Rendalen 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 t ...

. It is located in the traditional district of

Østerdalen Østerdalen () is a valley and traditional district in Innlandet county, in Eastern Norway. This area typically is described as the large Glåma river valley as well as all its tributary valleys. It includes the municipalities Rendalen, Alvdal, F ...

. 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

Bergset Bergset is the administrative centre of Rendalen Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located on the western shore of the river Renaelva, about north of the village of Otnes in the largely rural Østerdalen valley. The villag ...

. Other villages in the municipality include

Hanestad Hanestad is a village in Rendalen Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the river Glomma, about southwest of the village of Bergset. The Norwegian National Road 3 runs through the village. The Rørosbanen railwa ...

Otnes Otnes is a village in Rendalen Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the lake Lomnessjøen, about north of the village of Åkre. The municipal centre of Bergset lies about to the north of Otnes. The village ha ...

Sjølisand Sjølisand is a village in Rendalen Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located about south of the village of Åkrestrømmen Åkrestrømmen is a village in Rendalen Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is l ...

, Unset, Åkre, and

Åkrestrømmen Åkrestrømmen is a village in Rendalen Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the river Renaelva at the northern end of the lake Storsjøen, about south of the village of Åkre. The town of Koppang is a villa ...

. The municipality is the 13th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Rendalen is the 294th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,722. The municipality's

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 ...

is and its population has decreased by 12.1% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Rendalen was established on 1 January 1965 when the old municipalities of

Ytre Rendal Ytre Rendal is a former municipality in the old Hedmark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1880 until its dissolution in 1965 when it was merged with the neighboring municipality of Øvre Rendal to form the new Rendalen Municipality. ...

(population: 1,913) and

Øvre Rendal Øvre Rendal is a former municipality in the old Hedmark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1880 until its dissolution in 1965 when it was merged with the neighboring municipality of Ytre Rendal to form the new Rendalen Municipality. ...

(population: 1,629) were merged. On 1 January 1984, the unpopulated Spekedalen valley was transferred from

Tynset Municipality Tynset is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tynset. Other villages in Tynset include Fådalen, Fåset, Telnese ...

to Rendalen.

Name

The municipality is named after the Rendalen valley ( non, Reindalr) which is located within the municipality. The first element of the name is the word which means "

reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

" and the last element is which means "valley" or "dale". The river Rena runs through the valley and it is not known if the valley was named after the river or if the river was named after the valley. A nearby mountain Renafjellet also has a similar name.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

was granted on 2 June 1989. The arms show two white or silver

on a blue background. They symbolize the importance of reindeer farming in the community. The arms are a

canting ' (IPA: , VOS Spelling: ''tjanting'', jv, ꦕꦤ꧀ꦛꦶꦁ, Tjanting) is a pen-like tool used to apply liquid hot wax ( jv, ) in the batik-making process in Indonesia, more precisely '' batik tulis'' (lit. "written batik"). Traditional ''T ...

since the name Rendalen is derived from the word for reindeer. The two heads represent the two former municipalities of

and

which were merged in 1965 to form this municipality. The arms were designed by the artist Arvid Sveen.

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 four parishes () within the municipality of Rendalen. It is part of the

Nord-Østerdal prosti The list of churches in Hamar is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Hamar which includes all of Innlandet county (plus two municipalities in Viken (county), Viken county) in Norway. The list is divided into several sections ...

(

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 has an area of which makes it the 2nd largest municipality (after

Ullensvang Ullensvang is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Hardanger. The administrative centre is the town of Odda. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Lofthus, Utne, Vikebygd ...

) in

Southern Norway Southern Norway ( no, Sørlandet; lit. "The Southland") is the geographical region (''landsdel'') along the Skagerrak coast of southern Norway. The region is an informal description since it does not have any governmental function. It roughl ...

