Melhus

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.

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

The 694 km2 municipality is the 166th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Melhus is the 74th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 17,340. The municipality's population density is 26.5 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 10.6% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
Melhus was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1865, the western district of Høilandet (population: 1,818) was separated from Melhus to form a separate municipality. Then on 1880, the eastern district of Flaa (population: 614) was separated to form its own municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Melhus (population: 3,978) was merged with the neighboring municipalities of Hølonda (population: 1,428), Flå (population: 843), Horg (population: 2,560), and the small Langørgen farm area in the neighboring municipality of Buvik (population: 11) to form a new, larger municipality of Melhus. 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 (Meðalhúsar) since the first Melhus Church was built there. The first element is which means "middle". The last element is the plural form of which means "house". The farm is one part of a greater and older farm, which had the name Óðinssalr which means "the (mead hall) of Odin".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 8 November 1979. The official blazon is "Gules, a bowman genuant Or" (På rød bunn en gull knestående bueskytter). 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.

Churches
The Church of Norway has four parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Melhus. It is part of the Gauldal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

History
Melhus was the site of many important events during the Viking Age. It was the site of the farm Rimul in 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
The 695 km2 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 Orkdal and Meldal. 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 mountains of Rensfjellet and Vassfjellet lie on the eastern border with Selbu and Klæbu municipalities, respectively.

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. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Melhus is made up of 37 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 Melhus:


 * 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)

Transportation
European route E6 runs north and south through the municipality, following the Gaula River. There is also a 3 km 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.

Newspapers

 * Trønderbladet: Largest newspaper in Melhus.
 * Gaula: Newspaper published in Melhus which also covers the Midtre Gauldal and Byneset

Notable people

 * Einar Thambarskelfir (ca.980 – ca.1050), 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 Norwegian philologist and educator
 * Walter Scott Dahl (1839 in Melhus – 1906), a politician and Government minister
 * Sophus Dahl (1877 in Horg– 1952), a Norwegian theater and film actor
 * 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 Norwegian 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

Sport

 * Magnar Estenstad (1924 in Hølonda – 2004), a cross-country skier who was bronze and team silver medallist at the 1952 Winter Olympics
 * Toralf Engan (born 1939) ski jumper, a gold and silver medallist at the 1964 Winter Olympics
 * Magne Thomassen (born 1941 in Melhus), a speed skater silver medallist at the 1968 Winter Olympics
 * Oddvar Brå (born 1951 in Hølonda), a cross-country skier and team silver medallist at the 1972 & 1980 Winter Olympics
 * Unni Lehn (born 1977 in Melhus), a footballer and team gold medallist at the 2000 Summer Olympics
 * Ingrid Engen (born 1998 in Melhus), a football midfielder for FC Barcelona and the Norway national team