Furnes Municipality


Furnes is a former municipality in the old Hedmark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1891 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Ringsaker Municipality in the traditional district of Hedmarken. The administrative centre was the village of Furnes where the Furnes Church is located.
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 370th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Furnes Municipality was the 111th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 7,169. The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 17.6% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Furnes was established in 1891 when the old Vang Municipality was divided into two: Furnes Municipality in the west and Vang Municipality in the east. In 1947, a part of Furnes Municipality near the town of Hamar was transferred from Furnes Municipality to Hamar Municipality.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the following areas were merged to form a new, larger Ringsaker Municipality:
  • Furnes Municipality
  • Nes Municipality
  • Ringsaker Municipality
  • the Hamarsberget and Vikersødegården areas of Vang Municipality

    Name

The municipality is named after the old village of Furnes since the first Furnes Church was built there. The first element of the name has an unknown meaning, but it may have come from a local river such as Fura. Another possibility is that it comes from the word which means "pine tree" or "fir tree". The last element is which means "headland".

Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish within Furnes Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Furnes prestegjeld and the Hamar domprosti in the Diocese of Hamar.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
FurnesFurnes ChurchFurnes1707

Geography

Furnes Municipality was located in the Hedmarken district to the northeast of the large lake Mjøsa. Åmot Municipality was located to the north, Vang Municipality was located to the east, Hamar Municipality was located to the south, Nes Municipality was located to the southwest, and Ringsaker Municipality was located to the west. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Kroksjøhøgda in the far northern part of the municipality.

Government

While it existed, Furnes 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 Furnes Municipality was made up of 23 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 Furnes Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
  • 1891–1894: Lars Jesnæs
  • 1895–1896: Ole Rømer Aagaard Sandberg
  • 1897–1901: Erik Maurud
  • 1902–1907: Andreas H. Jestnæs
  • 1908–1910: Erik Jevanord
  • 1911–1919: Børre Vik
  • 1920–1925: Per L. Alhaug
  • 1926–1937: Karl Gålås
  • 1938–1940: Knud Lundby
  • 1941–1944: Karl Bakken
  • 1945–1945: Knud Lundby
  • 1946–1958: Ole Haget
  • 1959–1963: Peder Esbjørnsen