Tolga 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 ...

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). ...

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 ...

. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tolga. The municipality is bordered in the east by the municipality of Tynset, in the south by Rendalen, and in the east by Engerdal and Os, all in Innlandet county. The municipality is the 99th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Tolga is the 300th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,551. The municipality's

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 ...

is and its population has decreased by 7.7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The parish of ''Tolgen'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

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). On 1 January 1911, the new municipality of Engerdal was established. The southeastern portion of Tolga (population: 201) was separated from Tolga and merged with portions of neighboring

Øvre Rendal Øvre Rendal is a former municipality in the old Hedmark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1880 until its dissolution in 1965 when it was merged with the neighboring municipality of Ytre Rendal to form the new Rendalen Municipality. ...

, Ytre Rendal, and Trysil to create this new municipality. On 1 July 1926, the northern parish of Os (population: 1,936) was separated to become the new municipality of Os. This left Tolga with 1,917 residents. In 1927, a small part of Tolga (population: 18) was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Os. 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 1966, the neighboring municipalities of Tolga (population: 1,944) and Os (population: 2,015) were merged to form the new municipality of

Tolga-Os Tolga-Os is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the old Hedmark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1966 until 1976. It included all of the present-day municipalities of Tolga, Norway, Tolga and Os, Hedmark ...

. This merger was not well received by the residents and soon after the merger, they began working towards separating once again. On 1 January 1976, the municipality of

was divided into the municipalities of Tolga (population: 1,865) and Os (population: 1,859), using their historic borders from before 1966.

Name

The municipality (originally 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 or ...

) is named after the old "Tolga" farm because the first

Tolga Church Tolga Church ( no, Tolga kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Tolga Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Tolga. It is the church for the Tolga parish which is part of the Nord-Østerdal prosti ...

was built here (in 1688). The farm is named after the small Tolga river, and the river name is probably derived from the word ''toll'', which means '(young)

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

(tree)'. Prior to 1918, the name used the older spelling of ''Tolgen''.

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 14 July 1989. The arms show a gold bell on a red background. Tolga was home to the (a smelting hut) from 1666 to 1871. The bell represents the old bell in the town square at the center of the village of Tolga. The smeltery was important because of the prevalence of

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...

in the area.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church ...

has four parishes () within the municipality of Tolga. It is part of the Nord-Østerdal prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or reside ...

) in the

Diocese of Hamar The Diocese of Hamar ( no, Hamar Bispedømme) is a diocese within the Church of Norway. The Diocese of Hamar includes all of the churches in Innlandet county plus the churches in Lunner in Viken county. Administratively, the diocese is divid ...

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Tolga, are responsible for

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/ kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in '' primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

, senior citizen 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 refe ...

and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or adminis ...

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 o ...

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 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. Thes ...

Municipal council

The

of Tolga 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 featu ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Tolga (incomplete list): *2019–present: Bjørnar Tollan Jordet ( SV) *2011-2019: Ragnhild Aashaug ( Sp) *2007-2011: Erling Aas-Eng ( Sp) *1999-2007: Marit Gilleberg ( Ap) *1986-1999: Lars Buttingsrud ( Sp) *1985-1986: Jon Vingelen ( Sp) *1976-1985: Anders Johnsgård ( Sp)

Geography

Tolga lies in the northeastern part of

county. The river

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 ...

runs through the municipality. The mountains Håmmålsfjellet and Elgspiggen both lie on the municipal boundaries. The lake Langsjøen is located just south of the village of Øversjødalen in the southeastern part of the municipality.

Notable people

* Kaleb Nytrøen (1905 in Tolga – 1994) a police officer, helped develop the Norwegian Police Security Service * Egil Storbekken (1911 in Tolga – 2002) a folk musician and composer * Arnljot Eggen (1923 in Tolga – 2009) a journalist and teacher; wrote poetry, plays and children's books * Olav Jordet (born 1939 in Tolga) a former Norwegian biathlete, bronze medallist at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this h ...

and team silver medallist in the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport ev ...

Hans Fredrik Jacobsen Hans Fredrik Jacobsen (born 8 September 1954) is a Norwegian musician and composer, best known for his work with his wife, the traditional folk singer Tone Hulbækmo, and with the medieval music group Kalenda Maya, as well as his concert and stud ...

(born 1954) a Norwegian musician and composer, based in Tolga *

Tone Hulbækmo Tone Hulbækmo (born 27 September 1957) is a Norwegian singer and musician, married to the traditional folk flutist Hans Fredrik Jacobsen, and the mother of Jazz drummer and vibraphonist Hans Hulbækmo (b. 1989) and pianist Alf Hulbækmo (b. ...

(born 1957 in Tolga) a Norwegian singer and musician * Olav Viksmo-Slettan (born 1965 in Tolga) a Norwegian radio and TV reporter for the NBC * Hans Hulbækmo (born 1989 in Tolga) a composer and musician on drums and percussion * Alf Hulbækmo (born 1992 in Tolga) a composer, singer and musician on piano, keyboards, harmonica and saxophone

References

External links

* *
Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway
Weather forecast for Haugan in Tolga
{{use dmy dates, date=February 2022 Municipalities of Innlandet 1838 establishments in Norway 1966 disestablishments in Norway 1976 establishments in Norway