe (may also benefit from a further split later)
 * List of ski areas and resorts in Canada
 * List of ski areas and resorts in the United States
 * List of ski areas and resorts in South America

This looks like a major improvement in readability, usability, and maintainability to me. I hope that others agree. Thanks. --Seattle Skier (See talk tierS) 01:37, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

title: Talk:List of ski areas and resorts


text:
Verdal

Verdal is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Innherad region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Verdalsøra. Some villages in the municipality include Forbregd/Lein, Lysthaugen, Stiklestad, Trones, Vera, Vinne, and Vuku.

The 1548 km2 municipality is the 53rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Verdal is the 81st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 15,002. The municipality's population density is 10.2 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 3.2% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The municipality of Værdalen was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). It is one of very few municipalities in Norway with unchanged borders since that date, although the spelling of the name was modified to Verdal. On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Nord-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Verdalen valley (Veradalr). The first element is the genitive case of the river name Ver (now called Verdalselva). The meaning of the river name is probably "the quiet one". The last element is which means "valley" or "dale". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Værdalen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Verdal, removing the definite form ending -en.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 15 December 1972. The official blazon is "Gules, a cross cleché Or" (På rød bunn et gull kors, utbøyd og tilspisset). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a cross with a cleché design. The cross has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The design is based on a cross shown in a large painting in the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, in which the death of King Olav Haraldsson (Saint Olaf) is shown. He died in the Battle of Stiklestad, the site of which is in Verdal municipality. In the painting, he holds a shield with this cross design. To commemorate the battle, the cross was taken as arms for the municipality. The arms were designed by Hallvard Trætteberg. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has four parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Verdal. It is part of the Sør-Innherad prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

Battle of Stiklestad
The most famous battle in Norwegian history, the Battle of Stiklestad, took place at Stiklestad in Verdal in the year 1030. The Stiklestad Church was built afterwards at the place where King Olav Haraldsson, later redesigned as St. Olaf, died during the battle. Olavsstøtta, a memorial pillar dedicated to St. Olaf, was erected in 1807 to commemorate the Battle of Stiklestad.

Verdalsraset
Early on the night of 19 May 1893, the most deadly landslide in modern Norwegian history, known as Verdalsraset, took place in Verdal. It killed 116 people and at least 500 animals when approximately 100 farms were swept away. A wet winter and several spring floods in the river made the quick clay under the topsoil in a large area of the valley turn into a fluid. The slide moved about 60000000 m3 of clay, completely reshaping the topography of the area, including moving the course of the river.

Råning
This culture is known for young people interested in cars, spending most of their time improving, enhancing, and styling their cars, and then driving them for display on a particular route around the town centre. This is not only positive, as they do show some general disregard for common laws and regulations. People living in the town center are at times bothered by noise, usually music being played at high volumes from their cars.

Stiklestad
Verdal is the location of the Stiklestad National Cultural Centre. The Saint Olav Drama appears here on an open stage every year in July. The play centers on events leading up to the Battle of Stiklestad.

Geography
Verdal is centered on the Verdal valley. The river Verdalselva runs through the valley into the Trondheimsfjord at Verdalsøra. The rivers Helgåa and Inna join at Vuku to form the Verdalselva. The lake Veresvatnet flows into the river Helgåa and the lake Innsvatnet flows into the river Inna. The large lake Leksdalsvatnet lies on the Verdal-Steinkjer border. The southern tip of the large Blåfjella–Skjækerfjella National Park lies in the northeastern part of Verdal. Rinnleiret is a beach area along the Levanger-Verdal border in the west.

Climate
Verdal is situated along the innermost part of Trondheimsfjord and has a humid continental climate (Dfb) with mild winters for this climate. Using the -3 C winter threshold as in the original Köppen climate classification, Verdal has an oceanic climate (Cfb). The all-time high 33 C was recorded in July 2018. The all-time low -26.4 C was set in January 1987. The average date for first overnight freeze (below 0 °C) in autumn is October 6 (1981-2010 average).

