Romedal is a former municipality in the old Hedmark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Stange Municipality in the traditional district of Hedmarken. The administrative centre was the village of Romedal where Romedal Church is located. Other villages in Romedal included Ilseng and Starhellinga. The municipality centered around the agriculture and forestry industries.
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 236th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Romedal Municipality was the 125th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 6,497. The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 1% over the previous 10-year period.
General information The parish of Romedal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Romedal Municipality (population: 6,441) was merged with the neighboring Stange Municipality (population: 9,734) to form a new, larger Stange Municipality.
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Romedal farm () since the first Romedal Church was built there. The first element is (probably) the genitive case of an old river name (). The river name may have come from the word , which means 'clear' or 'empty'. The last element is , which means 'valley' or 'dale'.
Churches The Church of Norway had two parishes () within Romedal Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Romedal prestegjeld and the Hamar domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar.
Churches in RomedalParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtRomedalRomedal ChurchRomedal1887VallsetVallset ChurchVallset1850
Geography The municipality was located in the Hedmarken district, just east of the large lake Mjøsa. Stange Municipality was to the west, Vang Municipality was to the north, Våler Municipality was to the northeast, Hof Municipality was to the southeast, and Nord-Odal Municipality was to the south. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Søndre Fjellsjøhøgda in the southeastern part of the municipality.
Government While it existed, Romedal Municipality was 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 was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Romedal Municipality was made up of 25 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
Mayors The mayor () of Romedal Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1838–1839: Nils Christoffersen Gaustad 1839–1842: H. Wegener 1842–1843: Christen Larsen Arneberg 1843–1844: Lars Christian Sandberg 1844–1845: Anton Hansen Horne 1845–1847: V.F. Krog 1847–1849: Christen Larsen Arneberg 1851–1853: Gulbrand Øvergaard 1854–1855: Anton Hansen Horne 1855–1859: S.H. Ræder 1859–1860: Kjel Sande 1861–1863: L.G. Bryhn 1863–1867: Jens Øvergård 1867–1871: Lars Arneberg 1871–1873: Hans Antonsen Horne 1873–1875: N. Hals 1875–1877: O.A. Bryhni 1877–1879: Lars Arneberg 1879–1882: L.G. Bryhn 1882–1883: O. Pedersen 1883–1891: Johan A. Horn 1891–1893: Lars Busvold 1893–1897: Kristian Horn 1897–1898: Olaf Bryhn 1899–1916: Anton Julius Tøsti 1917–1919: L. Julseth 1920–1922: O.J. Maagaard 1923–1928: L. Julseth 1929–1931: Alfred Johnsen (Ap) 1932–1941: Karl Petersen (Ap) 1941–1941: G. O. Bahus (Ap) 1941–1944: Arne Stramrud (NS) 1944–1945: Ole J. Lie (NS) 1945–1948: Karl Petersen (Ap) 1948–1964: Jens K. Nybruket (Ap)
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References