Eidskog Municipality

Eidskog is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vinger. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skotterud. Other villages in the municipality include Magnor, Matrand, and Åbogen.
The municipality is the 181st largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Eidskog Municipality is the 162nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,059. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 3.4% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality was established on 1 January 1864 when the old Vinger Municipality was divided in two: Vinger Municipality in the north and Eidskog Municipality in the south. On 1 January 1986, the northern part of the Åbogen area was transferred from Kongsvinger Municipality to Eidskog Municipality.
Historically, the municipality was part of the old Hedmark county. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became a part of the newly-formed Innlandet county.

Name

The municipality is named Eidskog since it was an old name for the area. The first element is the plural genitive case of which means "isthmus" or in this situation, a "path between two lakes". The first element is which means "woods" or "forest". Thus the name means "the woods with the many eiðs". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Eidskogen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Eidskog, removing the definite form ending -en.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 12 September 1986. The official blazon is "Argent, a grouse sable regardant crested gules". This means the arms have a field 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 charge is a black grouse with a red comb. The design was chosen since this type of bird is a common inhabitant of the many forests in the municipality. Forestry is also one of the main sources of income in the area. The arms were designed by Stein Davidsen. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes within Eidskog Municipality. It is part of the Solør, Vinger og Odal prosti in the Diocese of Hamar.

Parish	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Eidskog	Eidskog Church	Matrand	1665
Eidskog	Magnor Church	Magnor	1923
Vestmarka	Vestmarka Church	Vestmarka	1883

Geography

The municipality is located in the southeastern part of Innlandet county. It is bordered to the east and north by Kongsvinger Municipality, to the northwest by Sør-Odal Municipality, to the west by Nes Municipality and Aurskog-Høland Municipality, and to the south by Eda Municipality in Sweden.
The lakes Digeren, Mangen, and Skjervangen are all located in Eidskog Municipality. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Hornkjølberget, just south of the border with Kongsvinger Municipality.

History

The name Eidskog is ancient and was used for the southern part of Vinger, the region between today's Kongsvinger in Norway and Arvika in Sweden. The Vinger Royal Road historically traveled through Eidskog. It was one of the most important traffic arteries between Norway and Sweden. The name Eidskog was already in use during the saga period and became, after the canonization of Saint Olaf and important pilgrim's route from Europe to Nidaros Cathedral. During the 12th century, the Eidskog Church was built. It was a stave church built in Midtskog. The present Eidskog Church is built on the same site and this building was constructed in 1665.
The way through Eidskog was also militarily important and many times through history has been the point of Swedish strikes into Hedmark. To defend against these assaults, a number of fortifications were built in the vicinity, including ones at Magnor and Matrand, but the chief fortification was Kongsvinger Fortress.
The last Swedish attack through Eidskog was in 1814 when Major General Carl Pontus Gahn on July 31 crossed the border and marched against Kongsvinger. His forces were stopped at Lier outside Kongsvinger on 2 August 1814 by troops led by Lieutenant Colonel Andreas Samuel Krebs and retreated to Eidskog. On 4 August 1814, Krebs followed after to drive Swedish troops off Norwegian territory. The two forces met in the Battle of Matrand which was the bloodiest battle of the war and ended with a Norwegian victory.
Later in 1814, Norway was joined in union with Sweden and the confrontations at the Eidskog border ended.
The Soot Canal, constructed in 1849, has Norway's oldest sluice gates. It was the work of Engebret Soot. It was built to allow timber to be transported to the Halden sawmills. The canal was long and had 16 locks which extended from Lake Skjervangen at above sea level up to Lake Mortsjølungen at above sea level.
The route through Eidskog became an important connection between the two countries; this was strengthened with the opening of the Grenseban railway in 1862, which connected Christiania to Stockholm.

Government

Eidskog Municipality is 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 is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Romerike og Glåmdal District Court and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Eidskog Municipality is made up of 25 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayor of Eidskog 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:

1864–1872: Henry T. Fearnley
1872–1879: Haagen Pedersen Malmer
1879–1895: Meldal Johnsen
1895–1897: O. Løken
1897–1905: Hans Taugbøl
1905–1907: O. Løken
1908–1913: Otto Pramm
1913–1915: Ole Syversen Fagernæs
1915–1915: M. T. Huse
1915–1916: Olof Nilsson
1917–1919: Otto Pramm
1920–1922: H. A. Rambøl
1923–1928: Thorvald Taugbøl
1929–1934: Kaspar Billerud
1935–1945: Selmer Alm
1945–1947: Hallgrim Sørli
1948–1963: Sigurd Skjørberg
1964–1981: Ivar Delviken
1982–1983: Kaare Fjeld
1984–1999: Kåre Delviken
1999–2005: Ivar Skulstad
2005–2007: Greta Storm Ofteland
2007–2015: Knut Gustav Woie
2015–present: Kamilla Thue
Attractions
Soot Canal - the first lock constructed in Norway, used for log floating
Grenselosmuseet - museum on the route for escape to Sweden during the World War II
Oppistun Børli - poet Hans Børli's home
Morokulien - memorial to the long lasting peace with Sweden
Rønning Treski - last wood ski producer in Norway
Notable people
Erik Werenskiold, a painter and illustrator
Konrad Hirsch, a Swedish footballer who played in 1924 Summer Olympics
Julla Sæthern, a barrister, feminist, and Norwegian politician
Hans Børli, a poet, writer, and lumberjack
Torgrim Sollid, a composer and folk and jazz musician
Ivar Skulstad, a Norwegian politician and Mayor of Eidskog from 1999 to 2005
Kristin Solli Schøien, an author and composer who lives in Eidskog
Remi Eriksen, the Group President and CEO of DNV GL
Wilhelm Brenna, a retired ski jumper and junior world champion
Andreas Ulvo, a jazz pianist, organist, keyboardist, and composer