Åsnes is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Innlandet Innlandet is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (Jevnaker Municipality and Lunner Municipality were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken ( ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It is located in the traditional district of

Solør Solør is a Norwegian traditional district consisting of the valley between Elverum in the north and Kongsvinger in the south. It is part of Innlandet county and it includes Våler Municipality, Åsnes Municipality, and Grue Municipality. G ...

. The

administrative centre An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

of the municipality is the village of

Flisa Flisa is the administrative centre of Åsnes Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village lies at the confluence of the rivers Flisa and Glomma. The Norwegian National Road 2 and the Solørbanen railway line both pass through the vill ...

, which is also the largest village in the municipality with nearly 1,800 people. Other villages in the municipality include

Gjesåsen Gjesåsen is a largely agricultural village area located in Åsnes Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village area lies at the east end of the lake Gjesåssjøen Gjesåssjøen is a lake in Åsnes Municipality in Innlandet county, No ...

, Hof,

Sønsterud Sønsterud is a village in Åsnes Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located about to the southeast of the village of Gjesåsen, about to the northeast of the village of Kjellmyra, and about to the northeast of the villa ...

, and

Kjellmyra Kjellmyra is a village in Åsnes Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the river Flisa, about north of the village of Flisa, about south of the village of Gjesåsen (and the lake Gjesåssjøen), and about south ...

. The municipality is the 108th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Åsnes Municipality is the 141st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 7,247. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

is and its population has decreased by 2.7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

When municipal government was established in Norway on 1 January 1838, the Åsnes area was part of Hof Municipality. In 1849, Hof Municipality was divided into two: Hof Municipality (population: 2,913) in the south and Aasnes og Vaaler Municipality (population: 7,087) in the north. A short time later, in 1854, Aasnes og Vaaler Municipality was divided into two: Våler Municipality (population: 3,410) in the north and Åsnes Municipality (population: 3,677) in the south. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee () was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a ...

. On 1 January 1963, Hof Municipality (population: 3,222) was merged into Åsnes Municipality (population: 6,750). On 1 January 1969, the Rotberget farm area (population: 23) in the

Finnskogen Finnskogen ("Forest of the Finns") is an area of Norway and Sweden situated in the counties of Innlandet and Värmland respectively, so named because of immigration of Finnish people in the 17th century, the so-called ''Forest Finns, Skogfinner/"Fo ...

part of the municipality was transferred to the neighboring

Grue Municipality Grue is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Solør. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kirkenær. ...

. In the 2010s, there were discussions of further municipal mergers but the neighboring municipalities of Grue and Våler both rejected merging with Åsnes Municipality. Historically, the municipality was part of

Hedmark Hedmark () was a Counties of Norway, county in Norway from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar. Hedmar ...

county. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became a part of the newly-formed

county (after

and

Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The ...

counties were merged).

Name

The municipality (originally the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

) is named after the old ''Åsnes'' farm () since the first

Åsnes Church Åsnes Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Åsnes Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Flisa. It is the church for the Åsnes parish which is part of the Solør, Vinger og Odal prosti (dean ...

was built there. The first element is which means "

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...

". The last element is which means "

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Jo ...

". The headland that it is referring to is made by the river

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 13% of Norway's surface area, all in the southern part of the country. Geography At its fullest length, the river r ...

near the Åsnes farm which is located beneath a hill. On 21 December 1917, a royal resolution enacted the 1917 Norwegian language reforms. Prior to this change, the name was spelled ''Aasnes'' with the

digraph Digraph, often misspelled as diagraph, may refer to: * Digraph (orthography), a pair of characters used together to represent a single sound, such as "nq" in Hmong RPA * Ligature (writing), the joining of two letters as a single glyph, such as " ...

" Aa", and after this reform, the name was spelled ''Åsnes'', using the letter Å instead.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted on 9 December 2001. The official

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

is ''" Or, three pike hooks

sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaz ...

bend sinister In heraldry, a bend is a band or strap running from the upper dexter (the bearer's right side and the viewer's left) corner of the shield to the lower sinister (the bearer's left side, and the viewer's right). Authorities differ as to how m ...

points in base

dexter Dexter may refer to: People * Dexter (given name) * Dexter (surname) * Dexter (singer), Brazilian rapper Marcos Fernandes de Omena (born 1973) * Famous Dex, also known as Dexter, American rapper Dexter Tiewon Gore Jr. (born 1993) Places United ...

