Hof Municipality (Hedmark)


Hof is a former municipality in the old Hedmark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1963. The area is now part of Åsnes Municipality in the traditional district of Solør. The administrative centre was the village of Hof where the old Hof Church is located.
Prior to its dissolution in 1963, the municipality was the 226th largest by area out of the 705 municipalities in Norway. Hof Municipality was the 272nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 3,285. The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 4.6% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Historically, the prestegjeld of Hof included the main parish plus the sub-parishes of Aasnes and Vaaler. The whole parish of Hof was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. In 1849, the two northern areas of Hof Municipality were separated to form the new Aasnes og Vaaler Municipality, which drastically reduced the size of Hof Municipality.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1963, Hof Municipality was merged into the neighboring Åsnes Municipality. On 1 January 1969 the Rotberget area in Åsnes Municipality, which had been a part of the old Hof Municipality until the 1963 merger, was transferred to the neighboring Grue Municipality.

Name

The municipality is named after the old Hof farm since the first Hof Church was built there. The name is identical with the word which means "shrine" or a "pagan temple hall".

Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish within Hof Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Hof prestegjeld and the Solør prosti in the Diocese of Hamar.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
HofHof ChurchHof1861
HofArneberg ChapelJammerdalen1878
HofHof Finnskog ChapelDulpetorpet1953

Geography

Hof was located in the traditional district of Solør. Hof Municipality was bordered by Grue Municipality to the south, Nord-Odal Municipality to the west, Romedal Municipality to the northwest, Åsnes Municipality to the north, and by the Kingdom of Sweden to the east. The eastern part of the municipality was part of the Finnskogen area. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Elgklintsrøysa, a tripoint on the border between Hof Municipality and Åsnes Municipality in Norway and Finnskoga-Dalby Municipality in Sweden.

Government

While it existed, Hof 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 Hof Municipality was made up of 19 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 Hof Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position :
  • 1838–1841: H.L. Bergh
  • 1848-1848: Mr. Poppe
  • 1849–1849: Mr. Simensen
  • 1850–1852: Pastor Storen
  • 1860–1871: M. Isaksen
  • 1872–1879: J. Noer
  • 1880–1891: H.G. Kveseth
  • 1892–1893: Christian Lommerud
  • 1893–1895: A. Borg
  • 1896–1897: Christian Lommerud
  • 1898–1898: H. Østmoe
  • 1899–1904: H.G. Kveseth
  • 1905–1907: Gustav Kirkemo
  • 1908–1916: Lauritz Kluge
  • 1917–1919: Arne Hauger
  • 1920–1922: Asbjørn Kluge
  • 1922–1925: Arne Hauger
  • 1925–1929: Harald Hunsager
  • 1929–1931: Marius Mathisen
  • 1932–1944: Kristian Råberget
  • 1945–1945: Arne Aanstad
  • 1945–1959: Kåre Torp
  • 1959–1963: Thorstein Haugen