Nome, Norway


Nome is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Midt-Telemark and historically part of the Grenland region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ulefoss. Other villages include Bjervamoen, Ulefoss, Helgja, Flåbygd, and Svenseid.
The municipality is the 230th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Nome is the 150th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,559. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 1% over the previous 10-year period.
Nome is a large agricultural and forestry municipality. The agricultural area in Nome is approximately. Forest harvesting averaged annually in the five-year period 2017–2021. Just over half was spruce, the rest was pine.

General information

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. The municipality of Nome was established on 1 January 1964 when the two neighboring municipalities of Holla and Lunde were merged.

Name

The municipality is named after the Nomevatnet lake which is at the start of the river Eidselva. The meaning of the name is uncertain. It may be related to the first element in the name Numedal.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 10 March 1989. The official blazon is "Per bend sinistre dancetty argent and azure". This means the arms are divided with a diagonal line that is dancetty. The field below the line has a tincture of blue. Above the line, the 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 design is meant to represent the Telemark Canal and its locks to raise and lower boats. The canal was built in the 19th century and it runs through the municipality, connecting the lake Bandak to the North Sea. The arms were designed by Øyvind Larsen. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes within the municipality of Nome. It is part of the Øvre Telemark prosti in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
Holla og HelgenHelgen ChurchHelgja1735
Holla og HelgenHolla ChurchUlefoss1867
Holla og HelgenRomnes ChurchRomnes1100s
Lunde og FlåbygdFlåbygd ChurchFlåbygd1822
Lunde og FlåbygdLandsmarka ChapelLandsmarka1895
Lunde og FlåbygdLunde ChurchBjervamoen1822

Romnes Church is a Romanesque stone church that was built between 1150 and 1250. The church was constructed of stone joined with lime, while the corners consist of limestone. The apse and nave has a flat ceiling, while the choir has vaulted wood ceilings. The entrance portal to the west is of decorated stone. The church also had an entrance on the south wall in the choir. The pulpit and baroque altarpiece are from the 1700s. The square bell tower dates to the end of the 1800s. The church currently has curved red bricks on the roof. During the restoration in 1921, murals from the late Middle Ages were restored. Additional restoration was conducted between 1966 and 1967.

Government

Nome 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 Telemark District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Nome is made up of 21 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 mayors of Nome :