"'' (). This means the arms have a

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

(background) has a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

is three hooks for

log driving Log driving is a means of moving logs (sawn tree trunks) from a forest to sawmills and pulp mills downstream using the current of a river. It was the main transportation method of the early logging industry in Europe and North America. History ...

that are pointing downwards diagonally. This was chosen to represent the importance of

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucksforestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

to the municipality throughout history. There are three poles to symbolize the three important rivers of the municipality:

, and Kynna. The arms were designed by Arvid Steen. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

has six parishes () within Åsnes Municipality. It is part of the

Solør, Vinger og Odal prosti The list of churches in Hamar is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Hamar in Norway. It includes all of the parishes in Innlandet county plus the parishes in Lunner Municipality in Akershus county. The diocese is based at th ...

(

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the 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 residence of ...

) in the

Diocese of Hamar The Diocese of Hamar () 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 Municipality in Akershus county. Administratively, the diocese is divided into 1 ...

Geography

The municipality is located in the southern part of

county in the traditional region of

. Åsnes Municipality is bordered to the north by Våler Municipality, to the south by

, to the west by

Nord-Odal Municipality Nord-Odal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Odalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sand. Other villages in the municipality include Knapper and Mo. The ...

and

Stange Municipality is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Hedemarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Stangebyen. Other villages include Bekkelaget, Espa, Bottenfjellet, Il ...

, and to the east it borders

Torsby Municipality Torsby Municipality () is a municipality in Värmland County in west central Sweden, bordering Norway. Its seat is located in the town of Torsby. The name ''Torsby'' means Thor's village. The present municipality consists of eight original local ...

Värmland County Värmland County () is a county or '' län'' in west central Sweden. It borders the Swedish counties of Dalarna, Örebro and Västra Götaland, as well as the Norwegian counties of Østfold, Akershus and Innlandet to the west. The title of Duke ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

or ''the forest of the

Finns Finns or Finnish people (, ) are a Baltic Finns, Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland. Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these cou ...

'' is a belt about wide which runs continuously northwards along the border between Norway and Sweden through six Norwegian municipalities, including Åsnes. Åsnes has several lakes and rivers throughout the forested municipality which sits in the southern

Glåmdal Glåmdalen (or ''Glommadal'') is a valley in Innlandet county in Eastern Norway. The valley was formed by the river Glomma (also called Glåma), one of the major rivers for the region. The name "Glåmdalen" is also a newer designation for the t ...

valley. It includes the lakes

Gjesåssjøen Gjesåssjøen is a lake in Åsnes Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The lake lies about northwest of the villages of Kjellmyra and Flisa and about east of the village of Våler (village), Våler. The village of Gjesåsen and the Gjeså ...

, Hukusjøen, and Vermunden. The rivers

, Rotna, and

all flow through the municipality. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Elgklintsrøysa, located on the border with

Government

Åsnes Municipality is responsible for

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

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

services,

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

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. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

zoning In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for ...

economic development In economics, economic development (or 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 object ...

, and municipal

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s and utilities. 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, borough cou ...

of directly elected representatives. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Østre Innlandet District Court and the

Eidsivating Court of Appeal The Eidsivating Court of Appeal () is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Hamar, with jurisdiction over the Eidsivating judicial district (), comprising the counties of Innlandet, Østfold, a ...

Municipal council

The

of Åsnes Municipality is made up of 23 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, 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 oft ...

Mayors

The

() of Åsnes Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position (incomplete list): *1857–1861: Kjel Glorvigen *1865–1873: Hans Henrik Schultze *1873–1874: M. Gundersen *1875–1881: M. Lie *1882–1883: J.B. Krohg *1883–1893: Ole Bjørneby *1893–1902: Adolf Bjørneby *1902–1904: Gunnar Lofsgaard *1905–1910: Arne Sparby *1910–1914: August Embretsen ( Ap) *1915–1919: Syver Hauge ( Ap) *1919–1922: Per Aasness *1922–1925: Botolf Haug ( NKP) *1925–1928: Arne Adolf Løfsgaard ( Bp) *1929–1931: Botolf Haug ( NKP) *1931–1932: Syver Hauge ( Ap) *1940–1941: Kr. Arneberg *1941–1945: Gudbjørn Fleischer ( NS) *1945–1963: Jon Gudbjørn Dybendal ( Ap) *1963–1975: Torstein Haugen ( Ap) *1975–1979: Torbjørn Konttorp ( SV) *1979–1981: Johan Dybendal ( Ap) *1982–1983: Torbjørn Konttorp ( SV) *1983–1991: Hans-Didrik Bakke ( Ap) *1991–1999: Knut Guttorm Rustad ( Sp) *1999–2003: Hans-Didrik Bakke ( Ap) *2003–2007: Frank Willy Bjørneseth ( Ap) *2007–2011: Lars Petter Heggelund ( V) *2011–2019: Ørjan Bue ( Sp) *2019–2023: Kari Heggelund ( Sp) *2023–present: Einar Toverud ( Sp)

Notable people

* Hans Jacob Grøgaard (1764 in Åsnes – 1836), a parish priest, writer, and representative at the

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly ( or ) is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised the dissolution of the union with Denmark. The meetings took place at the Eidsvoll Manor in th ...

