Midtre Gauldal Municipality

Midtre Gauldal is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Støren. Other villages in the municipality include Singsås, Soknedal, Enodden, and Rognes.

The municipality is the 44th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Midtre Gauldal Municipality is the 160th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,140. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 3.5% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Midtre Gauldal was established as a new municipality on 1 January 1964 after the merger of four neighboring municipalities: Budal Municipality (population: 529), Singsås Municipality (population: 1,554), Soknedal Municipality (population: 1,916), and Støren Municipality (population: 2,296). On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Sør-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.

Name

The name Midtre Gauldal was created in 1964. The first element is the Norwegian word Template:Wikt-lang meaning "middle" and the last part is Gauldal which is the name of the valley through which the river Gaula flows. Therefore, the meaning of the name is "the middle part of Gauldalen".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 17 December 1982. The official blazon is "Vert, three crosses in pall conjoined argent" (Template:Langx). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is a design made up of three crosses, joined in the middle, which makes a Y-shaped figure. The charge 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 crossed-Y design has several meanings. First, it symbolizes the landscape which is based on the meeting of the main Gauldal and Soknedal valleys at the village of Støren. Furthermore, the municipality has a major Y-shaped road-and-railway junction. Finally, the Budal Church, dating from 1745 is one of the oldest and one of the few remaining Y-shaped churches in the country. The arms were designed by Halvor Aune. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has four parishes () within Midtre Gauldal Municipality. It is part of the Gauldal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

Churches in Midtre Gauldal Municipality

Parish ()	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Budal	Budal Church	Budal	1754
Singsås	Singsås Church	Singsås	1884
Soknedal	Soknedal Church	Soknedal	1933
Støren	Støren Church	Støren	1817

Geography

File:Gaula River at Kotsøy.jpg

View of the Gaula River at Kotsøy

The municipality is bordered by Orkland Municipality to the west, Rennebu Municipality to the southwest, Melhus Municipality and Selbu Municipality to the north, Holtålen Municipality to the east, and Os Municipality and Tynset Municipality (in Innlandet county) to the southeast.

The lake Samsjøen is located in the northern part of the municipality. The Gauldalen valley follows the Gaula River through the municipality. The tall mountain Forollhogna lies on the southern border of the municipality inside Forollhogna National Park, and it is the highest point in the municipality.

Climate

Kotsøy village in Midtre Gauldal is situated in the Gaula river valley close to Gaula river, surrounded by steep hills covered with spruce forest. The climate is boreal, but with fairly mild winters for this climate type, and not far from humid continental climate. The record high was recorded 25 July 2019. The record low was recorded February 2010, and the January record low is also from 2010.

Government

Midtre Gauldal 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 Midtre Gauldal Municipality is made up of 33 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Midtre Gauldal kommunestyre 2023–2027   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	6
	Conservative Party	3
	Christian Democratic Party	1
	Pensioners' Party	1
	Centre Party	5
	Municipal List for Midtre Gauldal	7
Total number of members:		23

Midtre Gauldal kommunestyre 2019–2023   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	7
	Progress Party	1
	Conservative Party	2
	Christian Democratic Party	1
	Centre Party	10
	Municipal List for Midtre Gauldal	4
Total number of members:		25

Midtre Gauldal kommunestyre 2015–2019   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	13
	Progress Party	2
	Conservative Party	3
	Christian Democratic Party	2
	Centre Party	9
	Liberal Party	1
	Municipal List for Midtre Gauldal	3
Total number of members:		33

Midtre Gauldal kommunestyre 2011–2015   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	13
	Progress Party	3
	Conservative Party	3
	Christian Democratic Party	2
	Centre Party	5
	Liberal Party	1
	Local List for Midtre Gauldal	6
Total number of members:		33

Midtre Gauldal kommunestyre 2007–2011   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	13
	Progress Party	3
	Conservative Party	2
	Christian Democratic Party	2
	Centre Party	7
	Socialist Left Party	1
	Liberal Party	1
	Local people's list	4
Total number of members:		33

