Verdal

Verdal is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Innherad region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Verdalsøra. Some villages in the municipality include Forbregd/Lein, Lysthaugen, Stiklestad, Trones, Vera, Vinne, and Vuku.

The municipality is the 53rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Verdal is the 81st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 14,955. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 3.9% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of ''Værdalen'' was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). It is one of very few municipalities in Norway with unchanged borders since that date, although the spelling of the name was modified to ''Verdal''. On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Nord-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was ''Veradalr'' (from the word ''Verardalr''). The first element is the genitive case of the river name ''Ver'' (now called Verdalselva) and the last element is ''dalr'' which means "valley" or "dale". The meaning of the river name is probably "the quiet one". The name was historically spelled Værdalen.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 15 December 1972. They show a gold cross on a red background. The cross is taken from a large painting in the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, in which the death of King Olav Haraldsson (Saint Olaf) is shown. He died in the Battle of Stiklestad, the site of which is in Verdal municipality. In the painting, he holds a shield with the typical cross. To commemorate the battle, the cross was taken as arms for the municipality.

Churches

The Church of Norway has four parishes () within the municipality of Verdal. It is part of the Sør-Innherad prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

History

Battle of Stiklestad

The most famous battle in Norwegian history, the Battle of Stiklestad, took place at Stiklestad in Verdal in the year 1030. The Stiklestad Church was built afterwards at the place where King Olav Haraldsson, later redesigned as St. Olaf, died during the battle. Olavsstøtta, a memorial pillar dedicated to St. Olaf, was erected in 1807 to commemorate the Battle of Stiklestad.

Verdalsraset

Early on the night of 19 May 1893, the most deadly landslide in modern Norwegian history, known as ''Verdalsraset'', took place in Verdal. It killed 116 people and at least 500 animals when approximately 100 farms were swept away. A wet winter and several spring floods in the river made the quick clay under the topsoil in a large area of the valley turn into a fluid. The slide moved about of clay, completely reshaping the topography of the area, including moving the course of the river.

Culture

Råning

This culture is known for young people interested in cars, spending most of their time improving, enhancing, and styling their cars, and then driving them for display on a particular route around the town centre. This is not only positive, as they do show some general disregard for common laws and regulations. People living in the town center are at times bothered by noise, usually music being played at high volumes from their cars.

Stiklestad

Verdal is the location of the Stiklestad National Cultural Centre. The Saint Olav Drama appears here on an open stage every year in July. The play centers on events leading up to the Battle of Stiklestad.

Geography

Verdal is centered on the Verdal valley. The river Verdalselva runs through the valley into the Trondheimsfjord at Verdalsøra. The rivers Helgåa and Inna join at Vuku to form the Verdalselva. The lake Veresvatnet flows into the river Helgåa and the lake Innsvatnet flows into the river Inna. The large lake Leksdalsvatnet lies on the Verdal- Steinkjer border. The southern tip of the large Blåfjella–Skjækerfjella National Park lies in the northeastern part of Verdal. Rinnleiret is a beach area along the Levanger-Verdal border in the west.

Climate

Verdal is situated along the innermost part of Trondheimsfjord and has a humid continental climate (Dfb) with mild winters for this climate. Using the winter threshold as in the original Köppen climate classification, Verdal has an oceanic climate (Cfb). The all-time high was recorded in July 2018. The all-time low was set in January 1987. The average date for first overnight freeze (below ) in autumn is October 6 (1981-2010 average).

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Verdal, are responsible for primary education (through 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 elect a mayor. The municipality falls under the Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council () of Verdal is made up of 35 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Verdal (incomplete list):
*2019–present: Pål Sverre Fikse ( Sp)
*2005-2019: Bjørn Iversen ( Ap)
*1999-2005: Gerd Janne Kristoffersen (Ap)
*1995-1999: Knut Einar Steinsli (Sp)

Economy

Offshore industry (Aker Verdal) and agriculture are two of the most important parts of Verdal's economy. Despite its small size, Verdal is a municipality with great personality and cultural integrity. After several lottery grand prizes were received by some lucky inhabitants of Verdal, it is also known as one of the great ''"Lotto-bygds"'' of Norway (Small places with high a concentration of lottery wins in the national game of Lotto).

Transportation

European route E6 runs north and south through Verdalsøra, connecting the municipality with Steinkjer to the north and Levanger to the south. The Nordland Line also runs north and south through the municipality. There are two stations in Verdal: Verdal Station in Verdalsøra and Bergsgrav Station in Vinne.

Notable people

* Johannes Brun (1832 in Verdal – 1890) a Norwegian stage actor
* Oluf Rygh (1833 in Verdal – 1899) a noted archaeologist, philologist and historian
* Olav Braarud (1885 in Verdal – 1969) operational engineer of Holmenkolbanen
* Sig Haugdahl (1891 in Verdal – 1970) an IMCA "Big Car" champion 1927–1932, promoted stock car racing in the USA
* Trygve Braarud (1903 in Verdal – 1985) a Norwegian botanist and academic
* Knut Getz Wold (1915 in Verdal – 1987) an economist, civil servant and governor of the Central Bank of Norway 1970–1985.
* Arnold Haukeland (1920 in Verdal – 1983) a Norwegian sculptor
* Asmund Bjørken (1933 in Verdal – 2018) a Norwegian musician who played the jazz and folk accordion and saxophone
* Vigdis Ystad (1942 in Verdal – 2019) a Norwegian literary historian and academic
* Nils Nordberg (born 1942 in Verdal) a crime writer, anthology editor and audio play director
* Hans Rotmo (born 1948), musician, published the first album sung in a Norwegian dialect Børre Haugstad. 2 November 2020. "''Du'' kunne nominert Rotmo!". Klassekampen. P. 20. "forfatter av boken Vinylens historie 2 - Norge 1970-1990"
* Bjørn Iversen (born 1953) a Norwegian politician, Mayor of Verdal since 2005
* Rune Rebellion (born 1965 in Verdal) stage name of ''Rune Grønn'', a guitarist
* Ingrid Storholmen (born 1976 in Verdal) a Norwegian poet, novelist and literary critic
* Gjermund Larsen (born 1981 in Verdal) a traditional folk musician (violin) and composer

Sport

* Pål Benum (born 1935 in Verdal) an orthopediatrician and former long-distance runner, competed at 1964 Olympic Games
* Trond Viggo Toresen (born 1978 in Verdal) a footballer with over 250 club caps
* Even Barli (born 1991 in Verdal) a Norwegian goalkeeper for Ranheim with 234 caps.
* Jonas Svensson (born 1993 in Verdal) a footballer with over 270 club caps and 18 for Norway

See also

* VKB

References

External links

*
Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway
Stiklestad National Culture Centre Official WebsiteBattle of Stiklestad

{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022

Municipalities of Trøndelag
1838 establishments in Norway