Government
Verdal Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Verdal is made up of 35 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Verdal:

 * 1838–1839: Eliseus Müller
 * 1840–1841: Lars Steen
 * 1842–1843: Christian Munch von Holst
 * 1844–1849: Johannes Groth Monrad
 * 1850–1861: Ole Hage
 * 1862–1863: Andreas Steen
 * 1864–1871: Wilhelm Christian Holst
 * 1872–1875: Martin Daniel Müller (H)
 * 1876–1881: Anton Bendix Monrad
 * 1882–1889: Peter Holst (V)
 * 1890–1893: Andreas Tessem (V)
 * 1893–1895: Martin Eggen (V)
 * 1896–1901: Elling Reppe (V)
 * 1902–1910: Ole Holan (V)
 * 1911–1913: Bernhard Rostad (H)
 * 1914–1916: Erik Veel (V)
 * 1917–1919: Tommas Berg (V)
 * 1920-1920: Ole Holan (V)
 * 1921–1928: Tommas Berg (V)
 * 1929–1934: Eliseus Müller (Bp)
 * 1935–1939: Andreas Haugan (Ap)
 * 1939–1940: Christian Nevermo (Ap)
 * 1941–1945: Arne Vold (NS)
 * 1945-1945: Georg Tromsdal (Ap)
 * 1946–1959: Einar Musum (Ap)
 * 1960–1963: Iver Skreden (Sp)
 * 1963–1967: Johan Støa (Ap)
 * 1968–1969: Klaus Stavø (Ap)
 * 1969–1975: Karl Ydse (Ap)
 * 1976–1991: Ola G. Tromsdal (Ap)
 * 1992–1995: Kari Sundby (Sp)
 * 1995-1999: Knut Einar Steinsli (Sp)
 * 1999-2005: Gerd Janne Kristoffersen (Ap)
 * 2005-2019: Bjørn Iversen (Ap)
 * 2019–2023: Pål Sverre Fikse (Sp)
 * 2023-present: Knut Snorre Sandnes (H)

Economy
Offshore industry (Aker Verdal) and agriculture are two of the most important parts of Verdal's economy. Despite its small size, Verdal is a municipality with great personality and cultural integrity. After several lottery grand prizes were received by some lucky inhabitants of Verdal, it is also known as one of the great "Lotto-bygds" of Norway (Small places with high a concentration of lottery wins in the national game of Lotto).

Transportation
European route E6 runs north and south through Verdalsøra, connecting the municipality with Steinkjer to the north and Levanger to the south. The Nordland Line also runs north and south through the municipality. There are two stations in Verdal: Verdal Station in Verdalsøra and Bergsgrav Station in Vinne.

Notable people

 * Johannes Brun (1832 in Verdal – 1890), a Norwegian stage actor
 * Oluf Rygh (1833 in Verdal – 1899), a noted archaeologist, philologist and historian
 * Olav Braarud (1885 in Verdal – 1969), an operational engineer of Holmenkolbanen
 * Sig Haugdahl (1891 in Verdal – 1970), an IMCA "Big Car" champion 1927–1932 who promoted stock car racing in the USA
 * Trygve Braarud (1903 in Verdal – 1985), a Norwegian botanist and academic
 * Knut Getz Wold (1915 in Verdal – 1987), an economist, civil servant and governor of the Central Bank of Norway 1970–1985.
 * Arnold Haukeland (1920 in Verdal – 1983), a Norwegian sculptor
 * Asmund Bjørken (1933 in Verdal – 2018), a Norwegian musician who played the jazz and folk accordion and saxophone
 * Vigdis Ystad (1942 in Verdal – 2019), a Norwegian literary historian and academic
 * Nils Nordberg (born 1942 in Verdal), a crime writer, anthology editor and audio play director
 * Hans Rotmo (born 1948), a musician who published the first album sung in a Norwegian dialect
 * Bjørn Iversen (born 1953), a Norwegian politician, Mayor of Verdal since 2005
 * Rune Rebellion (born 1965 in Verdal), stage name of Rune Grønn, a guitarist
 * Ingrid Storholmen (born 1976 in Verdal), a Norwegian poet, novelist, and literary critic
 * Gjermund Larsen (born 1981 in Verdal), a traditional folk musician (violin) and composer

Sport

 * Pål Benum (born 1935 in Verdal), an orthopediatrician and former long-distance runner, competed at 1964 Olympic Games
 * Trond Viggo Toresen (born 1978 in Verdal), a footballer with over 250 club caps
 * Even Barli (born 1991 in Verdal), a Norwegian goalkeeper for Ranheim with 234 caps.
 * Jonas Svensson (born 1993 in Verdal), a footballer with over 270 club caps and 23 for Norway

title: Verdal


text:
Mosvik

Mosvik is a former municipality in the old Nord-Trøndelag county in Norway. The municipality was part of the Innherred region. The 219.37 km2 municipality existed from 1901 until its dissolution in 2012. The old municipality encompassed the southern part of what is now the municipality of Inderøy in Trøndelag county. The municipality was located along the western shore of the Trondheimsfjorden and on the southwestern end of the Beitstadfjorden.

