Heidal Municipality


Heidal is a former municipality in the old Oppland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1908 until its dissolution in 1965. The area is now part of Sel Municipality in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre was the village of Bjølstad where the Heidal Church is located. The municipality encompassed the whole Heidal valley area.
Prior to its dissolution in 1965, the municipality was the 253rd largest by area out of the 525 municipalities in Norway. Heidal Municipality was the 426th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,730. The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 3.2% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Heidal was established on 1 January 1908. On that date, the large Vaage Municipality was divided into three parts:
  • the northeast part became Sel Municipality
  • the southeast part became Heidal Municipality
  • the western part remained as Vaage Municipality.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the following areas were merged to form a new, larger Sel Municipality:
The municipality is named after the Heidal valley since the first Heidal Church was built there. The meaning of the first element is uncertain. It is possible that it comes from the old name for the local river Sjoa. The old river name was likely Hjó which is identical to the word which is the first and third person indicative case of the word which means "to hew" or "to chop". The last element is which means "valley" or "dale". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Hedalen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Heidal, adding an "i" and removing the definite form ending -en.

Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish within Heidal Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Sel prestegjeld and the Nord-Gudbrandsdal prosti in the Diocese of Hamar.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
HeidalHeidal ChurchBjølstad1941

Geography

The municipality is in the Heidal valley. Nord-Fron Municipality is to the south and east, Vågå Municipality was to the west and north, and Sel Municipality was to the northeast. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Mukampen.

Government

While it existed, Heidal 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 Heidal was made up of 13 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 Heidal Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
  • 1908–1910: Jørgen Nielsen
  • 1911–1925: Ivar Dahle
  • 1926–1928: Sverre Glad
  • 1928–1937: Ivar Dahle
  • 1937–1940: Ola O. Hjellet
  • 1941–1945: Thor Tofte
  • 1945–1959: Ola O. Hjellet
  • 1959–1964: Olav Steinfinsbø