Stor-Elvdal

Stor-Elvdal 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 Koppang. Other villages in the municipality include Atna, Evenstad, and Sollia.^[4]

Stor-Elvdal Municipality Stor-Elvdal kommune
Municipality
Stor-Elvdalen herred  (historic name) Store Elvdalen herred  (historic name)
The river Glomma running through the municipality
Flag Coat of arms
Innlandet within Norway
Stor-Elvdal within Innlandet
Coordinates: 61°38′6″N 10°52′27″E
Country	Norway
County	Innlandet
District	Østerdalen
Established	1 Jan 1838
• Created as	Formannskapsdistrikt
Administrative centre	Koppang
Government
• Mayor (2023)	Linda Otnes Henriksen (Ap)
Area
• Total	2,165.78 km2 (836.21 sq mi)
• Land	2,126.99 km2 (821.24 sq mi)
• Water	38.77 km2 (14.97 sq mi)  1.8%
• Rank	#29 in Norway
Population  (2023)
• Total	2,281
• Rank	#263 in Norway
• Density	1.1/km2 (3/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	−13.6%
Demonym	Storelvdøl[1]
Official language [2]
• Norwegian form	Bokmål
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-3423[3]
Website	Official website
Data from Statistics Norway

The 2,166-square-kilometre (836 sq mi) municipality is the 28th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Stor-Elvdal is the 263rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,281. The municipality's population density is 1.1 inhabitants per square kilometre (2.8/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 13.6% over the previous 10-year period.^[5][6]

General information

View of the Evenstad Bridge over the river Glomma

Aerial view of the valley just north of Koppang

The parish of Store Elvedalen was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the neighboring municipality of Sollia (population: 356) was merged with Stor-Elvdal (population: 3,808) to form a new, larger municipality of Stor-Elvdal.^[4][7]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named Stor-Elvdal after the large Elvdalen valley (Old Norse: Elfardalr) which was the historical name for the whole area. The first element is the genitive case of the word elfr which means "river", referring to the river Glomma which flows through the valley. The last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale". Thus this word means "river valley". The name also includes the prefix stor which means "big". This prefix was added to the old name "Elvdalen" to distinguish it from the nearby municipality of Lille Elvdalen ("little Elvdalen", later the name was shortened to Alvdal). In the late Middle Ages the two areas were distinguished using the words Ytre Elvdalen (meaning "outer" Elvdalen) and Øvre Elvdalen (meaning "upper" Elvdalen).^[4][8] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Store Elvdalen or Stor-Elvedalen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Stor-Elvdal, removing the definite form ending -en.^[9]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 12 February 1988. The official blazon is "Vert, two wood saws argent bendwise" (Norwegian: I grønt to skråstilte sølv tømmersager). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is two diagonal two-man saws. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The design and color were chosen to symbolize the importance of forestry in the municipality. The arms were designed by Even Jarl Skoglund. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.^[10][11][12]

Churches

The Church of Norway has four parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Stor-Elvdal. It is part of the Sør-Østerdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar.

Churches in Stor-Elvdal

Parish (sokn)	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Atneosen	Atneosen Church	Atna	1882
Sollia	Sollia Church	Sollia	1738
Stor-Elvdal	Evenstad Church	Evenstad	1904
	Koppang Church	Koppang	1952
	Stor-Elvdal Church	Negardshaugen	1821
Strand	Strand Church	Strand	1863

Government

Stor-Elvdal Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.^[13] The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Østre Innlandet District Court and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Stor-Elvdal is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Stor-Elvdal kommunestyre 2023–2027 ^[14]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	6
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	1
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Red Party (Rødt)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	2
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	2
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	3
Total number of members:		17

Stor-Elvdal kommunestyre 2019–2023 ^[15]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	6
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	1
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	5
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	2
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		17

Stor-Elvdal kommunestyre 2015–2019 ^[16][17]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	9
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	1
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	3
	Joint list of the Conservative Party (Høyre), Centre Party (Senterpartiet), and Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	4
Total number of members:		17

Stor-Elvdal kommunestyre 2011–2015 ^[18]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	9
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	1
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	2
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	1
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
	Local List for Stor-Elvdal (Bygdelista i Stor-Elvdal)	4
Total number of members:		21

Stor-Elvdal kommunestyre 2007–2011 ^[17]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	8
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	1
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	3
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	1
	Local List for Stor-Elvdal (Bygdelista i Stor-Elvdal)	5
Total number of members:		21

Stor-Elvdal kommunestyre 2003–2007 ^[17]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	8
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	1
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	3
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	1
	Local List for Stor-Elvdal (Bygdelista i Stor-Elvdal)	6
Total number of members:		21

Stor-Elvdal kommunestyre 1999–2003 ^[17]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	10
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	2
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
	Local List for Stor-Elvdal (Bygdelista i Stor-Elvdal)	7
Total number of members:		21

Stor-Elvdal kommunestyre 1995–1999 ^[19]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	11
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	3
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	1
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
	Stor-Elvdal in my heart (Stor-Elvdal i mitt hjerte)	9
Total number of members:		27

Stor-Elvdal kommunestyre 1991–1995 ^[20]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	12
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	4
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	7
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		27

Stor-Elvdal kommunestyre 1987–1991 ^[21]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	16
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	4
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	3
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	3
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		27

Stor-Elvdal kommunestyre 1983–1987 ^[22]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	18
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	4
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	3
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	2
Total number of members:		27

Stor-Elvdal kommunestyre 1979–1983 ^[23]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	16
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	4
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	4
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	3
Total number of members:		27

Stor-Elvdal kommunestyre 1975–1979 ^[24]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	18
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	5
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	2
Total number of members:		27