. The 11 largest municipalities are all in rural

Northern Norway Northern Norway ( nb, Nord-Norge, , nn, Nord-Noreg; se, Davvi-Norga) is a geographical Regions of Norway, region of Norway, consisting of the two northernmost counties Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainlan ...

and they are followed by Ullensvang and Rendalen. Rendalen municipality is bordered on the northwest by the municipalities of

Alvdal Alvdal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Alvdal. Other villages include Barkald, Plassmoen, and Strømmen ...

and

Tynset Tynset is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tynset. Other villages in Tynset include Fådalen, Fåset, Telneset ...

, in the north by Tolga, in the east by

Engerdal Engerdal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Engerdal. Other villages in the municipality include Drevsjø, El ...

, in the south by

Trysil Trysil is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Innbygda. Other villages in the municipality include Nybergsund, Øs ...

and

Åmot Åmot is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rena. Other villages in the municipality include Åsta, Osneset, an ...

, and in the west by

Stor-Elvdal Stor-Elvdal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Koppang. Other villages in the municipality include Atna, Even ...

. Rendalen municipality encompasses most of the Rendalen valley, a side valley of the large

valley which dominates

Eastern Norway Eastern Norway ( nb, Østlandet, nn, Austlandet) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Vestfold og Telemark, Viken, Oslo and Innlandet. Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region o ...

. In addition, the municipality encompasses the northern part of the lake Storsjøen as well as the lakes

Sølensjøen Sølensjøen is a lake in Rendalen Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The lake is part of the long Sølna river system. The lake itself is about long and wide, and its greatest depth is . Sølensjøen has abundant populations of Arctic ...

Galtsjøen Galtsjøen is a lake on the border of the municipalities of Rendalen and Engerdal in Innlandet county, Norway. The lake is considered the headwaters of the river Femundselva which flows south into Sweden. The lake inlet is through the Galtstr� ...

, Harrsjøen, and

Lomnessjøen Lomnessjøen is a lake in Rendalen Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The villages Åkre and Otnes are located on the shores of the lake. The lake is part of the Renaelva river system. The Renaelva river flows into the lake from the north ...

. The mountains

Elgspiggen Elgspiggen is a mountain located on the border of Tolga Municipality and Rendalen Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is part of the Holøydalen mountain area. The mountain is easily recognizable due to its shape like a pyramid. The m ...

and Sølen are in Rendalen as well. The rivers

Glomma The Glomma, or Glåma, is Norway's longest and most voluminous river. With a total length of , it has a drainage basin that covers fully 13% of Norway's surface area, all in the southern part of the country. Geography At its fullest length, the ...

and

Renaelva The Rena or Renaelva is a river in Innlandet county, Norway. The long river runs through Rendalen and Åmot municipalities in Innlandet county. This river is a tributary of the large river Glomma. Kjøllsæter Bridge connects the east and west s ...

both flow through the municipality.

Government

The

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 ...

of Rendalen is made up of 17 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 feature f ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Rendalen have included: *1965-1967: Erik Husfloen ( Ap) *1968-1977:

Kjell Borgen Kjell Borgen (21 October 1939 – 22 August 1996) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He served as Minister of Transport and Communications from 1986 to 1988, Minister of Local Government from 1988 to 1989 and again from 1990 to 19 ...

( Ap) *1978-1979: Otto Tobro ( Ap) *1980-1991: Steinar Berget ( Ap) *1992-1995: Sindre Undseth ( Ap) *1995-2007: Erling Myhre ( Sp) *2007-2019: Norvald Illevold ( Ap) *2019–present: Linda Døsen ( Ap)

Economy

The primary occupations are in

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and

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 ...

, but

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

is also important. The Renåfjellet mountain area provides for excellent

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

Notable residents

Johan Reinhardt Johannes Christopher Hagemann Reinhardt (23 December 1778 – 31 October 1845), sometimes called J. C. H. Reinhardt, was a professor in zoology at the University of Copenhagen. Born in Rendalen parish in Norway, his father, Johannes Henrik Reinhar ...

(1778 in Rendalen – 1845) professor of zoology at

Copenhagen University The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public research university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia after Uppsala Unive ...

