Åsnes is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Solør. The

administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

of the municipality is the village of

Flisa Flisa is the administrative centre of Åsnes Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village lies at the confluence of the rivers Flisa and Glomma. The Norwegian National Road 2 and the Solørbanen railway line both pass through the ...

, which is also the largest village in the municipality with around 1,700 people. Other villages in the municipality include Gjesåsen, Hof, and Kjellmyra. The municipality is the 108th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Åsnes is the 137th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 7,211. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 5.2% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

When municipal government was established in Norway on 1 January 1838, the Åsnes area was part of Hof Municipality. In 1849, Hof municipality was divided into two: Hof (population: 2,913) and '' Åsnes og Våler'' (population: 7,087). A short time later, in 1854, the municipality of Åsnes og Våler was divided into the two current municipalities of Våler (population: 3,410) and Åsnes (population: 3,677). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1963, Hof Municipality (population: 3,222) was merged into Åsnes Municipality (population: 6,750). On 1 January 1969, the

Rotberget Rotberget is a village in Grue Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located in the Finnskogen district, about west of the Swedish border. History Starting on 1 January 1838, Rotberget was administratively a part of the muni ...

farm area (population: 23) in the Finnskogen part of the municipality was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Grue. In the 2010s, there had been talk of further municipal mergers but the neighboring municipalities of Grue and Våler both rejected merging with Åsnes.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old farm ( non, Ásnes), since the first Åsnes Church was built there. The first element is which means " mountain

ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

" and the last element is which means "

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...

". (The headland is made by the river Glomma, and the farm is lying beneath a hill.) Historically, the name was spelled ''Aasnes''.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 9 December 2001. The arms show three black hooks for log driving on a gold background. This was chosen to represent the importance of

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

and forestry to the municipality throughout history.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...

has six parishes () within the municipality of Åsnes. It is part of the Solør, Vinger og Odal prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

) in the

Diocese of Hamar The Diocese of Hamar ( no, Hamar Bispedømme) is a diocese within the Church of Norway. The Diocese of Hamar includes all of the churches in Innlandet county plus the churches in Lunner in Viken county. Administratively, the diocese is divided ...

Geography

The municipality is located in the southern part of Innlandet county in the traditional region of Solør. Åsnes is bordered to the north by the municipality of Våler, to the south by Grue, to the west by Nord-Odal and

Stange is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Hedemarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Stangebye ...

, and to the east it borders Torsby Municipality in Värmland County,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Finnskogen or ''the forest of the Finns'' is a belt about wide which runs continuously northwards along the border between Norway and Sweden through six Norwegian municipalities, including Åsnes. Åsnes has several lakes and rivers throughout the forested municipality which sits in the southern

Glåmdal Glåmdalen or Glommadal is a valley in Innlandet county (formerly Hedmark County) in Eastern Norway. The valley was formed by the river Glomma (also called Glåma), one of the major rivers for the region. The name "Glåmdalen" is also a newer de ...

valley. It includes the lakes

Gjesåssjøen Gjesåssjøen is a lake in Åsnes Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The lake lies about northwest of the villages of Kjellmyra and Flisa and about northeast of the village of Flisa. The village of Gjesåsen and the Gjesåsen Church lie ...

Hukusjøen Hukusjøen is a lake in Innlandet county, Norway. The lake lies on the border of the municipalities of Grue and Åsnes. The lake is located about to the southwest of the village of Hof, about north of the village of Risberget, and about nor ...

, and Vermunden. The rivers

, Rotna, and Glomma all flow through the municipality.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Åsnes, are responsible for

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wiktionary:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physical and menta ...

, senior citizen services, unemployment and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elects a mayor. The municipality falls under the

Østre Innlandet District Court Østre Innlandet District Court ( no, Østre Innlandet tingrett) is a district court located in Innlandet county, Norway. This court is based at three different courthouses which are located in Elverum, Hamar, and Tynset. The court serves the eas ...

and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Åsnes is made up of 23 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayors

The mayors of Åsnes (incomplete list): *2003-2007: Frank Willy Bjørneseth ( Ap) *2007-2011: Lars Petter Heggelund ( V) *2011-2019: Ørjan Bue ( Sp) *2019–present: Kari Heggelund ( Sp)

Notable people

Wilhelm Holter - Portrett av Johannes Bergh - 1914 (etter foto fra ca

Hans Jacob Grøgaard Hans Jacob Grøgaard (5 April 1764 – 22 March 1836) was a Norwegian parish priest and writer. He served as a representative at the Norwegian Constituent Assembly in 1814. Background Hans Jacob Grøgaard was born in Åsnes in Hedmark, Norway. At ...

(1764 in Åsnes – 1836) a parish priest and writer, rep. at the

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly (in Norwegian ''Grunnlovsforsamlingen'', also known as ''Riksforsamlingen'') is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in Norway, that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised th ...

