Stor-Elvdal

Stor-Elvdal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Koppang. Other villages in the municipality include Atna, Evenstad, and Sollia.

The 2166 km2 municipality is the 28th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Stor-Elvdal is the 263rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,281. The municipality's population density is 1.1 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 13.6% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The parish of Store Elvedalen was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the neighboring municipality of Sollia (population: 356) was merged with Stor-Elvdal (population: 3,808) to form a new, larger municipality of Stor-Elvdal.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named Stor-Elvdal after the large Elvdalen valley (Elfardalr) which was the historical name for the whole area. The first element is the genitive case of the word which means "river", referring to the river Glomma which flows through the valley. The last element is which means "valley" or "dale". Thus this word means "river valley". The name also includes the prefix which means "big". This prefix was added to the old name "Elvdalen" to distinguish it from the nearby municipality of Lille Elvdalen ("little Elvdalen", later the name was shortened to Alvdal). In the late Middle Ages the two areas were distinguished using the words Ytre Elvdalen (meaning "outer" Elvdalen) and Øvre Elvdalen (meaning "upper" Elvdalen). Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Store Elvdalen or Stor-Elvedalen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Stor-Elvdal, removing the definite form ending -en.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 12 February 1988. The official blazon is "Vert, two wood saws argent bendwise" (I grønt to skråstilte sølv tømmersager). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is two diagonal two-man saws. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The design and color were chosen to symbolize the importance of forestry in the municipality. 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 four parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Stor-Elvdal. It is part of the Sør-Østerdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar.

Government
Stor-Elvdal 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 Østre Innlandet District Court and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Stor-Elvdal 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 Stor-Elvdal:


 * 1889–1891: Ole Olsen Evenstad
 * 1901-1904: Thore Myrvang (V)
 * 1913-1916: Thore Myrvang (ArbDem)
 * 1922-1925: Thore Myrvang (ArbDem)
 * 1980–1995: Ola Kristiansen (Ap)
 * 1995-1999: Sigmund Vestad (LL)
 * 1999-2003: Øyvind Strand (Ap)
 * 2003-2011: Sigmund Vestad (LL)
 * 2011-2015: Even Moen (Sp)
 * 2015-2019: Terje Hoffstad (Ap)
 * 2019–2023: Even Moen (Sp)
 * 2023-present: Linda Otnes Henriksen (Ap)

Geography
Stor-Elvdal is bordered on the north by the municipalities of Folldal and Alvdal, on the east by Rendalen, in the south by Åmot and Ringsaker, in the west by Øyer and Ringebu, and in the northwest by Sør-Fron.

The lake Atnsjøen is located in the northwestern part of the municipality, just outside Rondane National Park. The river Glomma runs through the municipality.



Tourism
Stor-Elvdal boasts the second tallest moose statue in the world, a steel giant moose at the side of the Norwegian National Road 3.

Notable people

 * Thore Embretsen Myrvang (1858–1939), an educator, politician, and three-time mayor of Stor-Elvdal
 * Halldis Neegaard Østbye (1896 in Stor-Elvdal – 1983), a person known as "Norway's most fanatical Naziwoman" during WWII
 * Torkel Andreas Trønnes (1925-2011), an automobile advocate who lived in Koppang

Sister cities
Stor-Elvdal has sister city agreements with the following places:
 * 🇪🇪 Sõmeru Parish, Lääne-Viru County, Estonia