Melhus

Melhus kommune
Municipality
View of Melhus sentrum
Coat of arms Trøndelag within Norway
Melhus within Trøndelag
Coordinates: 63°10′35″N 10°18′13″E / 63.17639°N 10.30361°E / 63.17639; 10.30361Coordinates: 63°10′35″N 10°18′13″E / 63.17639°N 10.30361°E / 63.17639; 10.30361
Country	Norway
County	Trøndelag
District	Gauldalen
Established	1 Jan 1838
Administrative centre	Melhus
Government
• Mayor (2019)	Jorid Jagtøyen (Sp)
Area
• Total	694.41 km2 (268.11 sq mi)
• Land	653.28 km2 (252.23 sq mi)
• Water	41.13 km2 (15.88 sq mi)  5.9%
Area rank	166 in Norway
Population  (2020)
• Total	16,733
• Rank	75 in Norway
• Density	25.6/km2 (66/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	12.7%
Demonym(s)	Melhusbygg[1]
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-5028
Official language form	Neutral[2]
Website	melhus.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

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 , 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-square-kilometre (268 sq mi) municipality is the 166th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Melhus is the 75th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 16,733. The municipality's population density is 25.6 inhabitants per square kilometre (66/sq mi) and its population has increased by 12.7% over the previous 10-year period.^[3][4]

General information[]

Melhus was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). 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.^[5] 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 (Old Norse: Meðalhúsar), since the first Melhus Church was built there. The first element is meðal which means "middle" and the last element is the plural form of hús which means "house". The farm is one part of a greater and older farm, which had the name Óðinssalr which means "the salr (mead hall) of Odin".^[6]

Coat of arms[]

The coat of arms was granted on 8 November 1979. The arms show a gold-colored archer with a red background. The arms were chosen to symbolize 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.^[7]

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 Era. 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[]

View of the Gaulosen fjord

The 695-square-kilometre (268 sq mi) 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 lie in the central part of the municipality, and the lake Samsjøen lies on the southeastern border with Midtre Gauldal municipality. The mountains of and Vassfjellet lie on the eastern border with Selbu and Klæbu municipalities, respectively.

Government[]

All municipalities in Norway, including Melhus, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor.^[8] The municipality falls under the Sør-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 party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor[]

The mayors of Melhus (incomplete list):

• 2019-present: Jorid Jagtøyen (Sp)
• 2015-2019: Gunnar Krogstad (Ap)
• 2011-2015: Jorid Jagtøyen (Sp)
• 2003-2011: Erling Bøhle (Ap)
• 2001-2003: Solfrid Løvseth (Ap)
• 1995-2001: Anders Estenstad (Ap)

Transportation[]

European route E6 runs north and south through the municipality, following the Gaula River. There is also a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) 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.

Gallery[]

• 

  Bridge crossing Gaula River

• 

  Gimse in Melhus

• 

  Gaustad Lake

• 

  Chapel at Vassfjellet on the border with Klæbu

• 

  View of Øysand in northern Melhus

Newspapers[]

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

Notable residents[]

Per Borten, 1964

• Einar Thambarskelfir (ca.980 – ca.1050) influential nobleman, 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) politician and Government minister
• Sophus Dahl (1877 in Horg– 1952) a Norwegian theater and film actor ^[27]
• Martin Tranmæl (1879 in Melhus – 1967) Party Secretary and MP for the Norwegian Labour Party, editor of Arbeiderbladet
• Per Borten (1913 in Flå – 2005) Prime Minister of Norway 1965 to 1971
• Odd Bye (1916 in Horg – 2010) journalist and politician
• Hans Flock (born 1940 in Melhus) Supreme Court Justice, 1996 to 2010.
• Tor Singsaas (born 1948) Bishop of Nidaros, grew up in Melhus
• Jorun Thørring (born 1955) a Norwegian crime writer and gynaecologist, lives in Melhus
• Torstein Flakne (born 1960) rock musician, member of The Kids and founder of Stage Dolls
• Hans Bollandsås (born 1980 in Melhus) a blues musician, won the Norwegian X Factor in 2010.

Magnar Estenstad, 1949

Sport[]

• Magnar Estenstad (1924 in Hølonda – 2004) cross-country skier, bronze and team silver medallist at the 1952 Winter Olympics
• Toralf Engan (born 1939) ski jumper, gold and silver medallist at the 1964 Winter Olympics
• Magne Thomassen (born 1941 in Melhus) speed skater silver medallist at the 1968 Winter Olympics
• Oddvar Brå (born 1951 in Hølonda) cross-country skier, team silver medallist at the 1972 & 1980 Winter Olympics
• Unni Lehn (born 1977 in Melhus) footballer, team gold medallist at the 2000 Summer Olympics

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Melhus.

• Trøndelag travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway (in Norwegian)
• Municipal website (in Norwegian)
• Melhus Prestegårdslåna (in Norwegian)
• Local history of Melhus (in Norwegian)