Nome, Norway

Nome is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Midt-Telemark and historically part of the Grenland region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ulefoss. Other villages include Bjervamoen, Ulefoss, Helgja, Flåbygd, and Svenseid.

The municipality is the 230th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Nome is the 150th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,559. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 1% over the previous 10-year period.

Nome is a large agricultural and forestry municipality. The agricultural area in Nome is approximately . Forest harvesting averaged annually in the five-year period 2017–2021. Just over half was spruce, the rest was pine.

General information

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. The municipality of Nome was established on 1 January 1964 when the two neighboring municipalities of Holla (population: 4,093) and Lunde (population: 3,080) were merged. (Most of Holla became part of Nome. The Valebø part of Holla located east of the lake Norsjø became part of Skien Municipality on that date.)

Name

The municipality is named after the Nomevatnet lake which is at the start of the river Eidselva. The meaning of the name is uncertain. It may be related to the first element in the name Numedal.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 10 March 1989. The official blazon is "Per bend sinistre dancetty argent and azure" (Template:Langx). This means the arms are divided with a diagonal line that is dancetty (in the shape of steps). The field (background) below the line has a tincture of blue. Above the line, the 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 design is meant to represent the Telemark Canal and its locks to raise and lower boats. The canal was built in the 19th century and it runs through the municipality, connecting the lake Bandak to the North Sea. The arms were designed by Øyvind Larsen. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes () within the municipality of Nome. It is part of the Øvre Telemark prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

Churches in Nome

Parish ()	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Holla og Helgen	Helgen Church	Helgja	1735
	Holla Church	Ulefoss	1867
	Romnes Church	Romnes	1100s
Lunde og Flåbygd	Flåbygd Church	Flåbygd	1822
	Landsmarka Chapel	Landsmarka	1895
	Lunde Church	Bjervamoen	1822

File:Romnes kirke.jpg

Romnes Church

Romnes Church (Romnes kirke) is a Romanesque stone church that was built between 1150 and 1250. The church was constructed of stone joined with lime, while the corners consist of limestone. The apse and nave has a flat ceiling, while the choir has vaulted wood ceilings. The entrance portal to the west is of decorated stone. The church also had an entrance on the south wall in the choir. The pulpit and baroque altarpiece are from the 1700s. The square bell tower dates to the end of the 1800s. The church currently has curved red bricks on the roof. During the restoration in 1921, murals from the late Middle Ages were restored. Additional restoration was conducted between 1966 and 1967.

Government

Nome 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 Telemark District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Nome is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Nome kommunestyre 2023–2027   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	7
	Progress Party	3
	Green Party	1
	Conservative Party	3
	Norway Democrats	1
	Centre Party	5
	Socialist Left Party	1
Total number of members:		21

Nome kommunestyre 2019–2023   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	8
	Progress Party	2
	Green Party	1
	Conservative Party	2
	Centre Party	7
	Socialist Left Party	1
Total number of members:		21

Nome kommunestyre 2015–2019   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	12
	Progress Party	4
	Conservative Party	3
	Christian Democratic Party	1
	Centre Party	7
	Socialist Left Party	1
	Liberal Party	1
Total number of members:		29

Nome kommunestyre 2011–2015   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	12
	Progress Party	3
	Conservative Party	4
	Christian Democratic Party	2
	Centre Party	6
	Socialist Left Party	1
	Liberal Party	1
Total number of members:		29

Nome kommunestyre 2007–2011   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	9
	Progress Party	4
	Conservative Party	2
	Christian Democratic Party	2
	Centre Party	9
	Socialist Left Party	1
	Cross-party list for Lunde	2
Total number of members:		29

Nome kommunestyre 2003–2007   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	6
	Progress Party	4
	Conservative Party	1
	Christian Democratic Party	2
	Centre Party	9
	Socialist Left Party	4
	Cross-party list for Lunde	3
Total number of members:		29

Nome kommunestyre 1999–2003   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	10
	Progress Party	3
	Conservative Party	3
	Christian Democratic Party	4
	Centre Party	4
	Socialist Left Party	2
	Cross-party list for Lunde	3
Total number of members:		29