The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Mosvik where Mosvik Church is located. Other villages located near the village of Mosvik include Trongsundet, Framverran, Venneshamn, and Kjerringvik.

Until 1991, the connection from Mosvik municipality to the rest of the Innherred region was only available by a car ferry, at first via Ytterøya to Levanger, but later directly to Inderøy on the Vangshylla–Kjerringvik Ferry route. In 1991, the Skarnsund Bridge on Norwegian County Road 755 was completed, eliminating the need for a ferry.

Mosvik features two of Norway's 23 tallest structures: the Skavlen transmitter television and radio transmitter at 165 m and the Skarnsund Bridge at 152 m.

The Skarnsund bridge was opened by King Harald V on 19 December 1991, after he had taken the last ferry across the fjord. A monument, the King's Stone, bearing the signature of the king, is located at the resting place on the Mosvik side.

History
The municipality of Mosvik was established on 1 January 1901 when the old municipality of Mosvik og Verran was divided into two new municipalities: Mosvik (population: 969) in the southeast and Verran (population: 1,456) in the north and west.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal changes across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1968, the Framverran area on the south side of the Verrasundet strait (population: 395) was transferred from Verran municipality to Mosvik municipality. On 1 January 2012, the municipality of Mosvik ceased to exist when it was merged into the neighboring municipality of Inderøy. Prior to the merger, Mosvik had 811 residents.

Name
The municipality was named Mosvik (Masarvík) since the first Mosvik Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the river name Mǫs (now called the Mossa river). The meaning of the river name is unknown. The last element is which means "inlet" or "cove". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Mosviken. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Mosvik, removing the definite form ending -en.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 13 July 1984 and it was in use until 1 January 2012 when it became part of Inderøy Municipality. The official blazon is "Argent, two piles throughout reversed vert" (I sølv to grønne spisser). This means the arms have a field (background) has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The charge is a two green triangles pointing upwards. The design was chosen to symbolize the forests and trees in the municipality as well as to look like the letter M, the initial of the municipality. The arms were designed by Einar H. Skjervold. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Mosvik. It was part of the Nord-Innherad prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

Geography
The municipality was located south of the Skarnsund strait with the main Trondheimsfjord to the east and the Verrasundet strait to the west. The municipality of Leksvik was located to the south. The lake Meltingvatnet lies along the Leksvik border.

Government
While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elected a mayor.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Mosvik was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

Mayors
The mayors of Mosvik:

 * 1901–1919: Einar Jenssen (H)
 * 1920–1934: Ole H. Sæteraas (V)
 * 1935–1941: Aksel Saltvik (LL)
 * 1942–1945: Ola M. Hestebeit (NS)
 * 1945-1945: Aksel Saltvik (Ap)
 * 1946–1947: Elias Lorentsen (Ap)
 * 1948–1955: Tomas Tangstad (V)
 * 1956–1969: Trygve Aaring (LL)
 * 1970–1979: Peter Å. Gipling (Sp)
 * 1980–1986: Jarle Aune (Sp)
 * 1987-1987: Asbjørn Wibe (LL)
 * 1988-1993: Arne Aasan (Ap)
 * 1994–2003: Per Vennes (Sp)
 * 2003–2011: Carl Ivar von Køppen (Sp)

Notable people

 * Gunnar Viken (born 1948) former County mayor, raised on a family farm in Mosvik
 * Petter Northug (born 1986 in Framverran) a Norwegian former cross-country skier and double Olympic champion
 * Tomas Northug (born 1990 in Mosvik) a Norwegian cross-country skier
 * Even Northug (born 1995) a Norwegian cross-country skier

Twin towns – sister cities

 * 🇫🇮 Vimpeli, Finland

title: Mosvik


text:
Verran

Verran is a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1901 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was divided between Steinkjer Municipality and Indre Fosen Municipality. It was part of the Innherred region. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Malm. Other villages in Verran included Follafoss, Sela, Verrabotn, and Verrastranda.

At the time of its dissolution in 2020, the 602 km2 municipality was the 185th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Verran was the 294th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,473. The municipality's population density was 4.4 PD/km2 and its population had decreased by 16.1% over the last decade.

