Alvdal 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

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 ...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Alvdal. Other villages include Barkald, Plassmoen, and

Strømmen Strømmen is a town in Lillestrøm municipality, Viken county, Norway. It is about twenty kilometers east of Oslo, and considered part of Greater Oslo. It has around 11,400 residents. The town has its origins from floating lumber and sawmills alon ...

. The municipality is located to the south of

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, Telnes ...

, north and west of

Rendalen Rendalen 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 Bergset. Other villages in the municipality include Hanestad, Otn ...

, north of

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, Evenst ...

, and east of

Folldal Folldal 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 Folldal. The municipality was established in 1914 when it was sepa ...

. The Rørosbane

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

and the Norwegian National Road 3 both pass through Alvdal. The municipality is the 124th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Alvdal is the 260th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,445. 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 increased by 0.6% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

In 1864, the parish of ''Lille-Elvdal'' (later renamed "Alvdal") was separated from Tynset Municipality to become a separate municipality of its own. Initially, the new municipality had a population of 3,216. On 1 January 1914, the western part of Alvdal (population: 2,284) was separated to become the new

Folldal Municipality Folldal 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 Folldal. The municipality was established in 1914 when it was sepa ...

. This left Alvdal with 2,135 residents.

Name

The area was historically known as Elvdalen or Øvre Elvdalen ( non, (øfri) Elfardalr). The first element is meaning "upper", the next part is the genitive case of which means "

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

", and the last element is which means "valley" or "dale". Thus the name means "(upper) river

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or 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 streams ove ...

", referring to the upper part of the

Glåma 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 ...

river valley. When the municipality was established in 1864, it was named ''Lille Elvdalen'', which meant "Little" Elvdalen in order to distinguish it from the nearby Store Elvedalen municipality ("the large Elvedalen"). In 1918, the name was changed to ''Alvdal'', a shortened version of the old name using a local dialect spelling.

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 25 November 1988. The arms show the front ends of two silver

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partia ...

s on a blue background. They represent the history and importance of

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

in the area. One of the oldest skis discovered by archeologists in Norway was found in Alvdal.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish () within the municipality of Alvdal. 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) in Norway. The list is divided into several sections, one for each d ...

( deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar.

Geography

Alvdal is bordered by

to the north,

to the east and south,

to the south, and

to the west. The highest mountain in the municipality is Storsølnkletten at tall. Another mountain in Alvdal is Tronfjell. The lake

Savalen Savalen is a lake in Innlandet country, Norway. The lake is located along the border of the municipalities Tynset and Alvdal. The lake sits about west of the village of Tynset and about north of the village of Alvdal. The river Sivilla, whic ...

is partially located in Alvdal. The rivers

Sivilla Sivilla is a river in Innlandet county, Norway. The long river runs through the municipalities of Tynset and Alvdal, even forming part of the municipal boundary for part of its course. The river is the primary outflow of the lake Savalen, and e ...

and

both flow through the municipality. The Jutulhogget canyon is located in this municipality as well.

Economy

Agriculture and forestry are the most important industries in Alvdal. As of 2022, the municipality has decided not to continue renting land to a company that does

bitcoin mining The bitcoin network is a peer-to-peer payment network that operates on a cryptographic protocol. Users send and receive bitcoins, the units of currency, by broadcasting digitally-signed messages to the network using bitcoin cryptocurrency ...

; no jobs were created from that enterprise - however, a local company did service work on occasion.https://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/i/gEE0l5/bitcoinfabrikk-forsvant.

Verdens Gang ''Verdens Gang'' ("The course of the world"), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, having declined from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. ''VG'' is n ...

. Retrieved 2022-10-15

Legal liability In law, liable means "responsible or answerable in law; legally obligated". Legal liability concerns both civil law and criminal law and can arise from various areas of law, such as contracts, torts, taxes, or fines given by government agenc ...

: the municipality is being sued for

Norwegian kroner The krone (, currency sign, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); ISO 4217, code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including Svalbard). Traditionally known as the Norwegian Crown (currency), crown in English. ...

4 million, by the operator of the former bitcoin mining facility (on municipal property).

