Melhus Municipality

Template:Short description Template:Infobox kommune

Melhus is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Melhus. Other villages include Gåsbakken, Hovin, Korsvegen, Kvål, Ler, Lundamo, Storsand, and Øysand.

The Template:Convert municipality is the 166th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Melhus Municipality is the 74th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 17,560. The municipality's population density is Template:Convert and its population has increased by 10.8% over the previous 10-year period.<ref name="ssb pop">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ssb area">Template:Cite web</ref>

Agriculture is important in Melhus Municipality. The extensive lowland areas in the almost flat valley surrounding the Gaula River are dominated by grain fields. Many inhabitants work in the nearby city of Trondheim, a 20-minute drive north from Melhus.

General information

The parish of Melhus was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1865, the western district of the municipality (population: 1,818) was separated from Melhus Municipality to form the new Høilandet Municipality. Then on 1880, the eastern district of the municipality (population: 614) was separated to form the new Flaa Municipality.<ref name="Dag">Template:Cite web</ref>

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the following places were merged: Hølonda Municipality (population: 1,428), Horg Municipality (population: 2,560), Flå Municipality (population: 843), Melhus Municipality (population: 3,978), and the Langørgen farm (population: 11) from Buvik Municipality. These places were all merged to form a new, larger Melhus Municipality.<ref name="Dag" />

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

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Melhus farm (Template:Langx) since the first Melhus Church was built there. The first element is Template:Wikt-lang which means "middle". The last element is the plural form of Template:Wikt-lang which means "house". The farm is one part of a greater and older farm, which had the name Template:Lang which means "the Template:Wikt-lang (mead hall) of Odin".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 8 November 1979. The official blazon is "Gules, a bowman genuant Or" (Template:Langx). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a kneeling archer. The archer has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The arms were chosen to symbolize a local hero, Einar Tambarskjelve, who was a famous chief and archer from Melhus in the 11th century. He is mentioned as an archer for King Olav Tryggvason in the Battle of Svolder. The arms were designed by Hallvard Trætteberg. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Churches

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

**Churches in Melhus**
Parish (Template:Lang)	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Flå	Flå Church	Ler	1794
Horg	Horg Church	Lundamo	1892
Hølonda	Hølonda Church	Gåsbakken	1848
Melhus	Melhus Church	Storsand	1892

History

Melhus was the site of many important events during the Viking Age. It was the site of the farm Rimul, near Melhus at which Jarl Haakon was killed by his slave, Tormod Kark. Jarlshola is the location in Melhus thought to have been the hiding place of Jarl Haakon and Tormod Kark on their last night before the infamous murder at Rimul.

Geography

File:Gaulosen og Øysand.jpg

View of the Gaulosen fjord

The Template:Convert municipality of Melhus includes the valley of the river Gaula as it flows northwards towards its mouth at the Gaulosen, an arm of the Trondheimsfjord. The lake Svorksjøen lies on the western border with Orkland Municipality. The lakes Benna and Ånøya lie in the central part of the municipality, and the lake Samsjøen lies on the southeastern border with Midtre Gauldal Municipality. The highest point in the municipality is the Template:Convert tall mountain Rensfjellet, located as a tripoint on the border with Midtre Gauldal Municipality and Selbu Municipality.<ref name="elev" /> The mountain Vassfjellet lies on the border with Trondheim Municipality.

Government

Melhus 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.<ref name="ks">Template:Store norske leksikon</ref> The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

Mayors

The mayor (Template:Langx) of Melhus 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:<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Template:Div col