* Johannes Bergh (1837 in Åsnes – 1906), a barrister and the Attorney General of Norway from 1893-1904 * Jacob Sparre Schneider (1853 in Åsnes – 1918), a zoologist and entomologist * Adolf Gundersen (1865 in Åsnes – 1938), an American physician who founded Gundersen Health System in

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 202 ...

* Per Aasness (1875 at Flaen – 1959), a military officer, politician, and Mayor of Asnes from 1919-1922 * Ole Bjerke (1881 in Åsnes – 1959), a sport shooter who competed at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...

* Arne Løfsgaard (1887 at Løfsgaard – 1974), a farmer, politician, and Mayor of Åsnes from 1925-1928 * Birger Lie (1891 in Åsnes – 1970), a sport shooter who competed at the

* Jon Gudbjørn Dybendal (1904 in Åsnes – 1985), a politician and Mayor of Åsnes from 1945-1963 * Rolf Jacobsen (1907–1994), an author and

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

writer who twice lived in Åsnes * Kai Grjotheim (1919 in Åsnes – 2003), a chemist and academic who solved problems within thermodynamics of salt smelters * Gunnar Gundersen (born 1956 in Åsnes), a politician who also competed in the swimming at the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

Tom Stræte Lagergren Tom Stræte Lagergren (born 29 May 1991), professionally known as Matoma, is a Norwegian DJ and record producer. Early life Lagergren was born in Åsnes Municipality, Norway. He started playing the piano as a child. During that period, he wo ...

(born 1991 in Åsnes), a DJ and record producer who goes by the stage name ''Matoma'' * Emilie Enger Mehl (born 1993 in

Lørenskog is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. A suburb of Oslo, it is part of the Oslo urban area and the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipa ...

), a politician for the Centre Party who served as minister of justice since 2021 and Member of parliament since 2017.

Sister cities

Åsnes 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 inte ...

agreements with the following places: *

Ballerup Ballerup is a Danish town, seat of the Ballerup Municipality, in the Region Hovedstaden. There are approximately 25 schools in Ballerup Municipality. Ballerup has its own educational institution specialized in the study, training and research o ...

Region Hovedstaden The Capital Region of Denmark (, ) is the easternmost administrative region of Denmark, and contains Copenhagen, the national capital. The Capital Region has 29 municipalities and a regional council consisting of 41 elected members. As of 1 ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Fagersta Fagersta is a locality and the seat of Fagersta Municipality in Västmanland County, Sweden, with 11,130 inhabitants in 2010. Geography The city is located at the junction of two railways between Ludvika-Västerås and Avesta (Krylbo)-Örebro ...

Västmanland County Västmanland County () is a Counties of Sweden, county or ''län'' in central Sweden. It borders the counties of Södermanland County, Södermanland, Örebro County, Örebro, Gävleborg County, Gävleborg, Dalarna County, Dalarna and Uppsala Coun ...

Jämsä Jämsä () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region, about southwest of Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of (), which makes it the second most populous town of the Central Finland after ...

, Länsi-Suomi,

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Myjava Myjava (; historically also Miava, , ) is a town in Trenčín Region, Slovakia. Geography It is located in the Myjava Hills at the foothills of the White Carpathians and nearby the Little Carpathians. The river Myjava flows through the town. It ...

Trenčín Region The Trenčín Region (, ; ; ) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions. It consists of nine districts ('' okresy''). The region was established in 1996: previously it had been a part of the West Slovak Region () and partly the Central S ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

Vasanello Vasanello is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Viterbo in the Italian region Lazio, located about north of GRA (Rome) and about east of Viterbo. Main sights *''Orsini castle'' (12th century). It is a tuff construction with four cyli ...

Viterbo Viterbo (; Central Italian, Viterbese: ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Lazio region of Italy, the Capital city, capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Gallery

Flisa stasjon.jpg, Flisa station on the Solørbanen railway Tjærebrenning med Åsnes historielag i Åsnes kommune.jpg, Bjerkely Folkehøyskole.jpg, Bjerkely Folkehøyskole (school)

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every year on its web site. All rele ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aasnes Municipalities of Innlandet 1854 establishments in Norway Populated places established in 1854