Hegra Municipality
Hegra is a former municipality in the old Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1874 until its dissolution in 1962. The municipality was located in the Stjørdalen valley. It encompassed the eastern two-thirds of the what is now Stjørdal Municipality in Trøndelag county. The administrative centre was the village of Hegra where the Hegra Church is located.
Prior to its dissolution in 1962, the municipality was the 159th largest by area out of the 731 municipalities in Norway. Hegra Municipality was the 337th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 2,762. The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 1.5% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The municipality of Hegra was established on 1 January 1874 when the old Øvre Stjørdalen Municipality was divided in two: Meråker Municipality in the east and Hegra Municipality in the west. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, Hegra Municipality was merged with the neighboring Lånke Municipality, Skatval Municipality, and Stjørdal Municipality to form a new, larger Stjørdal Municipality.Name
The municipality is named after the old Hegre farm since the first Hegra Church was built there. The name was originally a compound of two words. The first element is named after the local river Hegra. The river name is based on the word which means "heron". The last element is which means "meadow" or "pasture". Thus the name means something like "heron meadow".Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Hegre. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Hegra.
Churches
The Church of Norway had one parish within Hegra Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Øvre Stjørdal prestegjeld and the Stjørdal prosti in the Diocese of Nidaros.| Parish | Church name | Location of the church | Year built |
| Hegra | Hegra Church | Hegra | 1783 |
| Hegra | Floren Chapel | Flornes | 1902 |
| Hegra | Okkelberg Chapel | Skjelstadmarka | 1905 |
Geography
The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Storskarven, located on a tripoint border with Meråker Municipality, Selbu Municipality, and this municipality.Government
While it existed, Hegra 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 Frostating Court of Appeal.Municipal council
The municipal council of Hegra Municipality was made up of 21 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 Hegra Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who held this position:- 1874–1889: Olav Torsteinsen Bjørgum
- 1890–1893: Mikal Setsaas
- 1894–1897: John Halvorsen Øverkil
- 1898–1898: Gunerius Pedersen Hofstad
- 1899–1910: Ole Gundersen
- 1911–1922: John Lerfald
- 1923–1937: Torstein Mørseth
- 1938–1941: Johan Peter Trøite
- 1941–1941: Gunnar Børset
- 1941–1944: Lars O. Setran
- 1944–1945: Anders Ingstad
- 1945–1945: Johan Peter Trøite
- 1946–1947: Ole J. Hofstad
- 1948–1951: Magne Bremseth
- 1952–1955: Lars Bidtnes
- 1956–1957: Johan Fornes
- 1958–1959: Karl Kringen
- 1960–1961: Jon Leirfall