Setermoen is 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 Bardu Municipality in

Troms Troms (; ; ; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. It borders Finnmark county to the northeast and Nordland county in the southwest. Norrbotten Län in Sweden is located to the south and further southeast is a shorter border with ...

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 ...

. The village is located along the Barduelva river, about east of the village of

Sjøvegan Sjøvegan is the administrative centre of Salangen Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The village is located at the end of the Sagfjorden, a branch of the Salangen (fjord), Salangen fjord. The river Salangselva empties into the fjord at Sjøv ...

and about south of Bardufoss. In 1999, the

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 Bardu Municipality passed a resolution declaring town status for the village of Setermoen, but this was rejected by the government of Norway since the municipality has less than 5,000 inhabitants. The village has a population (2023) of 2,505 and a

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 ...

of .

Location

Setermoen is located along the river Barduelva, and on the shores of Sætervatnet lake in the middle of the Bardudalen valley. It is about south of the town of Bardufoss and the Bardufoss Airport and about east of the town of Harstad. The

European route E6 European route E6 (, , 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 through almost all of the countr ...

highway runs right through the center of Setermoen. Both the Bardu Church and the Setermoen military camp are located in Setermoen. Setermoen panorama

Setermoen Camp

Military education was established at Setermoen in 1898 because of its strategic location in the midst of the mountains, and is one of the oldest army camps in Norway today. In many ways, the

Norwegian Armed Forces The Norwegian Armed Forces () are the armed forces responsible for the defence of Norway. It consists of five branches, the Norwegian Army, the Royal Norwegian Navy, which includes the Norwegian Coast Guard, Coast Guard, the Royal Norwegian Air ...

has shaped Setermoen and the community through its presence. Altogether, about 1,000 soldiers and 500 officers are stationed here, making it the largest

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

in Norway. Stationed at Setermoen are the following battalions, which are part of

Brigade Nord Brigade Nord (Brig. N.; Northern Brigade) is the major combat formation and only brigade of the Norwegian Army, consisting of eight battalions and one military police company. It is mostly based in Troms (Bardu Municipality and Målselv Municipalit ...

: *'' Artilleribataljonen'' (artillery battalion) *''

Panserbataljonen The Armoured Battalion () is the first battalion and an infantry unit of the Norwegian Army. Although it is categorised as an Armoured cavalry, armoured unit, the battalion (strictly a battlegroup (army), battlegroup) primarily serves in the mecha ...

'' (armoured battalion) *'' Sanitetsbataljonen'' (medical battalion) *'' Etteretningsbataljonen'' (intelligence battalion) In 2007, the government began a massive renovation program at Setermoen. Most of the main buildings and barracks were torn down and new ones built. Costs of the project were nearly (about US$155 million). The reason for the project was the end of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

and the reorganization of the

Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army () is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway in 1628. The ...

from a mere mobilization force into a modern professional force, as this requires a lot more follow-up to the troops and better standards to attract more volunteers.

References

{{authority control Villages in Troms Populated places of Arctic Norway Bardu