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 Steinkjer is a municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Innherad Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Steinkjer (town), town of Steinkjer which is located on th ...

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 Denmar ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a 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 Jan Mayen and t ...

. 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 ori ...

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. In the eastern part of the town, the river of

Figgja Figgja or Figga is a long river in the municipality of Steinkjer in Trøndelag county, Norway. The river drains the lake Leksdalsvatnet and flows north into Beitstadfjorden, the inner part of Trondheimsfjord, at the Steinkjer (town), town of Stei ...

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 t ...

highway and the

Nordlandsbanen The Nordland Line ( no, Nordlandsbanen, ) is a railway line between Trondheim and Bodø, Norway. It is the longest in Norway and lacks electrification. The route runs through the counties of Trøndelag (formerly Sør-Trøndelag and Nord-Trøndel ...

railway line run through the town, the latter serving the city at Steinkjer Station. Steinkjer Church 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, Nord-Trøndelag, Egge area, on the northern edge of the Steinkjer (town), town of Steinkjer ...

are both located in the town. Prior to 1 January 2018, the town was the administrative centre of Nord-Trøndelag county, and since that day it has been the seat of the newly created

county. This means the Trøndelag County Municipality 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 RosenberPopul ...

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 January ...

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 were ...

(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 Municip ...

. On 1 January 1964, a large merger took place: the neighboring municipalities of

Beitstad Beitstad () is a village in the municipality of Steinkjer in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located along the Beitstadsundet strait at the end of the Beitstadfjorden at the inner end of the Trondheimsfjord, about southwest of the vi ...

(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 settle ...

(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 Steinkjer (town), town of Steinkjer. The European route E6 highway runs through the village as does the Nordlandsbanen ...

(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

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