Snåsa

Snåsa (Snåase) is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Innherred region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Snåsa. Other villages include Agle and Jørstad.

Snåsa is one of the last strongholds for the seriously endangered Southern Sami language.

The 2343 km2 municipality is the 23rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Snåsa is the 277th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,021 inhabitants. The municipality's population density is 0.9 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 6.2% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The parish of Snåsa was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. On 1 January 1874, the eastern district of Snåsa (population: 1,015) was separated to form a new, separate municipality of Lierne. This left Snåsa with 2,235 residents. Snåsa's boundaries have not changed since then.

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

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) was named Snåsa (Snǫs). The name is derived from the word which means "prominent mountain" or "overhanging rock" (possibly referring to the mountain of Bergsåsen, at the inner end of the lake Snåsavatnet). Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Snaasen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Snaasa. On 21 December 1917, a royal resolution enacted the 1917 Norwegian language reforms. Prior to this change, the name was spelled Snaasa with the digraph "aa", and after this reform, the name was spelled Snåsa, using the letter å instead.

On 24 September 2010, the national government approved a resolution to add a co-equal, official Southern Sami language name for the municipality: Snåase. The spelling of the Sami language name changes depending on how it is used. It is called Snåase when it is spelled alone, but it is Snåasen tjïelte when using the Sami language equivalent to "Snåsa municipality".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 17 March 1994. The official blazon is "Azure, a lady's-slipper orchid Or." (I blått en gull marisko). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a lady's-slipper orchid (Cypripedium calceolus). The lady's-slipper orchid 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 design was chosen to symbolize the prevalence of orchids growing in the municipality. This particular flower is one of at least 15 species of orchids that grow in Snåsa. The arms were designed by Even Jarl Skoglund. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Snåsa. It is part of the Nord-Innherad prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

Geography
Snåsa is located about 180 km northeast of the city of Trondheim, and it borders Sweden to the southeast. Snåsa borders the municipalities of Overhalla, Grong, and Lierne in the north and east, and Steinkjer and Verdal in the west and south. The 6th largest lake in the country, Snåsavatnet, is partly located in the municipality. Other lakes include Andorsjøen, Bangsjøene, Grøningen, Holderen, and Store Øyingen. The Blåfjella–Skjækerfjella National Park covers a lot of the eastern part of the municipality.

Government
Snåsa 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 Snåsa is made up of 17 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 Snåsa:


 * 1837–1839: Jens Rynning
 * 1840–1843: Pål Olsen Gran
 * 1844–1847: Jens Rynning
 * 1848–1851: Bård Larsen Bøgset
 * 1852–1859: Lorentz Peter Elster
 * 1860–1861: Peter Muus
 * 1862–1865: Bertel Gravbrøt
 * 1866–1868: Lorentz Nicolai Bøgset
 * 1868–1871: Thomas Conrad Hirsch
 * 1872–1873: Peter Muus
 * 1874–1875: Butulf Brønstad
 * 1876–1883: Erik Belbo (V)
 * 1884–1887: Gunnerius Larsen (V)
 * 1888–1893: Nils Muus (V)
 * 1894–1898: Ole Eggen (V)
 * 1899–1901: Nils Muus (V)
 * 1902–1907: Ole Eggen (V)
 * 1908–1916: Lorents Seem (Rp)
 * 1917–1919: Johan N. Brede (LL)
 * 1920–1922: Størker Jørstad (V)
 * 1922-1922: Arne H. Five (LL)
 * 1923–1925: Nikolai Kjenstad (Bp)
 * 1926–1928: Arne H. Five (V)
 * 1929–1934: Olaf Eggen (Bp)
 * 1935–1937: Emil Mona (Bp)
 * 1938–1945: Olaf Eggen (Bp/NS))
 * 1945-1945: Emil Mona (Bp)
 * 1945-1945: Peter Finsaas (V)
 * 1946–1947: Jon Viem (Ap)
 * 1948-1948: Peter Finsaas (V)
 * 1948–1951: Johannes Gåsmo (Bp)
 * 1952–1955: Jon Viem (Ap)
 * 1956–1963: Johannes Gåsmo (Sp)
 * 1964–1967: Åsmund Grande (Sp)
 * 1968–1975: Arne Sandnes (Sp)
 * 1976–1987: Fridtjof Jørstad (Sp)
 * 1988–1989: Ludvig Lundheim (V)
 * 1990–1991: Arnold Skjemstad (Ap)
 * 1992–1999: Eystein Bardal (Sp)
 * 1999–2003: Alfred Berget (Ap)
 * 2003-2015: Vigdis Hjulstad Belbo (Sp)
 * 2015-2019: Tone Våg (Ap)
 * 2019–present: Arnt Einar Bardal (Sp)

Transportation
The European route E6 highway runs through the municipality on the north side of the Snåsavatnet lake and the Nordland Line runs along the south side of the lake. The train stops at Jørstad Station and Snåsa Station.

Trivia

 * Inge Altemberg, the leading character in the movie Sweet Land, played by Elizabeth Reaser comes to America just after WWI from Snåsa

Notable people

 * Jens Rynning (1778–1857) a Norwegian priest and public education advocate, spent his working life as a priest in Ringsaker and Snåsa
 * Bernt Julius Muus (1832 in Snåsa – 1900) a Norwegian-American Lutheran minister, helped found St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota
 * Peder Falstad (1894 in Snåsa – 1965) an American ski jumper, competed at the 1932 Winter Olympics
 * Arne Sandnes (1924 in Snåsa – 2016) a politician and Mayor of Snåsa municipal council
 * Joralf Gjerstad (born 1926 in Snåsa – 2021) a self identified psychic and untested faith healer, known as "the man with warm hands"
 * Geir Høgsnes (1950 in Snåsa - 2009) a Norwegian sociologist and academic
 * Jon Åge Tyldum (born 1968 in Snåsa) a former Norwegian biathlete
 * Anders Eide (born 1971 in Snåsa) a Norwegian cross-country skier who competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics