Løten Municipality


Løten is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Hedmarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Løten. Other villages in the municipality include Ådalsbruk, Heimdal, and Brenneriroa.
The municipality is the 246th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Løten Municipality is the 133rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 7,931. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 5.1% over the previous 10-year period.
WWW Official Site

General information

The parish of Løiten was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. The spelling of the name was later changed to Løten. The boundaries of the municipality have never changed.
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 Løten farm. The actual farm is probably the one which is now called Prestgarden, where the first Løten Church was built. The first element is which means "hollow depression". The last element is which means "meadow" or "pasture". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Leuten or Leuthen. In 1838 the spelling was changed to Løiten. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Løten.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 7 September 1984. The official blazon is "Gules, a drinking horn Or". This means the arms have a red field and the charge is a drinking horn from the Middle Ages. The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. It represents the historical importance of growing wheat and also the products of the modern Løiten Brænderi, which was established in 1855. The arms were designed by Harald Trætteberg. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish within Løten Municipality. It is part of the Hamar domprosti in the Diocese of Hamar.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
LøtenLøten ChurchLøtenc. 1200
LøtenOppegård ChapelOppegård1886
LøtenOset ChapelOset1885

History

There has been traffic from east to west through Løten, throughout all recorded periods of history and archeological evidence supports earlier trade along this route. The old village center was formed around the Løten Church, which was built during the 13th century.
When King Christian IV of Denmark prohibited the importation of German beer in the early 17th Century, distillation began in Norway. In 1624, distilled alcohol was prohibited at weddings, and by 1638 King Christian forbade the clergy the right to distill in their own homes. The corn-growing districts of Løten, Vang, and Romedal all became famous for their distilleries. "Gamle Løiten" from Løiten Brænderi, which was established in 1855, was a highly prized "akvavit" produced in Løten.
When the railway was opened in 1862, Løten Station became the new centre of trade and management. The area around the new station grew up as the present village of Løten.

Government

Løten 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 Løten is made up of 25 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 Løten 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:
  • 1838–1839: Axel Quinsgård
  • 1840–1840: T.A. Gjestvang
  • 1841–1844: Ole Rasmussen Grøholt
  • 1847–1848: Johan Fredrik Wilhelm Larsen
  • 1849–1856: Ole Rasmussen Grøholt
  • 1857–1864: Hedvard Norderhaug
  • 1865–1866: Per Sigstad
  • 1867–1868: Jens Grøholt
  • 1873–1874: Thore Sigstad, Jr.
  • 1875–1875: Jens Grøholt
  • 1881–1882: Håkon Qvæken
  • 1883–1884: Mathias Rustad
  • 1885–1886: Thv. Gjestvang
  • 1887–1890: Mathias Rustad
  • 1891–1891: Thv. Gjestvang
  • 1892–1894: Johan D. Karterud
  • 1895–1898: Ole Imset
  • 1899–1901: Karl Wefring
  • 1902–1907: Gudbrand Søberg
  • 1908–1910: Edvard Holth
  • 1911–1913: Johan Kleppen
  • 1914–1916: J. Englaugsmoen
  • 1917–1919: N. Thorshaug
  • 1920–1925: M.A. Nordli
  • 1926–1928: Kristen O. Ommang
  • 1929–1931: M.A. Nordli
  • 1932–1940: Oscar Wilhelm Nilssen
  • 1941–1945: Einar Myki
  • 1945–1955: Oscar W. Nilssen
  • 1956–1959: M.A. Nordli
  • 1960–1967: Ole L. Skaugerud
  • 1968–1979: Leif Hjelsengsveen
  • 1980–1997: Even Østlund
  • 1997–1999: Bente Elin Lilleøkseth
  • 1999–2007: Martin Skramstad
  • 2007–2019: Bente Elin Lilleøkseth
  • 2019–present: Marte Larsen Tønseth

Geography

Løten lies in the eastern part of the traditional district of Hedmarken. It is surrounded by Hamar Municipality to the west-northwest, Stange Municipality to the west-southwest, and Elverum Municipality to the east. Small portions of Løten Municipality border on Åmot Municipality in the far north and Våler Municipality in the south. The Hedmarksvidda moorland lies in the north.
Løten lies along the "border" between the agricultural wheat fields of the lower part of Eastern Norway, and the taiga that stretch from eastern Norway all the way to Siberia. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Gitvola which is located on the Løten-Åmot municipal border.
The border area between the cultivated farm land and the wilderness was written about by the poet Rolf Jacobsen, from Hamar, in his classic poem Tanker ved Ånestadkrysset .

Notable people