1838–1839: John Jensen Gravråk
1840–1847: Nils Nilssøn Dahl
1848–1851: Israel Melhus
1852–1856: Rasmus Jagtøien
1856–1859: Israel Melhus
1860–1865: Lars Qvam
1866–1871: Hans Jensen Blom
1872–1875: John Skjerdingstad
1876–1881: Anders P. Skjerdingstad (H)
1882–1891: Nils Jensen Melhus (V/MV)
1892–1904: Klaus J. Søberg (V)
1905–1907: Nils Jensen Melhus (V)
1908–1913: Eystein Kvam (V)
1914–1919: Elias Gafseth (V)
1920–1922: Ole T. Hollum (H)
1923–1925: Ole T. Øyaas (V)
1926–1937: Even P. Borten (Bp)
1938–1940: Nicolay J. Eggen (Ap)
1941–1945: Hans Bollingmo (NS)
1946–1947: Anders Eggen (Bp)
1948–1955: Martin Borten (Bp)
1956–1971: Gustav Berg (Sp)
1972–1973: Johan Hogstad (Sp)
1974–1975: Bjørn Havdal (Ap)
1975–1987: Johan Hogstad (Sp)
1988–1989: Per O. Rimolsrønning (H)
1989–1995: Sigurd Busklein (Sp)
1995–2001: Anders Estenstad (Ap)
2001–2003: Solfrid Løvseth (Ap)
2003–2011: Erling Bøhle (Ap)
2011–2015: Jorid Jagtøyen (Sp)
2015–2019: Gunnar Krogstad (Ap)
2019–2023: Jorid Jagtøyen (Sp)
2023–present: Einar Gimse-Syrstad (Ap)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Template:Div col end

Transportation

European route E6 runs north and south through the municipality, following the Gaula River. There is also a Template:Convert long stretch of European route E39 passes east and west in the northern part of Melhus between Buvika and Leinstrand.

The Dovre Line also follows the river through Melhus. The following stations are located along the railway line in Melhus: Melhus Station, Kvål Station, Ler Station, Lundamo Station, and Hovin Station. The railroad goes through the Gulfoss Tunnel at Hovin.

Media gallery

Bridge crossing Gaula River

Bridge crossing Gaula River
Gimse in Melhus

Gimse in Melhus
Gaustad Lake

Gaustad Lake
Chapel at Vassfjellet on the border with Trondheim Municipality

Chapel at Vassfjellet on the border with Trondheim Municipality
View of Øysand in northern Melhus

View of Øysand in northern Melhus

Newspapers

Trønderbladet: Largest newspaper in Melhus.
Gaula: Newspaper published in Melhus which also covers the Midtre Gauldal Municipality and the Byneset area of Trondheim Municipality

Notable people

File:Per Borten (1964, Knudsens fotosenter).jpg

Per Borten, 1964

Einar Thambarskelfir (Template:Circa – Template:Circa), an influential nobleman and de facto ruler of Norway
Johannes Klingenberg Sejersted (1761 in Flå – 1823), a Norwegian senior military officer
Hartvig Nissen (1815 in Melhus – 1874), a philologist and educator
Walter Scott Dahl (1839 in Melhus – 1906), a politician and Government minister
Nikoline Harbitz (1841 in Melhus – 1898), an author<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Konrad Dahl (1843 in Melhus – 1931), a writer and priest<ref>Template:Cite SNL</ref>
Ulrikke Dahl (1846 in Melhus – 1923), a writer
Sophus Dahl (1877 in Horg – 1952), a theater and film actor<ref>Template:IMDb name. Retrieved 07 November 2020.</ref>
Martin Tranmæl (1879 in Melhus – 1967), a Party Secretary and MP for the Norwegian Labour Party and editor of Arbeiderbladet
Per Borten (1913 in Flå – 2005), the Prime Minister of Norway from 1965 to 1971
Odd Bye (1916 in Horg – 2010), a journalist and politician
Hans Flock (born 1940 in Melhus), a Supreme Court Justice in Norway from 1996 to 2010
Tor Singsaas (born 1948), the Bishop of Nidaros who grew up in Melhus
Jorun Thørring (born 1955), a crime writer and gynaecologist who lives in Melhus
Torstein Flakne (born 1960), a rock musician, member of The Kids, and founder of Stage Dolls
Hans Bollandsås (born 1980 in Melhus), a blues musician who won the Norwegian X Factor in 2010