Eidskog is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Innlandet Innlandet is a county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (the municipalities of Jevnaker and Lunner were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken on the same date). The ...

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 the ...

. It is located in the traditional district of

Vinger Vinger is a traditional district in Innlandet county, Norway. The district encompasses the lands that make up Kongsvinger and Eidskog municipalities. It is generally located to the south and east of the town of Kongsvinger and the river Glomm ...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of

Skotterud Skotterud is the administrative centre of Eidskog Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the Norwegian National Road 2 and the Kongsvingerbanen railway line. Skotterud sits about south of the town of Kongsvinger ...

. Other villages in the municipality include Magnor, Matrand, and

Åbogen Åbogen is a village in Eidskog Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located just south of the municipal border with Kongsvinger and approximately from the border with Sweden. The village of Matrand lies about to the south of ...

. The municipality is the 181st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Eidskog is the 155th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,032. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

is and its population has decreased by 4.1% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality was established on 1 January 1864 when the old

Vinger Municipality Vinger is a former municipality in the old Hedmark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until 1964 when it became part of Kongsvinger Municipality. The municipality was located in the Vinger region in the southern part of the c ...

was divided in two:

(population: 6,226) in the north and Eidskog (population: 6,920) in the south. On 1 January 1986, the northern part of the

area (population: 14) was transferred from

Kongsvinger Municipality Kongsvinger () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger. Other settlements in the municipality include Austm ...

to Eidskog Municipality.

Name

The municipality was named ''Eidskog'' (historically spelled ''Eidskogen''). The

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

form of the name was . The first element is the

plural The plural (sometimes abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the default quantity represented by that noun. This de ...

genitive case of which means "path between two lakes". The last element is which means "

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

s". Thus the name means "the woods with the many ". (In historical times people traveled in small boats on the lakes and the rivers, but they had to drag the boats over the .)

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

was granted on 12 September 1986. The arms show a gray background with a

black grouse The black grouse (''Lyrurus tetrix''), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large game bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, spanning across the Palearctic in moorland and step ...

, a common inhabitant of the many

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s in the municipality.

Forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

is also one of the main sources of income in the area.

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes () within the municipality of Eidskog. It is part of the Solør, Vinger og Odal prosti ( deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar.

Geography

The municipality is located in the southeastern part of

county. It is bordered to the north by the municipality of

Kongsvinger Kongsvinger () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger. Other settlements in the municipality include Aus ...

(in Innlandet) and in the west by Aurskog-Høland,

Nes The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

(both in

Viken Viken may refer to: *Viken, Scandinavia, a historical region *Viken (county), a Norwegian county established in 2020 *Viken, Sweden, a bimunicipal locality in Skåne County, Sweden *Viken (lake), a lake in Sweden, part of the part of the Göta cana ...

and

Sør-Odal Sør-Odal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Odalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skarnes. Other villages in Sør-Odal include Disenå and Sander. The ...

(in Innlandet). Eidskog also borders Sweden, both to the east and south. The lakes

Digeren Digeren is a lake in Innlandet county, Norway. The lake lies in the municipality of Kongsvinger and a very small part extends over into Eidskog municipality to the south. The European route E16 highway runs along the north end of the lake, about ...

Mangen Mangen is a lake in the municipalities of Eidskog in Innlandet county and Aurskog-Høland in Viken county, Norway. The lake lies about northeast of the village of Aursmoen (in Aurskog-Høland) and about west of the village of Skotterud (in Ei ...

, and

Skjervangen Skjervangen is a lake in the municipality of Eidskog in Innlandet county, Norway. The lake lies less than northwest of the border with Sweden and about southwest of the village of Skotterud Skotterud is the administrative centre of Eidskog M ...

are all located in Eidskog.

History

The name ''Eidskog'' is ancient and was used for the southern part of

, the region between today's

in Norway and Arvika in Sweden. The Vinger Royal Road ( no, Eskoleia) historically traveled through Eidskog (and continues today as the

Norwegian National Road 2 Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

). It was one of the most important traffic arteries between Norway and Sweden. The name Eidskog was already in use during the saga period and became, after the canonization of

Saint Olaf Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title '' Rex Per ...

and important pilgrim's route from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

to Nidaros Cathedral. During the 12th century, the Eidskog Church was built. It was a

stave church A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts ar ...

built in Midtskog (which means no, middle of the woods). The present Eidskog Church is built on the same site (now called Matrand) and this building was constructed in 1665. The way through Eidskog was also militarily important and many times through history has been the point of Swedish strikes into

Hedmark Hedmark () was a county in Norway before 1 January 2020, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar. Hedmark and Oppland counties were merged int ...

. To defend against these assaults, a number of

fortifications A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

were built in the vicinity, including ones at Magnor and Matrand, but the chief fortification was

Kongsvinger Fortress Kongsvinger Fortress ( no, Kongsvinger festning) is located in the city and municipality of Kongsvinger in the county of Hedmark, Norway. It is situated on a hill west and north of the Glomma river, standing astride the ancient Vinger Royal Road, ...