Johannes Bergh Johannes Bergh (18 February 1837 – 8 March 1906) was a Norwegian barrister. He was born in Åsnes to Haagen Ludvig Bergh and Christine Fredrikke Døderlein. He was married to Anna Johanne Borchgrevink from 1861. Bergh graduated as cand.jur ...

(1837 in Åsnes – 1906) a barrister, Attorney General of Norway 1893-1904 * Jacob Sparre Schneider (1853 in Åsnes – 1918) a Norwegian zoologist and entomologist *

Adolf Gundersen Adolf Gundersen (October 8, 1865 – September 15, 1938) was a Norwegian born, American physician and founder of Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center. Background Adolf Gundersen was born in the parish of Åsnes in the traditional region of So ...

(1865 in Åsnes – 1938) an American physician, founded Gundersen Health System in

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census w ...

Per Aasness Per Aasness (26 July 1875 – 1959) was a Norwegian military officer and politician for the Liberal Party. He was born at Flaen in Hurdal as a son of farmer and forest owner Carelius Pedersen Aasness (1842–1907) and Johanne Amalie Simensen (1838 ...

(1875 at Flaen – 1959) a military officer and politician, Mayor of Asnes, 1919-1922 *

Ole Bjerke Ole Bjerke (13 April 1881 – 15 April 1959) was a Norwegian sport shooter. He was born in Åsnes, and his club was Hof Skytterlag. He competed in the military rifle shooting at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm Stockholm () is ...

(1881 in Åsnes – 1959) a sport shooter, competed at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

Arne Løfsgaard Arne Adolf Lofsgaard (21 October 1887 – 26 February 1974) was a Norwegian farmer and politician for the Agrarian Party. He was born at Lofsgaard in Åsnes as a son of farmer and forest owner Gunnar Lofsgaard (1854–1923) and Anne Berger (18 ...

(1887 at Løfsgaard – 1974) a farmer and politician. Mayor of Åsnes 1925-1928 *

Birger Lie Birger Lie (20 October 1891 – 22 September 1970) was a Norwegian sport shooter. He was born in Åsnes, and his club was Aasnes Skytterlag. He competed in the Shooting at the 1912 Summer Olympics – Men's 300 metre military rifle, three pos ...

(1891 in Åsnes – 1970) a sport shooter, competed at the

Jon Gudbjørn Dybendal Jon Gudbjørn Dybendal (21 September 1904 – 3 May 1985) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He was born in Åsnes as a son of smallholders Julius Dybendal (1877-1964) Therese Østhaug (1884-1926). After primary education he held ...

(1904 in Åsnes – 1985) a politician, Mayor of Åsnes, 1945-1963 * Rolf Jacobsen (1907–1994) an author and modernist writer, twice lived in Åsnes *

Kai Grjotheim Kai Gudbrand Grjotheim (13 July 1919 – 17 April 2003) was a Norwegian chemist. He was born in Åsnes as a son of school manager Erland Gudbrandson Grjotheim (1887–1969) and domestic science teacher Kaya Johanne Haarbye (1882–1963). He was ma ...

(1919 in Åsnes – 2003) a chemist and academic, solved problems within thermodynamics of salt smelters *

Gunnar Gundersen Gunnar Gundersen may refer to: *Gunnar Gundersen (politician) (born 1956), Norwegian politician and Olympic swimmer * Gunnar S. Gundersen (1921–1983), Norwegian modernist painter. *Gunnar Gundersen (chess player) (1882–1943), Australian chess ...

(born 1956 in Åsnes) a politician, also competed in the swimming at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

Tom Stræte Lagergren Tom Stræte Lagergren (born 29 May 1991), professionally known as Matoma, is a Norwegian DJ and record producer. Early life Lagergren was born in Åsnes, Norway. He started playing the piano as a child. During that period, he won a contest t ...

(born 1991 in Åsnes) stage name ''Matoma'', a DJ and record producer * Emilie Enger Mehl (born 1993 in Lørenskog) politician for the Centre Party. She has served as minister of justice since 2021 and Member of parliament since 2017.

Sister cities

Åsnes has sister city agreements with the following places: *

Ballerup Ballerup is a Danish town, seat of the Ballerup Municipality, in the Region Hovedstaden. There are approximately 25 schools in Ballerup Municipality. Ballerup has its own educational institution specialized in the study, training and research of ...

, Region Hovedstaden, Denmark * Fagersta, Västmanland County,

* Jämsä, Länsi-Suomi, Finland * Myjava, Trenčín Region, Slovakia * Vasanello, Viterbo, Italy

Gallery

Flisa stasjon.jpg, Flisa station on the Solørbanen railway Tjærebrenning med Åsnes historielag i Åsnes kommune.jpg, Bjerkely Folkehøyskole.jpg, Bjerkely Folkehøyskole (school)

References

External links

* *
Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every yea ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aasnes Municipalities of Innlandet 1854 establishments in Norway