Nordre Land Municipality


Nordre Land is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Land. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dokka. Other villages in the municipality include Vest-Torpa, Nord-Torpa, Aust-Torpa, Fagerlund, and Nordsinni.
The municipality is the 122nd largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Nordre Land Municipality is the 151st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,544. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 2.8% over the previous 10-year period.
WWW nordre-land.kommune.no𝕏 NordreLand

General information

The old Land Municipality was established on 1 January 1838 after the formannskapsdistrikt law went into effect. This municipality was quite large and in less than a decade, the municipality was divided. In 1847, the old Land Municipality was divided into Nordre Land Municipality in the north and Søndre Land Municipality in the south. On 1 January 1868, a part of Søndre Land Municipality was transferred to Nordre Land Municipality. On 1 January 1914, Nordre Land Municipality was divided into two municipalities: Torpen Municipality in the north and Nordre Land Municipality in the south. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, Nordre Land Municipality was merged with the neighboring Torpa Municipality and the Tranlia and Store Røen areas of the neighboring Fluberg Municipality.
Historically, this municipality was part of the old Oppland county. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became a part of the newly-formed Innlandet county.

Name

The municipality is named after the historical district of Land which was once a petty kingdom of its own. The name is identical to the word which means "land". In 1847, when the old Land Municipality was divided, the municipality was named Nordre Land, using the old name plus the word which means "northern", therefore the name means " northern Land".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 20 November 1987. The official blazon is "Azure, two log-driving hooks Or addorsed issuant from the base". This means the arms have a blue field and the charge is two hooks for log driving which are aligned vertically like a mirror image. The charge has a tincture of Or (heraldry) which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The blue color in the field symbolizes the local rivers and lakes. The log driving hook was chosen because of the rich local traditions of forestry and log driving, including the vast number of log dams within the area. Tools were required for the log driving, and the local blacksmiths made pike poles. Every blacksmith created his own shape or design for the poles, and one of the most famous pike poles in Nordre Land was the design made by the blacksmith Kristian Halden. In addition to pike poles he made knives. The poles and knives were named "Hæillhakar" and "Hæillakniver" by the locals. It is the "Halden Pole" which has been the model for the municipal arms of Nordre Land. The arms were designed by Dag Magne Staurheim. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has four parishes within Nordre Land Municipality. It is part of the Hadeland og Land prosti in the Diocese of Hamar.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
LundeLunde Church (Innlandet)Lunde1769
NordsinniHaugner ChurchNordsinni1950
NordsinniNordsinni ChurchNordsinni1758
TorpaKinn ChurchAust-Torpa1956
TorpaÅmot ChurchFagerlund1823
ØstsinniØstsinni ChurchDokka1877
ØstsinniVølstad ChurchVølstad1959

Geography

Nordre Land Municipality is located in the traditional district of Land. It is bordered on the north by Nord-Aurdal Municipality and Gausdal Municipality, on the northeast by Lillehammer Municipality, on the east by Gjøvik Municipality, on the south by Søndre Land Municipality, on the southwest by Sør-Aurdal Municipality, and on the west by Etnedal Municipality.
The river Etna flows from Etnedal and through western parts of the municipality down into the Randsfjorden. Lake Akksjøen is also in this area. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Spåtind.

Government

Nordre Land 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 Vestoppland og Valdres District Court and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Nordre Land Municipality is made up of 23 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 Nordre Land 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:
  • 1847–1848: Ole Hannibal Lie
  • 1849–1856: Arne Baggerud
  • 1857–1861: Johannes Sollien
  • 1862–1865: Halvard Hauk Alsing
  • 1866–1872: Johannes Frøsaker
  • 1872–1879: Haldor Eriksen Felde
  • 1880–1885: Oluf Kind
  • 1886–1887: Haldor Eriksen Felde
  • 1888–1890: G. Andersen
  • 1890–1910: Christian Snilsberg
  • 1911–1918: Nikolai Lien
  • 1919–1921: Torstein Rudi
  • 1922–1924: Henrik Hagen
  • 1925–1931: Torstein Rudi
  • 1932–1944: Nils Rognerud
  • 1946–1955: Odd Brekke
  • 1956–1984: Hans Christian Endrerud
  • 1984–1995: Nils Herman Sundby
  • 1996–2002: Rolf Ødegård
  • 2002–2004: Rolf Rønningen
  • 2004–2015: Liv Solveig Alfstad
  • 2015–present: Ola Tore Dokken

Attractions

Notable people

Sport