Hovin, Telemark

Hovin is a former municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The 302.5 km2 municipality existed from 1886 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now divided between Tinn Municipality and Notodden Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Hovin. The other main village in the municipality was Rudsgrendi on the opposite side of the lake Tinnsjå.

History
The municipality was established on 1 January 1886 when the municipality of Gransherad was divided into two: Hovin in the north (population: 885) and Gransherad in the south (population: 1,393). On 24 March 1903, an unpopulated part of Tinn Municipality was transferred to Hovin. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the municipality of Hovin was dissolved and its lands were split in two:
 * The Rudsgrendi area of Hovin on the west side of the lake Tinnsjå (population: 21) was merged with the municipality of Heddal (population: 4,844), most of the municipality of Gransherad (population: 1,115), and the town of Notodden (population: 7,523).
 * The rest of Hovin on the east side of the lake Tinnsjå (population: 461) was merged with Tinn Municipality (population: 9,449).

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Hovin farm (Hofvin) since the first Hovin Church was built there. The first element is identical to the word which means "heathen hof" or a "temple for the Norse gods". The last element is which means "meadow" or "pasture". In this context, "Hovin" likely refers to a meadow location that was associated with a pagan temple or a religious site in the past.

Government
During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Hovin was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.