Hamar Municipality
Hamar Municipality is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Hedmarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hamar. Other settlements in Hamar include Hjellum, Slemsrud, Ridabu, Ingeberg, and Ilseng.
The municipality is the 250th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Hamar Municipality is the 31st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 33,441. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 11.4% over the previous 10-year period.
Among the municipality's responsibilities of local government, it also runs nine primary and three lower secondary schools, with a combined 3,115 pupils. The municipality also owns the power company Hamar Energi, and the sports venues Briskeby Arena, Vikingskipet, and Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre.
General information
In 1848, the village of Hamar was granted kjøpstad status for a land area of about. This newly designated "town" was separated from Vang Municipality and Hamar was established as a separate municipality in 1849. On 1 January 1878, Hamar Municipality was enlarged by annexing about of land and 138 people from Vang Municipality to Hamar Municipality. In 1946, a large area in Vang Municipality that surrounded the town of Hamar was transferred out of Vang Municipality and into Hamar Municipality. The next year in 1947, part of the neighboring Furnes Municipality was transferred into Hamar Municipality. On 1 January 1965, a part of Ringsaker Municipality was transferred into Hamar Municipality.On 1 January 1992, Vang Municipality was merged with Hamar Municipality and parts of the Stensby, Hanstad, Viker, and Stammerud areas of Ringsaker Municipality to form a new, larger Hamar 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 after the old Hamar farm. The medieval market was first built on this farm and that market eventually became a kjøpstad, the town of Hamar. This town later became a self-governing municipality. The name is identical with the word which means "stone" or "rocky hill".Coat of arms
The coat of arms was first granted on 2 June 1896 and re-granted on 9 July 1993. The official blazon is "Argent, a grouse sable displayed standing on a pine tree issuant from the base". 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 sitting at the top of a pine tree. An older version of the arms had been used for a long time. The old version was first described in the anonymous Hamar Chronicle, written in 1553. Since then, it has been generally kept the same, although it has had some minor revisions over the years. The arms were designed by Andreas Bloch and by Per Solheim and Arvid Steen. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.Churches
The Church of Norway has two parishes within Hamar Municipality. It is part of the Hamar domprosti in the Diocese of Hamar.| Parish | Church name | Location of the church | Year built |
| Hamar | Hamar Cathedral | Hamar | 1866 |
| Hamar | Storhamar Church | Hamar | 1975 |
| Vang | Vang Church | Ridabu | 1810 |
| Vang | Øvre Vang Church | Slemsrud | 1907 |
Geography
The municipality of Hamar lies along the eastern shore of the large lake Mjøsa. The rivers Flakstadelva, Lageråa, and Svartelva run through the municipality. The municipality lies to the east of Ringsaker Municipality, to the south of Åmot Municipality, to the west of Løten Municipality, and to the north of Stange Municipality. The highest point in the municipality was the point on the side of Kroksjøhøgda.Climate
Hamar has a humid continental climate with fairly dry and cold winters, and comfortably warm summers. The Hamar II weather station, at an elevation of, started recording in 1968. The all-time high was recorded in July 2018, which was the warmest month on record with average daily high and mean. The all-time low is from in December 2010, which was a very cold month with mean and average daily low. A previous weather station recorded the coldest month on record with mean in January 1917. In August 1975, the weather station "Staur Forsøksgård" in nearby Stange recorded.Government
Hamar 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 Hedmarken og Østerdal District Court and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.Municipal council
The municipal council of Hamar Municipality is made up of 39 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 Hamar 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:- 1849–1851: Henrik Christian Borchgrevink
- 1852–1853: P.J. Major
- 1854–1854: Hans Arveschoug Samuelsen
- 1855–1855: Bernt Magnus Kinck
- 1856–1856: Hans Arveschoug Samuelsen
- 1857–1857: Bernt Magnus Kinck
- 1858–1858: Peter Nicolai Zernichow Arentz
- 1859–1859: Holger Bierch Matheson
- 1860–1860: Hans Arveschoug Samuelsen
- 1861–1861: Peter Nicolai Zernichow Arentz
- 1862–1862: Hans Arveschoug Samuelsen
- 1863–1863: Christian Fredrik Stoud Platou
- 1864–1864: Hans Arveschoug Samuelsen
- 1865–1866: Rudolph Falck
- 1867–1867: Hans Arveschoug Samuelsen
- 1868–1868: Bernt Magnus Kinck
- 1868–1869: Andreas Steen
- 1870–1870: Johannes Olsen
- 1871–1873: Andreas Steen
- 1874–1874: Johannes Olsen
- 1875–1875: Martinus Schjerden
- 1876–1876: Bernt Magnus Kinck
- 1877–1877: Martinus Schjerden
- 1878–1878: Oluf Saxe
- 1878–1881: Andreas Steen
- 1882–1882: Martinus Schjerden
- 1883–1885: Jens Jenssen
- 1885–1885: Bernt Magnus Kinck
- 1886–1901: Carl Willoch Ludvig Horn
- 1902–1907: Gabriel Andreas Stoud Platou
- 1908–1910: Gustav Heiberg
- 1911–1913: Just Johan Bing Broch
- 1913–1913: Engebret H. Brændholen
- 1914–1916: Gustav Heiberg
- 1917–1919: Fredrik Monsen
- 1919–1920: Ole Anderssen
- 1920–1926: Carl Holst Larsen
- 1927–1931: Nicolai Helland
- 1932–1932: Johannes Bergh
- 1933–1933: Sigurd Pedersen
- 1934–1934: Johannes Bergh
- 1935–1935: Sigurd Pedersen
- 1935–1946: Kristian Bakken
- 1941–1945: Einar Grill Fasting
- 1946–1967: Erling Audensen
- 1968–1975: Kristian Birger Gundersen
- 1975–1991: Egil Oddvar Larsen
- 1992–1999: Odd Aspeli
- 1999–2011: Einar Busterud
- 2011–2015: Morten Aspeli
- 2015–2023: Einar Busterud
- 2023–present: Vigdis Stensby
Transportation