Brandbu Municipality
Brandbu is a former municipality in the old Oppland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1897 until its dissolution in 1962. The area is now part of Gran Municipality in the traditional district of Hadeland. The administrative centre was the village of Brandbu.
Prior to its dissolution in 1962, the municipality was the 205th largest by area out of the 731 municipalities in Norway. Brandbu Municipality was the 113th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about. The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 1.2% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The municipality of Brandbu was established on 1 January 1897 when the old Gran Municipality was divided. The northern part became Brandbu Municipality and the southern part remained as Gran Municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, Brandbu Municipality was merged with most of Gran Municipality to form a new, larger Gran Municipality. Two years later, on 1 January 1964, a small part of the old Brandbu located along the south shore of the lake Einavatnet was transferred from Gran Municipality to Vestre Toten Municipality.Name
The municipality is named after the old Brandbu farm. The first element of the name comes from the plural genitive case of the word which means "burned" or "fire". The last element is which means "house" or "dwelling".Churches
The Church of Norway had two parishes within Brandbu Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Brandbu prestegjeld and the Hadeland og Land prosti in the Diocese of Hamar.| Parish | Church name | Location of the church | Year built |
| Brandbu | Nes Church | Røykenvik | 1730 |
| Brandbu | Sørum Chapel | Bjoneroa | 1861 |
| Tingelstad | Tingelstad Church | Tingelstad | 1866 |
| Tingelstad | Old Tingelstad Church | Tingelstad | |
| Tingelstad | Moen Chapel | Jaren | 1914 |
Geography
The municipality included land on both sides of the large lake Randsfjorden, although most of the municipal residents lived on the east side of the lake. Søndre Land Municipality was located to the north, Eina Municipality was located to the northeast, Hurdal Municipality was located to the east, Gran Municipality was located to the south, and Ådal Municipality was located to the west. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Høgkorset.Government
While it existed, Brandbu Municipality was responsible for primary education, outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.Municipal council
The municipal council of Brandbu Municipality was made up of 25 representatives that were elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.Mayors
The mayor of Brandbu Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:- 1897–1899: Ole Hansen Egge
- 1900–1904: Even Raassum
- 1905–1922: Ole Hansen Egge
- 1923–1925: Lars Bleken
- 1926–1934: Ole Hansen Egge
- 1935–1940: Thorvald Ulsnæs
- 1940–1945: Ingolf Drøvdal
- 1945–1945: Thorvald Ulsnæs
- 1946–1961: Jens Røisli