Tinn


Tinn is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional districts of Aust-Telemark and Upper Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Rjukan. Some of the villages in Tinn include Atrå, Austbygde, Hovin, and Miland.
The municipality is the 34th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Tinn is the 172nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 5,546. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 7.1% over the previous 10-year period.
The Krossobanen is the oldest aerial tramway in Northern Europe. It was built in 1928 as a gift from Norsk Hydro. The Hardangervidda National Park center is located at the lake Møsvatn, just east of Tinn.

General information

The parish of Tind was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. In 1860, the southeastern area of the municipality around the village of Hovin was separated from Tinn to become part of the newly created Gransherad Municipality. On 24 March 1903, an unpopulated area of Tinn Municipality was transferred to Hovin Municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the neighboring municipality of Hovin was dissolved. All of Hovin located east of the lake Tinnsjå was merged into Tinn Municipality.

Name

The municipality comes from an old name for the area or an old name for the local Tinnsjå. The name is possibly derived from the word which means "small lake" or "pond". Historically, the name was spelled Tind.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 25 November 1994. The official blazon is "Argent, five gouttes de larmes, three and two". This means the arms have a 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 charge is a set of five gouttes of water. This design was chosen to represent the five rivers in the municipality and the hydropower plants near Rjukan. The arms were designed by Halvor Holtskog. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes within the municipality of Tinn. It is part of the Øvre Telemark prosti in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
RjukanDal ChurchRjukan1775
RjukanRjukan ChurchRjukan1915
TinnAtrå ChurchAtrå1836
TinnAustbygde ChurchAustbygde1888
TinnHovin ChurchHovin1850
TinnMæl ChurchMiland1839

History

The Rjukan Falls, located on the Måna river, allowed construction of Vemork, the largest power station in the world in 1911. The station has become a museum where one can explore the history of the energy and see exhibits about the industrial development in Norway and in the town of Rjukan.
The museum at Vemork is most famous for its presentation of Rjukan's war history. During World War II, Vemork was the site of the Norwegian heavy water sabotage, when Norwegian saboteurs prevented the Germans from producing nuclear weapons from the heavy water which was produced here. The exhibit Atomkappløpet presents the four heavy water sabotages and the allied efforts to develop a nuclear bomb.

Government

Tinn 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 Tinn 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 mayors of Tinn:
  • 1838-1839: Ole Nilsen Besager
  • 1840-1841: Halvor Torgersen Rollag
  • 1842-1843: Gjermund S. Graver
  • 1844-1845: Søren Schive
  • 1846-1849: Tore Hemsen
  • 1850-1853: Gjermund S. Graver
  • 1854-1861: Ole Knudsen
  • 1862-1863: Ole Gjermundsen Bakke
  • 1864-1881: Ole Knudsen
  • 1882-1883: Ole Gjermundsen Bakke
  • 1884-1885: Hølje H. Klonteig
  • 1886-1895: Ole Knudsen
  • 1896-1899: Ola O. Haugan
  • 1899-1900: Kristen O. Bøen
  • 1901-1916: Knut H. Klonteig
  • 1917-1919: Ole O. Bakke
  • 1920-1937: Johan O. Bryn
  • 1938-1940: Kristen Vaalund
  • 1945-1945: L.P. Petersen
  • 1946-1946: Kristen Vaalund
  • 1946-1959: Isak Bergan
  • 1960-1967: Sigurd Kolltveit
  • 1968-1973: Reidar Engell Olsen
  • 1974-1987: Einar Haatvedt
  • 1987-1993: Øystein Dahle
  • 1993-1999: Olav Ulleren
  • 1999-2003: Berit Stormoen
  • 2004-2010: Erik Haatvedt
  • 2010-2011: Turid Opedal
  • 2011-2015: Steinar Bergsland
  • 2015-2019: Bjørn Sverre Birkeland
  • 2019–2023: Steinar Bergsland
  • 2023-present: Kathrine Haatvedt

    Geography

Tinn borders the municipality of Nore og Uvdal to the north; Rollag and Flesberg to the east; Notodden, Hjartdal, and Seljord to the south, and Vinje to the west.
Most of Tinn is quite rural. The town of Rjukan is the largest settlement. It is located in the Vestfjorddalen valley, through which the Måna river flows.
Tinn stretches deeply into the Hardangervidda landscape. One landmark in Tinn is the tall mountain Gaustatoppen, which is climbed by 30,000 people each year. On clear days it is possible to see one sixth of Norway from its summit. Other areas include the Blefjell mountains, with Bletoppen being the highest mountain in that area and also the Vegglifjell mountains, with Skirveggen being the highest mountain in that area.
There are several large lakes in Tinn, including Tinnsjå and Kalhovdfjorden.

Notable people

WWII heavy water saboteurs