Biri is a former municipality in the old

Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The co ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of

Gjøvik Municipality is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Toten. The administrative centre of the municipality is Gjøvik (town), town of Gjøv ...

in the traditional district of

Vestoppland Vestoppland is a traditional district in Innlandet, Norway. The name, Western Uplands, stems from a time when the district was the western part of the Uplands. It now consists of the districts Land, Hadeland, Toten and Gjøvik (which itself co ...

. 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 ...

was the village of Biri.

History

The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of Biri was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January ...

law). On 1 January 1910, the municipality of Biri was divided in half. The western part (population: 2,028) became Snertingdal Municipality and the eastern part (population: 2,815) continued as Biri Municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee ( no, Schei-komitéen) was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II. It convened in 1946, and its formal name was (The 1946 Committee on Municip ...

. On 1 January 1964, the municipality of Biri (population: 3,274) was merged with the town of Gjøvik (population: 8,251), the municipality of

Snertingdal Snertingdal is a former municipality in the old Oppland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1910 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Gjøvik Municipality in the traditional district of Vestoppland. The administrativ ...

(population: 2,471), and most of the municipality of

Vardal Vardal is a former municipality in the old Oppland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now divided between Gjøvik Municipality and Vestre Toten Municipality in the traditional district ...

(population: (9,612) to create a new

with 23,608 residents.

Name

The municipality is named "Biri" after the old Biri farm ( non, Biríð) since the first Biri Church was located there. The name is presumably very old, and the meaning is unknown. One possibility is that the Old Norse name came from which means "bear den".

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Biri, 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,

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), w ...

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 Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. The municipality was governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

representatives, which in turn elected a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Municipal council

The

of Biri was made up of 21 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Biri: *1837-1843: Christian Semb *1844-1845: Nils Larsen Melby *1846-1847: Nils Johan Hagerup *1848-1849: Anders Lysgaard d.y. *1850-1851: Nils Larsen Melby *1852-1855: Anders Lysgaard d.y. *1856-1857: Johannes Alseth *1858-1859: Halvor Olsen *1860-1867: Iver Lier *1868-1871: Nils Berg *1872-1873: Johannes Alseth *1874-1875: Even Nøss *1876-1881: Mathias Larsen Bratberg *1882-1883: Anton Skulhus *1890-1893: Julius Bjørnstad *1894-1895: Anton Skulhus *1896-1904: Iver Fliflet *1905-1907: Ole E. Huskelhus *1908-1910: Kristian Oudenstad ( LL) *1911-1913: Julius Bjørnstad *1914-1931: Hagbart Wiklund ( AD) *1932-1934: Einar Sigstad *1935-1941: Henrik Eilert Brekke ( Ap) *1941-1941: Harald Bratberg *1941-1945: Einar Sigstad *1945-1951: Henrik Eilert Brekke ( Ap) *1952-1963: Nils Røstadstuen ( Ap)

References

{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Gjøvik Former municipalities of Norway 1838 establishments in Norway 1964 disestablishments in Norway