(to the north). The last Swedish attack through Eidskog was in 1814 when

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Carl Pontus Gahn on July 31 crossed the border and marched against Kongsvinger. His forces were stopped at Lier outside Kongsvinger on 2 August 1814 by troops led by Lieutenant Colonel Andreas Samuel Krebs (1769-1818) and retreated to Eidskog. On 4 August 1814, Krebs followed after to drive Swedish troops off Norwegian territory. The two forces met in the

Battle of Matrand The Battle of Matrand ( no, Slaget ved Matrand) was a military battle on 5 August 1814 between Norwegian and Swedish forces as part of the Swedish-Norwegian War of 1814. The battle took place near the village of Matrand in Eidskog and at Skot ...

which was the bloodiest battle of the war and ended with a Norwegian victory. Later in 1814, Norway was joined in union with Sweden and the confrontations at the Eidskog border ended. The

Soot Canal The Soot Canal ( no, Sootkanalen) was a canal system located in Eidskog Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. Constructed in 1849, it has Norway's oldest sluice gates. It was the work of Engebret Soot (1786-1859). It was built to allow timber ...

, constructed in 1849, has Norway's oldest sluice gates. It was the work of

Engebret Soot Engebret Olsen Soot (26 May 1786 – 3 March 1859) was a Norwegian engineer. He was one of Norway's first canal builders and joined the timber channels at Otteid and Mangen-Grasmo. He is known as the father of the Fredrikshald Canal (now known a ...

(1786–1859). It was built to allow timber to be transported (floated) to the

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish mun ...

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

s. The canal was long and had 16

locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

which extended from Lake

at above sea level up to Lake Mortsjølungen at above sea level. The route through Eidskog became an important connection between the two countries; this was strengthened with the opening of the ''Grenseban'' railway in 1862, which connected Christiania to Stockholm.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Eidskog, are responsible for primary education (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 during the refere ...

and other social services,

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 ...

, 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 is 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 counc ...

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 elects 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 ...

. The municipality falls under the

Romerike og Glåmdal District Court Romerike og Glåmdal District Court ( no, Romerike og Glåmdal tingrett) is a district court located in Innlandet and Viken counties in Norway. This court is based at three different courthouses which are located in Eidsvoll, Kongsvinger, and Lil ...

and the

Eidsivating Court of Appeal The Eidsivating Court of Appeal ( no, Eidsivating lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Hamar. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Innlandet and eastern Viken. These ...

Municipal council

The

of Eidskog is made up of 25 representatives that are 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 featur ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayors

The mayors of Eidskog: *1864-1872: Henry T. Fearnley *1872-1879: Haagen Pedersen Malmer *1879-1895: Meldal Johnsen *1895-1897: O. Løken *1897-1905: Hans Taugbøl *1905-1907: O. Løken *1908-1913: Otto Pramm *1913-1915: Ole Syversen Fagernæs ( V) *1915: M. T. Huse *1915-1916: Olof Nilsson *1917-1919: Otto Pramm *1920-1922: H. A. Rambøl *1923-1928: Thorvald Taugbøl *1929-1934: Kaspar Billerud *1935-1945: Selmer Alm ( Ap) *1945-1947: Hallgrim Sørli ( Ap) *1948-1963: Sigurd Skjørberg *1964-1981: Ivar Delviken *1982-1983: Kaare Fjeld *1984-1999: Kåre Delviken *1999-2005: Ivar Skulstad ( Ap) *2005-2007: Greta Storm Ofteland ( Ap) *2007-2015: Knut Gustav Woie ( Sp) *2015–present: Kamilla Thue ( Ap) Morokulien

Attractions

- the first

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

constructed in Norway, used for log floating * Grenselosmuseet - museum on the route for escape to Sweden during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

* Oppistun Børli - poet Hans Børli's home * Morokulien - memorial to the long lasting peace with Sweden * Rønning Treski - last wood ski producer in Norway

Notable residents

Portrett av Erik Werenskiold, 1880(cropped)

Erik Werenskiold Erik Theodor Werenskiold (11 February 1855 – 23 November 1938) was a Norwegian painter and illustrator. He is especially known for his drawings for the Asbjørnsen and Moe collection of '' Norske Folkeeventyr'', and his illustrations for ...

(1855 in Eidskog – 1938) a Norwegian painter and illustrator * Konrad Hirsch (1900 in Eidskog – 1924) Swedish footballer, played in 1924 Summer Olympics * Julla Sæthern (1901 in Eidskog – 1981) a Norwegian barrister, feminist and politician *

Hans Børli Hans Børli (8 December 1918 – 26 August 1989) was a Norwegian poet and writer, who besides his writings worked as a lumberjack all his life. Biography Hans Georg Nilsen Børli was born at Eidskog in Hedmark, Norway. He was the fifth o ...

(1918 at Eidskog – 1989) a Norwegian poet, writer and lumberjack * Torgrim Sollid (born 1942 in Eidskog) a composer and folk and jazz musician * Ivar Skulstad (born 1953) politician, Mayor of Eidskog 1999 to 2005 * Kristin Solli Schøien (born 1954) an author and composer, lives in Eidskog * Max Ivan Lindkjølen (born 1956) chef and entrepreneur * Remi Eriksen (born 1967) Group President and CEO of

DNV GL DNV (formerly DNV GL) is an international accredited registrar and classification society headquartered in Høvik, Norway. The company currently has about 12,000 employees and 350 offices operating in more than 100 countries, and provides serv ...

, a classification society * Wilhelm Brenna (born 1979) a retired Norwegian ski jumper, junior world champion *

Andreas Ulvo Andreas Ulvo (born 22 July 1983 in Kongsvinger, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz pianist, organist, keyboardist and composer, known from cooperations with Shining, Ingrid Olava, Mathias Eick Quartet, Solveig Slettahjell & Slow Motion Orchestra, K ...

(born 1983) a jazz pianist, organist, keyboardist and composer

References

External links

* *
Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway
Culture in Eidskog on the map
{{use dmy dates, date=March 2022 Municipalities of Innlandet 1864 establishments in Norway