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Alvdal, 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 Østre Innlandet District Court 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 Alvdal 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 featur ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Alvdal: *1864-1865: Fritz Emil Aas *1866-1873: Morten Mortensen *1874-1881: Fritz Emil Aas *1882-1883: Johan Steien *1884-1891: Morten Mortensen *1892-1893: Johan Steien *1894-1895: Morten Sandvold *1896-1898: P. Randmæl *1899-1901: Jacob Stamoen *1902-1904: P. Randmæl *1905-1907: Haldo Müller *1908-1910: P. Randmæl *1911-1916: Per Hoel *1917-1919: P. Randmæl *1920-1922: Per Hoel *1923-1925: Arne Mellesmo *1926-1931: Per Hoel *1932-1934: Martin Müller *1935-1942: Olav Nyeggen *1942-1945: Embret Mellesmo *1946-1955: Harald Reinertsen *1956-1963: Eivind Kveberg *1963-1967: Lars Holen *1968-1969: Oddgeir Skarpsno *1970-1971: Asmund Westgård *1972-1979: Kåre Blystad *1980-1983: Per Arnfinn Bergebakken ( Sp) *1984-1991: Sverre Dalen ( Sp) *1991-1995: Sverre Sørbø ( Sp) *1995-1999: Per Hvamstad ( Sp) *1999-2007: Svein Borkhus ( Ap) *2007-2011: Olov Grøtting ( Sp) *2011-2015: Svein Borkhus ( Ap) *2015-2019:

Johnny Hagen Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Varian ...

( Ap) *2019–present:

Mona Murud Mona may refer to: People *Mona (name), a female given name, nickname and surname *Mona (Angolan footballer) (born 1997) *Mona, ring name of American wrestler Nora Greenwald Museums *Museum of Nebraska Art, Kearney, Nebraska, US *Museum of Neon ...

( Sp)

Notable residents

* Ivar Mortensson-Egnund (1857–1934) a Norwegian author, journalist, theologian, researcher, translator, writer, philosopher and advocate of

nynorsk Nynorsk () () is one of the two written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language ( no, Landsmål) parallel to the Dano-N ...

* Lars Olsen Aukrust (1886–1965) a Norwegian farmer and politician * Arvid Nilssen (1913–1976) a Norwegian actor, revue artist, singer and comedian IMDb Database
retrieved 19 November 2020 *

Kjell Aukrust Kjell Aukrust (19 March 1920 – 24 December 2002) was a Norwegian author, poet, artist and humorist. Aukrust is principally known for his Flåklypa stories and Flåklypa drawings. Personal life Aukrust was born in Alvdal in Hedmark, Norway as ...

(1920–2002) a Norwegian author, humourist, poet and artist, the Huset Aukrust, (Norwegian Wiki) is dedicated to him. He is famous for creating the fictional Norwegian village of '' Flåklypa'' and its cast of idiosyncratic characters. *

Ola Jonsmoen Ola Jonsmoen (born 9 July 1932) is a Norwegian educator, poet, novelist and children's writer. Jonsmoen was born in Alvdal. He made his literary debut in 1959 with the poetry collection ''Dagen, vinden og hjartet''. Other collections are ''Omveg ...

(born 1932) a Norwegian educator, poet, novelist and children's writer * Svein Borkhus (born 1955) a Norwegian politician, Mayor of Alvdal 1999-2007 * Olov Grøtting (born 1960) a Norwegian politician, Mayor of Alvdal 2007-2011 * Anne Nørdsti (born 1977) a Norwegian

dansband (; "dance band"), or in Norwegian and Danish, is a Swedish term for a band that plays ("dance band music"). ' is often danced to in pairs. Jitterbug and foxtrot music are often included in this category. The music is primarily inspired ...

singer, influenced by country music

Sport

* Per Samuelshaug (1905–1990) a Norwegian cross-country skier, participated 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 ...

Kristian Bjørn Kristian Bjørn (22 August 1919, in Alvdal – 1 April 1993) was a Norwegian cross-country skier who competed in the 1940s and 1950s. He finished ninth in the 50 km race at the 1948 Winter Olympics. He won a bronze medal in the 4 × 10&nbs ...

(1919–1993) a Norwegian cross-country skier, competed at the

1948 Winter Olympics The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games (german: V. Olympische Winterspiele; french: Ves Jeux olympiques d'hiver; it, V Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, V Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. Moritz ...

Torgeir Bjørn Torgeir Bjørn (born 9 March 1964) is a retired Norwegian cross-country skier. He represented Alvdal IL. He is a son of Kristian Bjørn Kristian Bjørn (22 August 1919, in Alvdal – 1 April 1993) was a Norwegian cross-country skier who ...

(born 1964) a retired Norwegian cross-country skier, competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics * Harald Stormoen (born 1980) a retired Norwegian footballer with over 200 club caps

References

External links

* *
Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway {{use dmy dates, date=February 2022 Municipalities of Innlandet 1864 establishments in Norway