Heim, Norway

Heim is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It was established on 1 January 2020 upon the merger of three other municipalities. It is located in the traditional district of Fosen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kyrksæterøra. Other villages in Heim include Ytre Snillfjord, Heim, Hellandsjøen, Holla, Vinjeøra, Liabøen, Todalen, Halsanaustan, Valsøyfjord, Engan, Hjellnes, and Valsøybotnen.

The 1025 km2 municipality is the 113th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Heim is the 163rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 5,880. The municipality's population density is 6 PD/km2 and its population (in its predecessor municipalities) has decreased by 0.3% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The municipality was established on 1 January 2020 upon the merger of the neighboring municipalities of Hemne and Halsa as well as the Ytre Snillfjord area in the municipality of Snillfjord. The area in the municipality of Halsa left Møre og Romsdal county and switched to Trøndelag county when the merger occurred.

Name
The parish of Heim was established in 1884. It is named after the old Heim farm (Heimr), since the first Heim Church was built on its ground. The name is identical with the word which means "home", "homestead", or "farm".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms for Heim was designed and granted in 2019. It is a blue shield with a white ornamental design in the centre. The design was chosen to symbolize many different things. The blue background refers to air, water, and the sea. The white design is reminiscent of boats, fjords, seeds, and church spires, all of which are a part of the culture of the municipality.

Churches
The Church of Norway has five parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Heim. It is part of the Orkdal prosti (deanery) within the Diocese of Nidaros.

Government
Heim 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 (Kommunestyre) of Heim is made up of 23 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Heim:
 * 2020-2023: Odd Jarle Svanem (Sp)
 * 2023-present: Marit Liabø Sandvik (Ap)

Notable people

 * Nils Anton Vaagland (1872 in Halsa – 1965), a lawyer and politician who was Mayor of Stjørdal from 1911 to 1925
 * Leif Halse (1896 in Halsa – 1984), a teacher, novelist, short story writer, children's writer, comics writer, and local historian
 * Anne Karin Elstad (1938 in Halsa – 2012), a Norwegian author
 * Nina Valsø (1962 in Halsa – 2002), a Norwegian playwright
 * Erik Hoftun (born 1969 in Kyrksæterøra), a Norwegian former football defender with 520 club caps and 30 for Norway
 * Else-May Norderhus (born 1973 in Halsa), a Norwegian politician
 * Vegard Forren (born 1988 in Kyrksæterøra), a Norwegian professional footballer with over 300 club caps and 33 for Norway