Stor-Elvdal kommunestyre 1971–1975 ^[25]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	18
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	5
	Socialist common list (Venstresosialistiske felleslister)	2
Total number of members:		27

Stor-Elvdal kommunestyre 1967–1971 ^[26]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	17
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	5
	Socialist People's Party (Sosialistisk Folkeparti)	3
Total number of members:		27

Stor-Elvdal kommunestyre 1963–1967 ^[27]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	16
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	3
Total number of members:		23

Stor-Elvdal herredsstyre 1959–1963 ^[28]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	15
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	3
Total number of members:		23

Stor-Elvdal herredsstyre 1955–1959 ^[29]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	14
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	1
	Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti)	5
	Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)	3
Total number of members:		23

Stor-Elvdal herredsstyre 1951–1955 ^[30]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	12
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	1
	Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti)	4
	Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)	3
Total number of members:		20

Stor-Elvdal herredsstyre 1947–1951 ^[31]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	11
	Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti)	6
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	3
Total number of members:		20

Stor-Elvdal herredsstyre 1945–1947 ^[32]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	12
	Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti)	6
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	2
Total number of members:		20

Stor-Elvdal herredsstyre 1937–1941* ^[33]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	11
	Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti)	2
	Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)	1
	Common List: Liberal Party and small farmholders (Samlingslista: Venstre og småbrukere)	2
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	4
Total number of members:		20
Note: Due to the German occupation of Norway during World War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945.

Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Stor-Elvdal by country of origin in 2017^[34]

Ancestry	Number
Netherlands	28
Germany	28
Eritrea	26
Poland	23
Syria	18

Mayors

The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Stor-Elvdal:

• 1889–1891: Ole Olsen Evenstad
• 1901-1904: Thore Myrvang (V)
• 1913-1916: Thore Myrvang (ArbDem)
• 1922-1925: Thore Myrvang (ArbDem)
• 1980–1995: Ola Kristiansen (Ap)^[35]
• 1995-1999: Sigmund Vestad (LL)
• 1999-2003: Øyvind Strand (Ap)
• 2003-2011: Sigmund Vestad (LL)
• 2011-2015: Even Moen (Sp)
• 2015-2019: Terje Hoffstad (Ap)
• 2019–2023: Even Moen (Sp)
• 2023-present: Linda Otnes Henriksen (Ap)^[36]

Geography

Stor-Elvdal is bordered on the north by the municipalities of Folldal and Alvdal, on the east by Rendalen, in the south by Åmot and Ringsaker, in the west by Øyer and Ringebu, and in the northwest by Sør-Fron.

The lake Atnsjøen is located in the northwestern part of the municipality, just outside Rondane National Park. The river Glomma runs through the municipality.

Storelgen ('The giant moose') outside Stor-Elvdal

Tourism

Stor-Elvdal boasts the second^[37] tallest moose statue in the world, a steel giant moose at the side of the Norwegian National Road 3.

Notable people

• Thore Embretsen Myrvang (1858–1939), an educator, politician, and three-time mayor of Stor-Elvdal
• Halldis Neegaard Østbye (1896 in Stor-Elvdal – 1983), a person known as "Norway's most fanatical Naziwoman" during WWII
• Torkel Andreas Trønnes (1925-2011), an automobile advocate who lived in Koppang

Sister cities

Stor-Elvdal has sister city agreements with the following places:^[38]

• Sõmeru Parish, Lääne-Viru County, Estonia

References

1. "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
2. "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
3. Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (26 January 2023). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
4. Thorsnæs, Geir, ed. (2 July 2021). "Stor-Elvdal". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
5. Statistisk sentralbyrå. "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian).
6. Statistisk sentralbyrå. "09280: Area of land and fresh water (km²) (M)" (in Norwegian).
7. Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
8. Rygh, Oluf (1900). Norske gaardnavne: Hedmarkens amt (in Norwegian) (3 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 353.
9. "Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. 1917. Samling af Love, Resolutioner m.m". Norsk Lovtidend (in Norwegian). Kristiania, Norge: Grøndahl og Søns Boktrykkeri: 1057–1065. 1917.
10. "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
11. "Stor-Elvdal, Hedmark (Norway)". Flags of the World. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
12. "Godkjenning av våpen og flagg". Lovdata.no (in Norwegian). Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet. 12 February 1988. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
13. Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
14. "Kommunestyrevalg 2023 - Innlandet". Valgdirektoratet. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
15. "Kommunestyrevalg 2019 - Innlandet". Valgdirektoratet. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
16. "Kommunestyrevalg 2015 - Hedmark". Valgdirektoratet.
17. "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway.
18. "Kommunestyrevalg 2011 - Hedmark". Valgdirektoratet.
19. "Kommunestyrevalget 1995" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1996.
20. "Kommunestyrevalget 1991" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1993.
21. "Kommunestyrevalget 1987" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1988.
22. "Kommunestyrevalget 1983" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1984.
23. "Kommunestyrevalget 1979" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1979.
24. "Kommunevalgene 1975" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1977.
25. "Kommunevalgene 1972" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1973.
26. "Kommunevalgene 1967" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1967.
27. "Kommunevalgene 1963" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1964.
28. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1959" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1960.
29. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957.
30. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952.
31. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948.
32. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947.
33. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938.
34. "Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents, by immigration category, country background and percentages of the population". ssb.no. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
35. "Ny Ordfører i Stor-Elvdal". Hamar Arbeiderblad (in Norwegian). 13 November 1979. p. 11.
36. "Historisk etter valget i Stor-Elvdal". NRK (in Norwegian). 18 September 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
37. "Mac the Moose reclaims world's tallest moose title after getting new rack". CBC News.
38. "Internasjonal kommune" (in Norwegian). Stor-Elvdal kommune. Retrieved 30 December 2008.

External links

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway (in Norwegian)