General information
The municipality of Verran was established on 1 January 1901 when the old municipality of Mosvik og Verran was divided into two new municipalities: Mosvik (population: 969) and Verran (population: 1,456). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the neighboring municipalities of Malm (population: 2,975) to the north and Verran (population: 1,803) to the south were merged to form a new municipality of Verran. After the merger, there were 4,778 residents in Verran. On 1 January 1968, the Framverran area on the south side of the Verrasundet fjord (population: 395) was transferred from Verran to the neighboring municipality of Mosvik.

On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Nord-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.

On 1 January 2020 the municipality of Verran was merged with the neighboring municipality of Steinkjer to form a new, larger Steinkjer Municipality. Also on that date, the Verrabotn area in southwestern Verran was merged with the neighboring municipality of Indre Fosen (instead of merging with Steinkjer like the rest of Verran).

Name
The municipality is named after the Verrasundet fjord (Veri), which is an arm of the great Trondheimsfjord. The meaning of the old name is probably "the quiet one" or "the fjord with still water".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 11 September 1987 and it was in use until 1 January 2020 when the municipality was dissolved. The official blazon is "Azure, a boat with raised square sail and topsail argent" (I blått en sølv båt med råseil og toppseil). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a Verranjekt (boat) with a raised square sail and topsail. The boat has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The design was chosen to symbolize the historical importance of boating and boatbuilding for the area. The Verranjekt (literally translated as "a yacht from Verran") is a type of boat has been built in Verran for centuries. The arms were designed by Rolf Tidemann. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms. After the merger of Verran and Steinkjer municipalities on 1 January 2020, these arms were adopted to represent the new Steinkjer municipality.

Churches
The Church of Norway had two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Verran. It was part of the Nord-Innherad prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

Geography
Verran bordered the municipalities of Åfjord to the west, Indre Fosen to the south, Inderøy to the southeast, Steinkjer to the east, and Namdalseid to the north. Verran encompasses the western coastline of the Beitstadfjord, an arm of the Trondheimsfjord. There are three large lakes in Verran: Ormsetvatnet, Selavatnet, and Holden. The river Follaelva runs through the municipality, emptying into the Trondheimsfjord at Follafoss.

Government
While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elected a mayor. The municipality fell under the Inntrøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Verran is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

Mayors
The mayors of Verran:

 * 1901–1904: Jørginus Stavrum (V)
 * 1905–1910: Jørginus Grande (H)
 * 1911–1928: Gunnar Aftret (V)
 * 1928-1928: Arne Karlsen (LL)
 * 1929–1931: John M. Viken (Ap)
 * 1932–1934: Tomas Stavrum (LL)
 * 1935–1942: Gunvald Engelstad (Ap)
 * 1943–1945: Otto Sandhaug (NS)
 * 1945-1945: Gunvald Engelstad (Ap)
 * 1946–1947: Nils Kvam (Ap)
 * 1948–1950: Toralf Aalberg (Ap)
 * 1951–1953: Magne Følstad (Ap)
 * 1954–1963: Toralf Aalberg (Ap)
 * 1964–1971: Olav Stavrum (Ap)
 * 1972–1979: Arthur Mogstad (Ap)
 * 1980–1993: Rolf Ystmark (Ap)
 * 1993–2003: Bjørn Skjelstad (Sp)
 * 2003–2004: Kåre Olsen (Ap)
 * 2004–2007: Robert Bjørk (Ap)
 * 2007–2011: Frank Christiansen (Ap)
 * 2011–2015: Bjørn Skjelstad (Sp)
 * 2015–2019: Anders Lindstrøm (Ap)

Economy
Forestry is an important industry in Verran. There is also a paper mill in Follafoss that is a large factory. The paper mill is owned by Södra Cell Folla.

title: Verran


text:
Namdalseid

Namdalseid is a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it joined Namsos Municipality. It was part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Namdalseid. Other villages and farm areas in the municipality included Sjøåsen, Statland, Tøttdalen, and Sverkmoen.

At the time of its dissolution in 2020, the 770 km2 municipality was the 144th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Namdalseid was the 348th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,585. The municipality's population density was 2.2 PD/km2 and its population had decreased by 7.7% over the previous decade.

General information
The parish of Namdalseid was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt), but it was merged into the neighboring municipality of Beitstad on 1 January 1846. On 1 January 1904, the Namdalseid district (population: 1,368) was separated from Beitstad to form a municipality of its own (once again).

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the parts of the neighboring municipality of Otterøy that were located south of the Namsenfjorden (population: 571) were transferred to Namdalseid municipality. On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Nord-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.

