Os 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

Østerdalen Østerdalen () is a valley and Districts of Norway, 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. Østerdalen is often subdivide ...

. 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

Os i Østerdalen Os or Os i Østerdalen is the administrative centre of Os Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the upper part of the river Glåma, about northeast of the village of Tolga (village), Tolga and about southwest of ...

. Other villages in the municipality include

Dalsbygda Dalsbygda is a village in Os Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located about northwest of the village of Os i Østerdalen in the northwestern part of the municipality. There are about 600 people who live in the village and ...

, Narbuvoll, and

Tufsingdalen Tufsingdalen or Tufsingdal is a village area and valley in Os Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village area is located along the river Tufsinga which flows through the Tufsingdalen valley. It lies in the southeastern part of the muni ...

. The municipality is the 110th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Os Municipality is the 289th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,895. 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 6.1% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The parish of Os was historically part of

Tolga Municipality Tolga 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 Tolga. Other villages in the municipality include Hodalen, Øversj� ...

. On 1 July 1926, the parish of Os (population: 1,936) was separated from Tolga Municipality to become a separate municipality. In 1927, a small area of Tolga Municipality (population: 18) was transferred to Os Municipality. 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 1966, Os Municipality (population: 2,015) was merged with

(population: 1,944) to form the new

Tolga-Os Municipality Tolga-Os is a former municipality in the old Hedmark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1966 until its dissolution in 1976. The area is now part of Tolga Municipality and Os Municipality in the traditional district of Østerdalen. T ...

. This arrangement was not well-liked by the local residents so after a few years, the municipalities began to ask to undo the merger. On 1 January 1976, the merger was reversed and Os Municipality (population: 1,859) and Tolga Municipality (population: 1,865) were re-established using their old boundaries. 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 '' Os'' farm () since the first Os Church was built there in 1703. The name is identical with the word which means " mouth of a river" (here it is referring to the Vangrøfta river running out into 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 13% of Norway's surface area, all in the southern part of the country. Geography At its fullest length, the river r ...

river).

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 July 1993. 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 ''"

Vert Vert or Verts may refer to: * Vert (heraldry), the colour green in heraldry * Vert (music producer) (born 1972), pseudonym of Adam Butler, an English music producer * Vert (river), in southern France * Vert (sport), a competition in extreme versio ...

, three bells Or"'' (). This means the arms have a green

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) and 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

cowbell A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell (instrument), bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. ...

s (two over one). The charge 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 design symbolizes both traditional and modern business life in the mountain municipality of Os. At the same time, the design is intended to signal hope for the future. The three bells are an image of unity and cooperation between the three main parts of the municipality. The arms were designed by Kjell Akeren. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms, although the bells are slightly off centre, closer to the flagpole.

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 three parishes () within Os Municipality. It is part of the

Nord-Østerdal 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 ...

Government

Os 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 Os Municipality is made up of 15 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 Os 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: *1926–1931: Hans Narjord ( V) *1932–1934: Sigvart Odden ( Bp) *1935–1937: Hans Narjord ( V) *1938–1940: Sigvart Odden ( Bp) *1941–1945: Jørgen Øian ( NS) *1945–1955: Olav Hummelvold ( Bp) *1956–1959: John Holm ( Bp) *1960–1965: Olav Hummelvold ( Bp) *''(1966–1975: Part of

)'' *1976–1985: Tore Christoffersen ( Ap) *1986–1993: Inge Kroken ( Ap) *1995–2007:

Arnfinn Nergård Arnfinn Nergård (born 4 April 1952) is a Norwegian politician for the Centre Party. He served as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway from Hedmark during the terms 2005–2009, 2009–2013 and 2013–2017. In total he ...

( Sp) *2007–2011: Arne Grue ( Ap) *2011–2015:

( Sp) *2015–2023: Runa Finborud ( Sp) *2023–present: Ivar Midtdal ( Sp)

Geography

Lakes in the region include

Flensjøen Flensjøen is a lake on the border of Innlandet and Trøndelag counties in Norway. The lake lies in Røros Municipality (in Trøndelag county) and Os Municipality (in Innlandet county). The lake lies about southeast of the town of Røros, abou ...

Femunden Femunden is Norway's third largest lake and the second largest natural lake in Norway. It is located in Innlandet and Trøndelag counties in Norway, just west of the border with Sweden. The lake lies primarily in Engerdal Municipality (in Innl ...

, and

Siksjøen Siksjøen is a lake in Os Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The lake is located in the Tufsingdalen valley in the southeastern part of the municipality, about southeast of the Os (village), village of Os. The lake is very long and narro ...

. The large river

runs through the northern part of the municipality. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Nordre Sålekinna, on the border with

. Other mountains in the municipality include

Forollhogna Forollhogna is a mountain located on the border between three municipalities in Norway: Midtre Gauldal Municipality and Holtålen Municipality (in Trøndelag county) and Os Municipality (in Innlandet county). The tall mountain Forollhogna is the ...

and

Håmmålsfjellet Håmmålsfjellet (historically spelled ''Hummelfjell'') is a mountain in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located on the border of Tolga Municipality and Os Municipality. Its tallest peak is Gråhøgda, which has an elevation of above mean sea le ...

. The municipality is located to the northeastern part of the county, along the border with

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...

county.

Røros Municipality ( Norwegian) or is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Røros. Some of the villages in Røros include Brekken, Glåmos, Feragen, Galåa, and Hitterdalen. The municip ...

is to the east (in Trøndelag),

Midtre Gauldal Municipality Midtre Gauldal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Støren. ...

and

Holtålen Municipality Holtålen is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is located in the Ålen area o ...

are to the north (also in Trøndelag), and

is to the west, and

Engerdal Municipality Engerdal 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 village of E ...

is to the south.

Notable people

(born 1952), a Norwegian politician who was mayor of Os Municipality and also county mayor of

county

Sport

Annar Ryen Annar Ryen (19 October 1909, Os, Hedmark – 9 March 1985) was a Norwegian cross-country skier who competed in the 1930s. He won a gold medal in the 4 × 10 km relay at the 1937 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. Because of h ...

(1909 in Os – 1985), a cross-country skier * Viggo Sundmoen (born 1954 in Os), a former footballer with 150 club caps * Randi Langøigjelten (born 1957), a retired middle-distance runner *

Therese Johaug Therese Johaug (born 25 June 1988) is a Norwegian former cross-country skier from the village of Dalsbygda in Os Municipality. In World Ski Championships she won ten individual gold medals along with four gold medals in relays, and she is a ...

(born 1988 in Os), a cross-country skier and three-time Olympic medallist * Jon Aukrust Osmoen (born 1992 in Os), an orienteering competitor

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 ...

{{Authority control Municipalities of Innlandet 1926 establishments in Norway 1966 disestablishments in Norway 1976 establishments in Norway Populated places established in 1926 Populated places disestablished in 1966 Populated places established in 1976