Lierne Municipality

Lierne is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region, and it is the largest municipality by area in Trøndelag. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sandvika. Other villages include Inderdal, Mebygda, and Tunnsjø senter. The municipality borders Sweden to the south and east. Most of Lierne Municipality lies on the Swedish side of the drainage divide between Norway and Sweden.

The municipality is the 16th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Lierne Municipality is the 314th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,301. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 6.1% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

File:Sørli kirke fra RA.jpg

Sørli Church

The municipality of Lierne was established on 1 January 1874 when it was separated from the large Snaasen Municipality. Initially, the population of Lierne Municipality was 1,015. On 1 July 1915, it was divided into two: Nordli Municipality (population: 863) in the north and Sørli Municipality (population: 739) in the south. This division, however, was short-lived. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Nordli Municipality and Sørli Municipality were merged back together again under the former name Lierne Municipality. After the merger, there were 2,045 residents in the new municipality.

On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Nord-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old name for the region (Template:Langx) which means "mountainside" (similar to the Norwegian word li). Historically, the prefix Finna- was often added to the name: . This prefix is the plural genitive case of which means "Sami person" (or Finn) because the district historically had a significant sami population. Later, the prefix was dropped and the definite plural form of li was used, Lierne. The li name lives on in many places in the municipality such as Nordli and Sørli.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 3 February 1984. The official blazon is "Azure, three grouses argent, two over one" (Template:Langx). This means the arms have a COLOR field (background) and the charge is three Willow Ptarmigans (Lagopus lagopus), a type of local grouse. The ptarmigan design has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. This design was chosen because these birds are plentiful in the area. Historically, hunting ptarmigan was of great importance for the survival of the inhabitants during the winters. The bird was thus chosen as a symbol for the municipality. The arms were designed by Einar H. Skjervold.

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes () within Lierne Municipality. It is part of the Namdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

Churches in Lierne Municipality

Parish ()	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Nordli	Nordli Church	Sandvika	1873
	Tunnsjø Chapel	Tunnsjø senter	1876
Sørli	Sørli Church	Mebygda	1873

Geography

File:Border marker nr 125 Lierne National Park.jpg

View of the mountains along the Lierne - Sweden border

Lierne National Park is located in the municipality, and Blåfjella-Skjækerfjella National Park is partly located in Lierne. Lierne Municipality has a significant population of brown bears. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Hestkjøltoppen.

Lierne is also home to many lakes, including Gusvatnet, Havdalsvatnet, Holden, Ingelsvatnet, Kingen, Kvesjøen, Laksjøen, Lenglingen, Limingen, Murusjøen, Rengen, Sandsjøen, Stortissvatnet, Tunnsjøen, and Ulen.

History

Lierne Municipality was the largest obstacle in the negotiations before the Stromstad Treaty of 1751 in which the border was defined in detail. Sweden wanted it based on its location on the eastern side of the drainage divide, although Norway got it based on its historic connection to the Snaasen prestegjeld in Norway. As compensation Norway gave up its demand for the Idre and Särna parishes which were under Swedish control since 1644. This is why there is a large curve in the national border.

Government

Lierne Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), 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 Lierne Municipality is made up of 15 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Lierne kommunestyre 2023–2027   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	7
	Centre Party	7
	Liberal Party	1
Total number of members:		15

Lierne kommunestyre 2019–2023   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	9
	Centre Party	5
	Liberal Party	1
Total number of members:		15

Lierne kommunestyre 2015–2019   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	7
	Centre Party	6
	Liberal Party	2
Total number of members:		15

Lierne kommunestyre 2011–2015   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	8
	Christian Democratic Party	1
	Centre Party	4
	Lierne Local List	2
Total number of members:		15

Lierne kommunestyre 2007–2011   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	8
	Centre Party	5
	Liberal Party	1
	Lierne local list	1
Total number of members:		15

Lierne kommunestyre 2003–2007   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	6
	Centre Party	8
	Socialist Left Party	1
	Liberal Party	1
	Lierne local list	1
Total number of members:		17