On 1 January 2020, the neighboring municipalities of Fosnes, Namsos, and Namdalseid merged to form a new, larger Namsos Municipality. This occurred because on 16 June 2016, the three municipalities voted to merge as part of a large municipal reform across Norway.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named Namdalseid. This name originally comes from the old Elda farm (Eldueið or commonly shortened to Eið) since the first Eid Stave Church was built there. The first element is eldu which is the name of the local river. The last element is which means "path/road between two waters" (here the Beitstadfjorden and Namsenfjorden)". The Vikings used to drag boats across Namdalseid using the rivers and waterways in the area, to get from one fjord to another without having to risk crossing the treacherous Folda fjord by travelling up the sheltered Trondheimsfjord and continuing north along the coast. The passage was much easier in olden times as the sea level was higher and the waterways more numerous, but as recently as 2004 a boatdrag was done to commemorate the old traditions. Nowadays, however, one has to transport the boats by road for a fairly long stretch. Around the year 1550, the prefix Namdals- was added to the name to distinguish it from other places using the common name Eid. The prefix is the genitive case of the old region name Namdalen. Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Namdalseidet. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Namdalseid, removing the definite form ending -et.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 8 December 1989 and they were in use until 1 January 2020 when the municipality was dissolved. The official blazon is "Per pale trefly-counter-trefly argent and vert" (Kløvd av sølv og grønt ved kløverbladsnitt). This means the arms have a field (background) that is divided vertically by a line that follows a trefoil/clover design that alternates on either side of the line. The background on the left side of the line has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The background on the right side has a tincture of green. The clover leaf shapes and the colors were chosen to symbolize the agriculture, landscapes, and nature within the municipality. Namdalseid was a farming municipality with mainly grass production. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway had two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Namdalseid. It is part of the Nord-Innherad prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

Geography
The municipality bordered the municipalities of Flatanger, Roan, and Osen to the west; Namsos to the north; Åfjord and Verran to the southwest; and Steinkjer to the southeast. Lakes in the region include Gilten and Finnvollvatnet. The river Sverka runs through the western part of the municipality. The Namsenfjorden formed most of the northern border.

Government
While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elected a mayor. The municipality fell under the Namdal District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Namdalseid is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

Mayors
The mayors of Namdalseid:

 * 1838–1839: Erich Helbostad
 * 1840–1841: Christian Gotfred Vogelsang
 * 1842–1845: Morten Elden
 * 1904–1906: Paul Anzjøn
 * 1907-1907: Kristoffer Elden
 * 1908–1910: Henrik Elden
 * 1911–1913: John Buvarp
 * 1914–1916: Håkon Holien (V)
 * 1917–1922: Tønnes Silset (V)
 * 1923–1925: Sverre Elden (Bp)
 * 1926–1931: Tønnes Silset (Bp)
 * 1932–1934: Olav Sæther (V)
 * 1935–1937: Tønnes Silset (Bp)
 * 1938–1940: Edmund Buvarp (V)
 * 1941-1941: Tønnes Silset (NS)
 * 1942-1942: Kristian Anzjøn (NS)
 * 1943-1943: Edvard Stamnes (NS)
 * 1944–1945: Oldus Mork (NS)
 * 1945–1946: Edmund Buvarp (V)
 * 1947-1947: Eiliv Elden (Bp)
 * 1948–1951: Trygve Silset (Bp)
 * 1952–1959: Inge Kaldahl (Bp)
 * 1960–1964: Asbjørn Kaldahl (Sp)
 * 1964–1968: Otto Ekker (Sp)
 * 1968–1972: Inge Kaldahl (Sp)
 * 1972–1983: Einar Furre (Sp)
 * 1984–1987: Per Arve Lie (V)
 * 1988–1995: Bjørn Hagen (Ap)
 * 1995–1999: Hetty Vårdal (Ap)
 * 1999–2003: Per Arve Lie (V)
 * 2003–2019: Steinar Lyngstad (Sp)

Economy
Being mainly an agricultural municipality, Namdalseid struggled with a decline in population, as fewer and fewer people find they can make a living growing crops and raising cattle. Other areas of interest for business were fishing, hunting, and nature. Having one of the best small-salmon (grisle) rivers in Trøndelag, Namdalseid is a haven for fly fishing and attracts many fishermen every year. In addition to fishing many visit Namdalseid to experience the beautiful mountain scenery and to do some hunting.

Namdalseid also had some industry. Hundseth Mølle is one of the largest mills in Norway, Namdal Plast AS is a factory manufacturing fiberglass products, and Pelsberederiet AS is a manufacturer of furs from moose, deer, and other wild animals.

title: Namdalseid