Gustav Storm Gustav Storm (18 June 1845 – 23 February 1903) was a Norwegian historian, a professor at the Royal Frederick University in Christiania from 1877. He was a driving force in the research of Scandinavian history and literature of the Middle ...

(1845 in Rendalen – 1903) a Norwegian historian and academic *

Jacob Breda Bull Jacob Breda Bull (28 March 1853 – 7 January 1930) was a Norwegian author, journalist and editor. Biography Jacob Bull was born at Rendalen in Hedmark, Norway. He was the son of parish priest Mathias Bull (1815–1876) and Henriette Margreth ...

(1853 in Rendalen – 1930) a Norwegian author, journalist and editor * David P. Kvile (1861–1918) a teacher, farmer and politician; teacher in Øvre Rendal from 1885 *

Peder E. Vorum Peder Edvard Vorum (4 October 1884 – 24 April 1970) was Norwegian educator and politician for the Labour Democrats, the Labour Party and Nasjonal Samling. He was born at Steinnes in Sparbu as a son of farmers Christoffer Olsen Vorum (1843– ...

(1884–1970) an educator and politician, Mayor of Ytre Rendal from 1913 to 1934; joined

Nasjonal Samling Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norwegian far-right political party active from 1933 to 1945. It was the only legal party of Norway from 1942 to 1945. It was founded by former minister of defence Vidkun Quisling and a group of supporters such a ...

1940, collaborated in WWII, convicted of treason in 1948 * Ottar E. Akre (1896 in Ytre Rendal – 1992) a Norwegian accordionist, composer, and educator * Sigurd Akre-Aas (1897 in Ytre Rendal – 1968) a Norwegian fencer, competed at the

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

and

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

Oddbjørn Hagen Oddbjørn Hagen (3 February 1908 – 25 June 1983) was a Norwegian skier who competed in nordic combined and cross-country skiing. He was both Olympic and World champion. Olympic Games At the 1936 Winter Olympics, Hagen won one gold in the Nordi ...

(1908 in Ytre Rendal – 1983) a Norwegian skier, at the

1936 Winter Olympics The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games (german: IV. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 ( bar, Garmasch-Partakurch 1936), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 ...

he won one gold in the Nordic combined and two silvers in cross-country skiing *

(1939–1996) politician, former

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government agen ...

, secondary school teacher in Rendalen, 1962 to 1966 *

Ola Otnes Ola Otnes (born 2 September 1951 in Rendalen, Hedmark) is a Norwegian actor who has been active on screen since the 1970s. He was born in Rendalen. He was employed at Den Nationale Scene from 1978 to 1989, then at Teater Ibsen. On screen he has ma ...

(born 1951 in Rendalen) a Norwegian actor * Guren Hagen, (Norwegian Wiki) (born 1959 in Rendalen) musician

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Rendalen has

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

agreements with the following places: * -

Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aalb ...

Region Nordjylland The North Jutland Region ( da, Region Nordjylland), or in some official sources, the North Denmark Region, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish municipal reform, which abolished the tra ...

, Denmark * -

Liperi Liperi ( sv, Libelits) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. Liperi is a community of () with the growth rate of 83 newcomers in 11 months in 2007. The population density is . The municipality covers an area of ...

, Itä-Suomi, Finland * - Orsa,

Dalarna County Dalarna County ( sv, Dalarnas län) is a county or '' län'' in central Sweden (Svealand). It borders on the counties of Uppsala, Jämtland, Gävleborg, Västmanland, Örebro and Värmland. It also borders on the Norwegian counties of Hedmark ...

, Sweden

Media gallery

Hanestadnea kraftverk.JPG, Hanestadnea kraftverk Øvre Rendal (4256473462).jpg, Øvre Rendal Rendalen kraftverk.JPG, Rendalen kraftverk

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 ...

Municipal website
{{use dmy dates, date=February 2022 Municipalities of Innlandet Valleys of Innlandet 1965 establishments in Norway