Røros

Røros ( sma, Plaassja, ) is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Røros. Some of the villages in Røros include Brekken, Glåmos, Feragen, Galåa, and Hitterdalen.

The mining town of Røros (the administrative centre of the municipality) is sometimes called ''Bergstaden'' which means "mountain town" due to its historical notoriety for copper mining. It is one of two towns in Norway that were historically designated "mining towns", along with the "silver-town" of Kongsberg. The modern-day inhabitants of Røros still work and live in the characteristic 17th and 18th century buildings which led to its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. Røros has about 80 wooden houses, most of them standing around courtyards. Many retain their dark pitch-log facades, giving the town a medieval appearance.

The municipality is the 39th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Røros is the 169th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 5,572. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 0.6% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The parish of Røros was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1875, an unpopulated area of the neighbouring municipality of Ålen was transferred to Røros. On 1 January 1926, Røros was split into four municipalities: Røros landsogn (population: 701), Brekken (population: 1,098), Glåmos (population: 983), and the town of Røros (population: 2,284). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the four municipalities of Glåmos (population: 700), Brekken (population: 964), Røros landsogn (population: 482), and the town of Røros (population: 3,063) were all reunited under the name Røros. On 21 April 1989, an unpopulated part of Røros was transferred to the neighbouring Holtålen municipality. On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Sør-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.

Name

The municipality (and town) is named after the old ''Røros'' farm (''"Røraas"'' around 1530), since the town was built on its ground. The first element is the river name Røa and the last element is ''os'' meaning "mouth of a river" (the small river Røa runs into the great river Glåma here). The meaning of the river name ''Røa'' is unknown. There is no available interpretation of the Southern Sami name Plaassja.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 29 October 1992. The arms show an old copper symbol above two crossed mining tools in yellow on a red background.

Churches

The Church of Norway has four parishes () within the municipality of Røros. It is part of the Gauldal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

History

Røros municipality has historically been used by the Southern Sami people for reindeer herding. Known for its copper mines, Røros is one of Norway's two nationally significant mining towns with activity starting in the 17th century (the other one being the "silver-town" Kongsberg, see Kongsberg Silver Mines).

Røros was burned to the ground in 1678 and 1679 by the Swedish Army during the Scanian War. In 1718, during the Great Northern War, the town was once again taken by the Swedish Army, led by General De la Barre, who made up the southern arm of the main Swedish Army under Carl Gustaf Armfeldt. De la Barre took the city and all their mined copper at gunpoint.

When King Carl XII was killed near Fredriksten on 30 November 1718, De la Barre retreated north to join the bulk of the army. However, this ended in tragedy, when over 3,000 rather unprepared soldiers perished in the harsh weather conditions in the mountains northwest of Røros.

Røros and its people were made famous to Norwegians at the turn of the 20th century by semi-fictional author Johan Falkberget, who told the story of the mining community from the perspective of the hard-tested miners at the bottom of the social ladder.

With its authentic wooden buildings, Røros was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1980.

Røros Copper Works

In 1644, the general manager of the mine at Kongsberg gave permission to exploit one lode of copper in the mountains near Rauhaammaaren. Storvola and Gamle Storwartz became some of the company's most important mines. Nordgruve, another important mining area, was situated to the north east of Røros.

In 1685, Røros discovered a considerable amount of associated silver mines. The mining activity lasted for about 40 years, and a total of 1,350 tons of sterling silver was mined. This provided considerable revenue for the Danish-Norwegian treasury to support Frederick IV in building the palace of Solbjerg.

1740 onwards saw a period of greatness for the Røros Copper Works with several mines yielding well. Due to the funding of the Oldenburg royal family, the scale of the Leros silver mine and copper mine expanded. As the mine is close to Trondheim and at a lower latitude, the ore output is much higher than ScandinaviaFalun. The rich income of the mining area also prompted the royal family to repeatedly ask for an expansion of the mining. Dynamite was utilised from 1870 and later drilling machines. The electrical generating station built high-tension power lines to supply the mines, starting in 1897. The Bessemer process was introduced at the end of the 1800s. The Rørosbanen railway line was completed in 1877. High prices for both copper and zinc gave good results, but then the prices dropped and there were several years with large losses. After 333 years, mining activity in Røros ceased in 1977.

Culture

During winter, a traditional market called ''" Rørosmartnan"'' is organised, drawing an average 60,000–70,000 tourists to the town of Røros each year. The market begins on the last Tuesday in February and lasts five days. There is also an outdoor musical theatre performance played in Røros to commemorate the tragedy when the Swedish soldiers froze to death. This show has been played since 1994.

The town of Røros was the filming location for Henrik Ibsen's play "A Doll's House", directed by Joseph Losey.

Media

The newspapers ''Arbeidets Rett'' and ''Fjell-Ljom'' are published in Røros.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Røros, are responsible for primary education (up to 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, 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 Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council () of Røros is made up of 27 representatives who are elected to four-year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Røros (incomplete list):
*2019–present: Isak Veierud Busch ( Ap)
*2007-2019: Hans Vintervold (Ap)
*1999-2007: John Helge Andersen (Ap)
*1993-1999: Even Erlien ( Sp)
*1988-1993: Arne Kokkvoll (Ap)

Geography

Røros is located on a gently sloping plateau about above sea level that is forested with mostly birch and some pine, but the tree line is never far away. The largest lake within the municipality is Aursund and the river Glåma has its origin here. The most northerly part of Femund, the third largest lake in Norway, is located in Røros, just west of Femundsmarka National Park. These lakes and others in Røros, such as Bolagen and Flensjøen, are well suited for kayaking and fishing. Other lakes include Feragen, Håsjøen, Rambergsjøen, Korssjøen, Nedre Roasten, Rogen, and Rien