Midtre Gauldal kommunestyre 2003–2007   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	12
	Progress Party	2
	Conservative Party	2
	Christian Democratic Party	2
	Centre Party	7
	Socialist Left Party	2
	Liberal Party	1
	Local people's list	5
Total number of members:		33

Midtre Gauldal kommunestyre 1999–2003   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	12
	Conservative Party	2
	Christian Democratic Party	4
	Centre Party	8
	Socialist Left Party	1
	Liberal Party	2
	Local people's list	4
Total number of members:		33

Midtre Gauldal kommunestyre 1995–1999   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	14
	Conservative Party	3
	Christian Democratic Party	3
	Centre Party	14
	Socialist Left Party	1
	Liberal Party	2
Total number of members:		37

Midtre Gauldal kommunestyre 1991–1995   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	11
	Conservative Party	3
	Christian Democratic Party	4
	Centre Party	14
	Socialist Left Party	3
	Liberal Party	2
Total number of members:		37

Midtre Gauldal kommunestyre 1987–1991   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	16
	Conservative Party	5
	Christian Democratic Party	4
	Centre Party	9
	Socialist Left Party	1
	Liberal Party	2
Total number of members:		37

Midtre Gauldal kommunestyre 1983–1987   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	17
	Conservative Party	5
	Christian Democratic Party	4
	Centre Party	8
	Socialist Left Party	1
	Liberal Party	2
Total number of members:		37

Midtre Gauldal kommunestyre 1979–1983   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	15
	Conservative Party	4
	Christian Democratic Party	4
	Centre Party	10
	Socialist Left Party	1
	Liberal Party	3
Total number of members:		37

Midtre Gauldal kommunestyre 1975–1979   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	15
	Conservative Party	3
	Christian Democratic Party	5
	Centre Party	12
	Socialist Left Party	1
	Liberal Party	1
Total number of members:		37

Midtre Gauldal kommunestyre 1971–1975   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	17
	Conservative Party	2
	Christian Democratic Party	4
	Centre Party	11
	Socialist People's Party	1
	Liberal Party	2
Total number of members:		37

Midtre Gauldal kommunestyre 1967–1971   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	16
	Conservative Party	2
	Christian Democratic Party	3
	Centre Party	11
	Socialist People's Party	2
	Liberal Party	3
Total number of members:		37

Midtre Gauldal kommunestyre 1964–1967   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	19
	Conservative Party	2
	Christian Democratic Party	4
	Centre Party	9
	Liberal Party	3
Total number of members:		37

Mayors

The mayor (Template:Langx) of Midtre Gauldal 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:

• 1964–1967: Jacob Hindbjørgen (Ap)
• 1968–1975: Ola Birger Vagnild (Sp)
• 1976–1983: Oddbjørn Snøfugl (Sp)
• 1984–1987: Anders Storrøsæter (Sp)
• 1988–1995: Fredrik Busklein (Sp)
• 1995–2003: Kolbjørn Tangvik (Ap)
• 2003–2015: Erling Lenvik (Ap)
• 2015–2023: Sivert Moen (Sp)
• 2023–present: Trude Solem Heggdal (Ap)

Media

File:Samsjøen (4).jpg

Samsjøen lake, Midtre Gauldal

The newspaper Gauldalsposten is published in Midtre Gauldal.

Transportation

European route E6 crosses the municipality from north to south. The Dovrebanen and Rørosbanen railway lines also cross the municipality. Some of the stations on those lines include Støren Station and Singsås Station.

Notable people

• Vincents Stoltenberg Bull (1882 in Støren – 1935), an engineer and businessperson
• Oddbjørn Snøfugl (born 1941), a Norwegian politician who lives in Støren
• Karl Erik Zachariassen (1942–2009), an entomologist who lived in Soknedal
• Helge Anshushaug (born 1948 in Soknedal), a retired sport shooter who competed at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics

External links

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway Template:In lang