Nome kommunestyre 1995–1999   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	12
	Conservative Party	3
	Christian Democratic Party	3
	Centre Party	5
	Socialist Left Party	2
	Cross-party list for Lunde	4
Total number of members:		29

Nome kommunestyre 1991–1995   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	12
	Conservative Party	6
	Christian Democratic Party	4
	Centre Party	5
	Socialist Left Party	6
	Cross-party list for Lunde	4
Total number of members:		37

Nome kommunestyre 1987–1991   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	16
	Conservative Party	5
	Christian Democratic Party	3
	Centre Party	3
	Socialist Left Party	2
	Liberal Party	2
	Cross-party list for Lunde	6
Total number of members:		37

Nome kommunestyre 1983–1987   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	18
	Conservative Party	5
	Christian Democratic Party	4
	Centre Party	5
	Socialist Left Party	3
	Liberal Party	2
Total number of members:		37

Nome kommunestyre 1979–1983   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	18
	Conservative Party	6
	Christian Democratic Party	4
	Centre Party	4
	Socialist Left Party	3
	Liberal Party	2
Total number of members:		37

Nome kommunestyre 1975–1979   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	16
	Conservative Party	3
	Christian Democratic Party	6
	Centre Party	6
	Socialist Left Party	4
	Joint list of the Liberal Party and New People's Party	2
Total number of members:		37

Nome kommunestyre 1971–1975   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	17
	Conservative Party	2
	Christian Democratic Party	4
	Centre Party	6
	Socialist People's Party	3
	Liberal Party	3
	Local List(s)	2
Total number of members:		37

Nome kommunestyre 1967–1971   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	20
	Conservative Party	2
	Christian Democratic Party	3
	Centre Party	5
	Socialist People's Party	3
	Liberal Party	4
Total number of members:		37

Nome kommunestyre 1963–1967   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party	22
	Conservative Party	2
	Christian Democratic Party	3
	Centre Party	6
	Socialist People's Party	1
	Liberal Party	3
Total number of members:		37

Mayors

The mayors (Template:Langx) of Nome (incomplete list):

• 1970-1973: Jens Hvilen (Ap)
• 1999-2011: Jan Thorsen (Sp)
• 2011–2023: Bjørg Tveito Lundefaret (Ap)
• 2023-present: Linda Therese Thorstensen (Ap)

Notable people

File:Liv Mildrid Gjernes-DSCN5651-cr-adj-vsm.jpg

Liv Mildrid Gjernes, 2003

• Baron Herman Severin Løvenskiold (1815 in Ulefoss – 1870), a Norwegian composer
• August Cappelen (1827–1852), a painter of melancholic, dramatic, and romantic landscapes who was brought up in Holla
• Gisle Straume (1917 in Holla – 1988), an actor and theatre director
• Inge Grødum (born 1943 in Ulefoss), an illustrator
• Knut Ragnar Mikkelsen (born 1951 in Lunde), a police chief
• Odd Einar Haugen (born 1954 in Lunde), a University of Bergen professor of Old Norse philology
• Liv Mildrid Gjernes (born 1954 in Lunde), an artist; eponym for a contemporary style of decoration, sculpture, and furniture design - Gjernes
• Atle Skårdal (born 1966 in Lunde), a former World Cup and Olympic alpine ski racer
• Jon Anders Halvorsen (born 1968 in Lunde), a folk singer and physician
• Erland Dahlen (born 1971 in Ulefoss), a drummer and percussionist
• Torun Eriksen (born 1977 in Lunde), a jazz singer

Media gallery

• Lunde Kirke
  Lunde Kirke
• Ulefoss
  Ulefoss
• in Børte
  in Børte
• MS "Henrik Ibsen" ved Ulefoss
  MS "Henrik Ibsen" ved Ulefoss

External links

• Template:Sister-inline
• Template:Sister-inline
• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway Template:In lang
• Template:Wikivoyage inline