Meldal is a village and former municipality. It is now part of the municipality of

Orkland Orkland is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Orkdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Orkang ...

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denmar ...

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 ...

. Prior to the creation of the Orkland municipality it was 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 Meldal municipality. The village is located in the

Orkdalen Orkdalen or Orkladalen ( en, Orkla Valley) is a valley and a traditional Norwegian district in Trøndelag county, Norway. In the early Viking Age, before King Harald Fairhair, the Orkla Valley was also a petty kingdom. The valley begins in the h ...

valley, along the river

Orkla Orkla may refer to: Places * Orkla (river), a river in Trøndelag county, Norway Business * Orkla Group (or ''Orkla ASA''), a large Norwegian company * Orkla Mining Company, a historic company in Norway * Orkla Metall, a former smelting company ...

. The village of Å lies about to the south, the village of

Løkken Verk Løkken Verk (sometimes just called Løkken) is a village in the municipality of Orkland in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located south of the village of Svorkmo, east of the village of Bjørnli, and north of the municipal center of Meldal. ...

lies about to the north, and the village of

Storås Storås is a village in the municipality of Orkland in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located along the Orkla River, about northwest of the village of Meldal. For most Norwegians, Storås is best known for hosting the annual festival called S ...

lies about to the northwest. The village has a population (2018) of 658 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of . The village is the site of a school and preschool, and

Meldal Church Meldal Church ( no, Meldal kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Orkland municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Meldal. It is the church for the Meldal parish which is part of the Orkdal prosti (d ...

. There are many popular areas for outdoor activities in Meldal or close by, and there are more than 1,300 holiday cabins in the area. Agriculture is the main industry in Meldal.

Name

The

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

form of the name was ''Meðaldalr''. The first element is ''meðal'' which means "middle" and the last element is ''dalr'' which means "

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

" or "dale". The municipality is named this probably because it is located in the middle of the

valley. The name was historically spelled ''Meldalen''.

Notable meldalinger

Notable people that were born or lived in Meldal include: *

Edvarda Lie Edvarda Klaudine Lie (April 3, 1910 – June 8, 1983) was a Norwegian painter, drawer, and illustrator. Edvarda Lie was born in Meldal and grew up in Vestvågøy. She created illustrations for many newspapers and magazines, including A-magasinet ...

(1910–1963), artist *

Jan Egil Storholt Jan Egil Storholt (born 13 February 1949) is a former speed skater from Norway. He was born in Løkken Verk which at the time was part of the Meldal municipality. Biography Together with Amund Sjøbrend, Sten Stensen, and Kay Stenshjemmet, Jan ...

(born 1949), speed skater and Olympic champion

References

Villages in Trøndelag Melhus {{Trøndelag-geo-stub