Lierne kommunestyre 1999–2003   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	7
	Christian Democratic Party	1
	Centre Party	9
	Socialist Left Party	1
	Liberal Party	1
	Local list	2
Total number of members:		21

Lierne kommunestyre 1995–1999   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	7
	Centre Party	10
	Socialist Left Party	1
	Joint list of the Liberal Party and Christian Democratic Party	1
	Lierne local list	2
Total number of members:		21

Lierne kommunestyre 1991–1995   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	7
	Centre Party	6
	Socialist Left Party	2
	Joint list of the Conservative Party , Christian Democratic Party , and Liberal Party	4
	Lierne local list	2
Total number of members:		21

Lierne kommunestyre 1987–1991   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	10
	Conservative Party	1
	Christian Democratic Party	2
	Centre Party	4
	Liberal Party	1
	Lierne local list	3
Total number of members:		21

Lierne kommunestyre 1983–1987   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	9
	Conservative Party	2
	Christian Democratic Party	2
	Liberal People's Party	1
	Centre Party	5
	Liberal Party	2
Total number of members:		21

Lierne kommunestyre 1979–1983   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	7
	Conservative Party	2
	Christian Democratic Party	2
	New People's Party	1
	Centre Party	5
	Liberal Party	3
	Non-party list	1
Total number of members:		21

Lierne kommunestyre 1975–1979   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	7
	Christian Democratic Party	2
	New People's Party	1
	Centre Party	7
	Liberal Party	3
	Local List(s)	1
Total number of members:		21

Lierne kommunestyre 1971–1975   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	7
	Conservative Party	1
	Christian Democratic Party	2
	Centre Party	4
	Liberal Party	5
	Local List(s)	2
Total number of members:		21

Lierne kommunestyre 1967–1971   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	8
	Conservative Party	1
	Christian Democratic Party	1
	Centre Party	4
	Liberal Party	7
Total number of members:		21

Lierne kommunestyre 1964–1967   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	7
	Conservative Party	1
	Christian Democratic Party	2
	Centre Party	4
	Liberal Party	7
Total number of members:		21
Note: On 1 January 1964, Lierne Municipality was established upon the merger of Nordli Municipality and Sørli Municipality.

Mayors

The mayor (Template:Langx) of Lierne 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:

• 1874–1878: Georg Severin Schielderup
• 1878–1879: Jens Larsen Kveli
• 1880–1887: Ivar Hesselberg
• 1888–1889: John Malvig
• 1890–1901: Jakob F. Holand
• 1902–1904: Lornts Mediaas
• 1905–1907: John A. Dahl
• 1908–1910: Einar Zarbell
• 1910–1915: Jakob F. Holand
• (Lierne Municipality did not exist from 1916–1964)
• 1964–1965: Ola H. Kveli (V)
• 1966–1971: Ragnar Harbækvold (Sp)
• 1972–1975: Leif Sander Aagård (DLF)
• 1976–1979: Jon Leon Estil (Sp)
• 1980–1983: Reidar Kveli (Sp)
• 1984–1987: Jon Leon Estil (Sp)
• 1988–1991: Bernt Hågensen (Ap)
• 1991–1991: Gun Kveli (Ap)
• 1991–2007: Arnodd Lillemark (Sp)
• 2007–2015: Alf Robert Arvasli (Ap)
• 2015–2021: Bente Estil (Ap)
• 2021–2023: Reidar Rødli (Ap)
• 2023–present: Tor Erling Inderdal (Sp)

Attractions

The cross-country race Flyktningerennet is held here every year. It is a race that follows a route from Nordli to Gäddede in Strömsund Municipality, Sweden, in remembrance of the people who fled Nazi German-occupied Norway for Sweden during the Second World War.

Notable people

• Frode Estil (born 1972 in Lierne), a retired cross-country skier who won two golds and a silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics and a silver medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics

External links

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway Template:In lang