Steinkjer is the

administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

of the municipality of Steinkjer in

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,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, 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 ...

. The

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

is located at the northeastern end of the inner-most part of the

Trondheimsfjorden The Trondheim Fjord or Trondheimsfjorden (), an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, is Norway's third-longest fjord at long. It is located in the west-central part of the country in Trøndelag county, and it stretches from the municipality of Ørland ...

, at the mouth of the river

Steinkjerelva Steinkjerelva is a long river in the town of Steinkjer in Steinkjer municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It forms at the confluence between the rivers Byaelva and Ogna at Guldbergaunet and flows through the town of Steinkjer before flowi ...

. In the eastern part of the town, the river of Figgja also flows into the fjord. The town is split in two by Steinkjerelva, creating the two traditional neighborhoods of Nordsia and Sørsia. Both the

European route E6 European route E6 ( no, Europavei 6, sv, Europaväg 6, or simply E6) is the main north-south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and thr ...

highway and the Nordlandsbanen railway line run through the town, the latter serving the city at

Steinkjer Station Steinkjer Station ( no, Steinkjer stasjon) is a railway station located in the town of Steinkjer in the municipality of Steinkjer in Trøndelag county, Norway. The station is located on the Nordland Line, serving both local and express trains n ...

Steinkjer Church Steinkjer Church ( no, Steinkjer kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Steinkjer municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the town of Steinkjer. It is the church for the Steinkjer parish which is part of the Sti ...

and

Egge Church Egge Church ( no, Egge kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Steinkjer municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the Egge area, on the northern edge of the town of Steinkjer. It is the church for the Egge pa ...

are both located in the town. Prior to 1 January 2018, the town was the administrative centre of

Nord-Trøndelag Nord-Trøndelag (; "North Trøndelag") was a county constituting the northern part of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. The county was established in 1804 when the old Trondhjems amt was divided into two: Nordre Trondhjems amt and S ...

county, and since that day it has been the seat of the newly created

county. This means the

Trøndelag County Municipality Trøndelag County Municipality ( no, Trøndelag fylkeskommune or sma, Trööndelagen fylhkentjïelte) is the democratically elected regional governing administration of Trøndelag county in Norway. The main responsibilities of the county munic ...

is based here as is the County Governor, the representative of the King and Government of Norway in Trøndelag county. The town has a population (2018) of 12,908 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

of .

History

From the creation of municipalities under the

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 Janu ...

law in 1837, the village of Steinkjer was part of the municipality of Stod. In 1857, the village was designated as a

kjøpstad A (historically: ''kjøbstad'', ''kjöbstad'', or ''kaupstad'') is an old Scandinavian term for a " market town" that was used in the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway for several hundred years. The name comes from the on, kaupstaðr. Kjøpstads wer ...

(town). On 23 January 1858, the newly designated town was separated from Stod municipality to form a municipality of its own. The initial population of Steinkjer was 1,150. 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 Munici ...

. On 1 January 1964, a large merger took place: the neighboring municipalities of Beitstad (population: 2,563), Egge (population: 3,476),

Kvam Kvam is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality is located along the Hardangerfjorden in the traditional district of Hardanger. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Norheimsund. Other larger set ...

(population: 1,245), Ogndal (population: 2,678),

Sparbu Sparbu is a village in the municipality of Steinkjer in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located about south of the town of Steinkjer. The European route E6 highway runs through the village as does the Nordlandsbanen railway line wh ...

(population: 4,027), and Stod (population: 1,268) were all merged with the town of Steinkjer (population: 4,325) to form the new municipality of Steinkjer.

Name

The town (and municipality) is named after the old ''Steinkjer'' farm ( non, Steinker), since the town is built on the site of the old farm. The first element is ''steinn'' ( m) which means "

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

" or "rock". The last element is ''ker'' ( n) which means a "barrier made for catching fish".

Media gallery

Steinkjer oversikt.jpg, The town seen from the west Steinkjer fra bogen.jpeg, Another view of the town from Bogen Steinkjer1880 1 lindahl.jpg, View of Steinkjer in 1880 Steinkjer after German bombing.jpg, Steinkjer after the bombings of World War II Nord-Trøndelag FCounty Municipality administration building.jpg, County administration building Steinkjer town hall.JPG, Steinkjer municipal building

References

{{authority control Populated places in Trøndelag Former municipalities of Norway Cities and towns in Norway Steinkjer 1858 establishments in Norway