Stor-Elvdal 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

Koppang is a village in Stor-Elvdal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the river Glomma in the Østerdalen valley. The Rørosbanen railway and the Norwegian National Road 3 both run through the village. The railway s ...

. Other villages in the municipality include Atna, Evenstad, and

Sollia Sollia is a village in Stor-Elvdal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located just up the hill from the Setninga river, about northwest of the town of Koppang and about north of the village of Ringebu. Sollia Church is l ...

. The municipality is the 28th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Stor-Elvdal is the 262nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,318. 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 13.4% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

of ''Store Elvedalen'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). 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 1965, the neighboring municipality of

(population: 356) was merged with Stor-Elvdal (population: 3,808) to form a new, larger municipality of Stor-Elvdal.

Name

The municipality is named ''Stor-Elvdalen'' after the old name of the historic

prestegjeld A ''prestegjeld'' was a geographic and administrative area within the Church of Norway (''Den Norske Kirke'') roughly equivalent to a parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a di ...

with the same name. The name is the historic name for the area ( non, Elfardalr). The first element this part of the name is the genitive case of the word 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 ...

" (here it is referring to the

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 ...

river) and the last element is ''dalr'' which means "

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 ...

" or "dale". Thus this word means "river valley". The first element of the name is which means "big". This prefix was added to the old name "Elvdalen" to distinguish it from the municipality of Lille Elvedalen (later the name was shortened to

Alvdal Alvdal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Alvdal (villa ...

). In the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

the two areas were distinguished using the words ''Ytre Elvdalen'' (meaning "outer" Elvdalen) and ''Øvre Elvdalen'' (meaning "upper" Elvdalen).

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 ...

were granted in 1988. The arms show two white or silver-colored

two-man saw A two-man saw (known colloquially as a "misery whip") is a saw designed for use by two sawyers. While some modern chainsaws are so large that they require two persons to control, two-man crosscut saws were primarily important when human power w ...

s on a green background. This design was chosen to symbolize the importance of

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

in the municipality.

Churches

The Church of Norway has four parishes () within the municipality of Stor-Elvdal. It is part of the

Sør-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 eac ...

( deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Stor-Elvdal, 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 Stor-Elvdal 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:

Mayors

The mayors of Stor-Elvdal (incomplete list): *1995-1999: Sigmund Vestad ( LL) *1999-2003: Øyvind Strand ( Ap) *2003-2011: Sigmund Vestad ( LL) *2011-2015: Even Moen ( Sp) *2015-2019: Terje Hoffstad ( Ap) *2019–present: Even Moen ( Sp)

Geography

Stor-Elvdal is bordered on the north by the municipalities 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 ...

and

, on the east by

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 ...

, in the south by

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

Ringsaker is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Hedemarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Brumunddal. Other settlements in Ringsaker include the town of Moelv and the ...

, in the west by

Øyer Øyer is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tingberg. The two largest villages in the municipality are Granrudmo ...

and

Ringebu is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vålebru (the village is also known as ''Ringebu''). The municipality ...

, and in the northwest by

Sør-Fron Sør-Fron is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hundorp. Other villages in the municipality include Gålå, Ha ...

. The lake Atnsjøen is located in the northwestern part of the municipality, just outside

Rondane National Park Rondane National Park ( no, Rondane nasjonalpark) is the oldest national park in Norway, having been established on 21 December 1962. The park is located in Innlandet county, in the municipalities of Dovre, Folldal, Sel, Nord-Fron, Sør-Fron, S ...

. The river

runs through the municipality. Storelgen i Stor-Elvdal 2(crop)

Tourism

Stor-Elvdal boasts the second tallest moose statue in the world, a steel giant moose at the side of the

Norwegian National Road 3 Norwegian National Road 3 ( no, Riksvei 3, Rv3) is a Norwegian national road that is the main route through the Østerdalen district in Eastern Norway. It has been dubbed which means 'the green shortcut' by the old Hedmark County Municipality. T ...

Notable people

* Thore Embretsen Myrvang (1858–1939) an educator and politician, three times Mayor of Stor-Elvdal *

Halldis Neegaard Østbye Halldis Neegaard Østbye, née Halldis Neegaard (23 May 1896 – 13 Oct 1983) was a Norwegian anti-Semite and national socialist. She was born in Stor-Elvdal. During World War II, she was known as a prominent member of the fascist Nasjonal Saml ...

(1896 in Stor-Elvdal – 1983) In WWII known as ''"Norway's most fanatical Naziwoman"'' * Torkel Andreas Trønnes (1925-2011) an automobile advocate, lived in Koppang

Sister cities

Stor-Elvdal 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: *

Sõmeru Parish Sõmeru Parish ( et, Sõmeru vald) was a rural municipality of Estonia, in Lääne-Viru County. It had a population of 3,885 (2006) and an area of 168.29 km². Settlements Sõmeru Parish had 3 small boroughs, Näpi, Sõmeru and Uhtna an ...

Lääne-Viru County Lääne-Viru County ( et, Lääne-Viru maakond or ''Lääne-Virumaa'') is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is in northern Estonia, on the south coast of the Gulf of Finland. In Estonian, ''lääne'' means western and ''ida'' means east or easter ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway {{use dmy dates, date=March 2022 Municipalities of Innlandet 1838 establishments in Norway