Lierne 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 ...

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 Denma ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 part of the

Namdalen Namdalen ( sma, Nååmesjevuemie) is a traditional district in the central part of Norway, consisting of the municipalities Namsos, Grong, Overhalla, Røyrvik, Nærøysund, Høylandet, Flatanger, Lierne, Leka, and Namsskogan, all in Tr ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

, and it is the largest municipality by area in

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of

Sandvika Sandvika () is the administrative centre of the municipality of Bærum in Norway. It was declared a city by the municipal council in Bærum on 4 June 2003. Sandvika is situated approximately west of Oslo. It is the main transportation hub for W ...

. Other villages include Inderdal,

Mebygda Mebygda or Sørli is a village in Lierne municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located on the southeast shore of the lake Lenglingen. It is located only west of the border with Sweden and about southeast of the municipal c ...

, and Tunnsjø senter. The municipality borders Sweden to the south and east. Most of Lierne lies on the Swedish side of the drainage divide between Norway and Sweden. The municipality is the 16th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Lierne is the 310th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,309. 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 decreased by 7.2% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Lierne was established on 1 January 1874 when it was separated from the large municipality of Snaasen. Initially, the population of Lierne was 1,015. On 1 July 1915, it was divided into two municipalities: Nordli (population: 863) in the north and Sørli (population: 739) in the south. This division, however, was short-lived. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee ( no, Schei-komitéen) was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II. It convened in 1946, and its formal name was (The 1946 Committee on Municip ...

. On 1 January 1964 they were merged back together again under the former name ''Lierne''. After the merger, there were 2,045 residents in the new municipality. On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Nord-Trøndelag county to the new

county.

Name

The

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

form of the name was ''Finnahlíð'', where the first element is the

plural The plural (sometimes abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the default quantity represented by that noun. This de ...

genitive case of ''finnr'' which means " Sami person" (or ''Finn'') because the district was mostly populated by Sami people at the time. The last element is ''li'' (Old Norse ''hlíð'') which means "mountainside". Later, the name was shortened by dropping the ''Finn'' part and using the definite plural form of the ''li'' part as ''Lierne''.

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 3 February 1984. The arms show three white

Willow Ptarmigan The willow ptarmigan () (''Lagopus lagopus'') is a bird in the grouse subfamily Tetraoninae of the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is also known as the willow grouse and in Ireland and Britain, where the subspecies '' L. l. scotica'' was prev ...

s ''( Lagopus lagopus)'' on a blue background. The birds are plentiful in the area and hunting them was of great importance historically for the inhabitants to survive during the winters in the area. The bird was thus chosen as a symbol for the municipality.

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes () within the municipality of Lierne. It is part of the Namdal prosti ( deanery) in the

Diocese of Nidaros Nidaros is a diocese in the Lutheran Church of Norway. It covers Trøndelag county in Central Norway and its cathedral city is Trondheim, which houses the well-known Nidaros Cathedral. Since 10 September 2017, the Bishop of Nidaros is Herbor ...

Geography

Border marker nr 125 Lierne National Park

Lierne National Park is located in the municipality, and Blåfjella-Skjækerfjella National Park is partly located in Lierne. Lierne has a significant population of

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is ...

s. Lierne is also home to many lakes, including Gusvatnet, Havdalsvatnet, Holden, Ingelsvatnet, Kingen, Kvesjøen, Laksjøen,

Lenglingen Lenglingen is a lake in the municipality of Lierne in Trøndelag county, Norway. The lake is fed by the lakes Holden and Gusvatnet, and the water from Lenglingen flows south into the lake Ulen. The village of Mebygda Mebygda or Sørli is a v ...

Limingen or is a lake in the municipalities of Røyrvik and Lierne in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is the Lakes in Norway#Largest lakes, eighth-largest lake in the country. The lake lies above sea level and has an area of . At the deepest point, it is ...

, Murusjøen,

Rengen Rengen is a lake on the border between Sweden and Norway. The lake covers in Norway and in Sweden. The Norwegian part is located in the municipality of Lierne in Trøndelag county, and the Swedish part is located in the municipality of Krokom ...

, Sandsjøen, Stortissvatnet,

Tunnsjøen or is a lake in the municipalities of Røyrvik and Lierne in Trøndelag county, Norway. The lake lies just south of the large lake Limingen, and just west of the border with Sweden. It is above sea level and has a volume of . The deepest par ...

, and

Ulen Ulen may refer to: People *Thomas Ulen, an American law and economics professor Places Norway *Ulen (lake), a lake in the municipality of Lierne in Trøndelag county United States *Ulen, Indiana, a town in Center Township, Boone County, Indiana ...

History

Lierne was the largest obstacle in the negotiations before the Stromstad Treaty of 1751 in which the border was defined in detail. Sweden wanted it based on its location on the Eastern side of the drainage divide, although Norway got it based on its connection to the Snaasen parish in Norway, and as compensation Norway gave up its demand for the

Idre Idre ( sma, Eajra, Elfdalian: ''Iðer'') is a locality and ski resort situated in Älvdalen Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden with 794 inhabitants in 2010. It was also a historical parish and former municipality. History The two parishes ''S� ...

and

Särna Särna (Elfdalian: ''Sjär’n'') is a locality situated in Älvdalen Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden with 719 inhabitants in 2010. History The two parishes ''Särna'' and ''Idre'' were originally part of Norway but were occupied by an exped ...

parishes which were under Swedish control since 1644. This gave a curve in the border.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Lierne, 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 ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elect 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

Trøndelag District Court Trøndelag District Court ( no, Trøndelag tingrett) is a district court located in Trøndelag county, Norway. This court is based at four different courthouses which are located in Brekstad, Namsos, Steinkjer, and Trondheim. The court serves the ...

and the

Frostating Court of Appeal The Frostating Court of Appeal ( no, Frostating lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Trondheim. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Trøndelag and Møre og Romsdal. ...

Municipal council

The

() of Lierne is made up of 15 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:

Notable people

Frode Estil Frode Estil (born 31 May 1972 in Lierne, Nord-Trøndelag) is a retired Norwegian cross-country skier. He lives in Meråker with his wife Grete whom he married in the summer of 2001. They have two sons, Bernhard, born in August 2002, and Konrad ...

(born 1972 in Lierne) a retired Norwegian cross-country skier; he won two golds and a silver medal at the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...

and asilver medal in the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second ...

Attractions

The cross-country race '' Flyktningerennet'' is held here every year. It is a race that follows a route from Nordli to Gäddede in

Strömsund Municipality Strömsund Municipality (, ) is a municipality in Jämtland County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Strömsund. The nearest larger city is Östersund, the provincial capital of Jämtland, which is located approximately 100 km t ...

, Sweden, in remembrance of the people who fled Nazi German-occupied Norway for Sweden during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

References

External links

*
Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway {{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Trøndelag 1874 establishments in Norway 1915 disestablishments in Norway 1964 establishments in Norway