Orkland Municipality


Orkland is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Orkdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Orkanger. Some of the other notable population centres in the municipality include Å, Bjørnli, Drogsetmoen, Fannrem, Geitastrand, Hoston, Ingdalen, Kjøra, Krokstadøra, Lensvik, Løkken Verk, Meldal, Råbygda, Selbekken, Storås, Svorkmo, Thamshavn, Vassbygda, Vernes, and Vormstad.
The municipality is the 42nd largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Orkland Municipality is the 71st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 18,793. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 2.6% over the previous 10-year period.
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General information

Orkland Municipality was established on 1 January 2020 after a large municipal merger which combined Agdenes Municipality, Orkdal Municipality, Meldal Municipality, and most of Snillfjord Municipality.

Name

The municipality is named after the Orkdalen valley. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the river Ork. The last element is which means "land". From 1920-1963, there was another Orkland Municipality that existed within the borders of the present-day Orkland Municipality (although the historic one was vastly smaller.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms for the municipality was approved in 2019. It is somewhat of a combination of the old Coat of arms of Meldal and Coat of arms of Orkdal. The arms are divided horizontally by a wavy line with green above and silver below representing agriculture and forestry and the sea and water. In the centre of the arms there is a gear which represents the industry of the community. The colors of the gear are inverted from the background.

Churches

The Church of Norway had eight parishes within Orkland Municipality. It is part of the Orkdal prosti in the Diocese of Nidaros.
Parish Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear built
AgdenesAgdenes ChurchVernes1857
AgdenesLensvik ChurchLensvik1863
AgdenesIngdal ChapelIngdalen1960
GeitastrandGeitastrand ChurchGeitastrand1859
LøkkenLøkken ChurchBjørnli1929
MeldalMeldal ChurchMeldal1988
OrkangerOrkanger ChurchOrkanger1892
OrkdalOrkdal ChurchFannrem1893
OrkdalSøvasskjølen ChurchSvorksjødalen1981
OrklandMoe ChurchVormstad1867
SnillfjordSnillfjord ChurchKrokstadøra1898

Geography

The municipality encompasses a lot of the Orkdalen valley, plus coastal areas along the Trondheimsfjorden and Trondheimsleia. Hitra Municipality, Heim Municipality, and Rindal Municipality are located to the west, Rennebu Municipality is to the south, and Midtre Gauldal Municipality, Melhus Municipality, and Skaun Municipality are located to the east. Trondheim Municipality is located to the east, on the opposite side of the Orkdalsfjorden. Indre Fosen Municipality and Ørland Municipality are both located to the north, across the Trondheimsfjorden. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Resfjellet, near the border with Rindal Municipality.

Government

Orkland 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 Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Orkland Municipality is made up of 43 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 Orkland 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:
  • 20202023: Oddbjørn Bang
  • 2023present: Hanne Nyhus

Notable people