The 1,266-square-kilometre (489 sq mi) municipality is the 81st largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Bindal is the 306th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,399. The municipality's population density is 1.2 inhabitants per square kilometre (3.1/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 10% over the previous 10-year period.[5][6]
History
Hildringen in Bindal (1852).
The ancient district of Bindalen belonged to Namdalen. However, in 1658, when the county (län) of Trondheim was ceded to Sweden in the Treaty of Roskilde, the status of the border district was ambiguous, with residents paying some taxes to Helgeland, in Nordland, and some to Namdalen. The decision was then made to redraw the county boundary to run down the Bindalsfjorden and assigning the northern part, Nord-Bindalen, to Nordland county (which remained in the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway) and the larger part remained in Trondheim county and became Sør-Bindalen (and part of the Kingdom of Sweden).[7] The two remained separate after Trøndelag county was reunited with Norway in 1660.[8]
In 1815, a single Church of Norwayprestegjeld called Bindalen was created, combining Nord-Bindalen and Sør-Bindalen into one church parish, despite belonging to different counties.[9][10] The 1838 formannskapsdistrikt law divided the country into civil municipalities which were supposed to correspond to the parishes of the Church of Norway. The parish of Bindalen (which straddled the county border) was created as Bindal Municipality, but the southern part was part of Nordre Trondheim county and the northern part of the municipality belonged to Nordland county, making for an unusual situation. In 1852, the county border was moved so that all of Bindal Municipality was located in Nordland county.[11]
On 1 January 1964, the area around the inner Bindalsfjorden and the village of Lande (population: 296) was transferred from Bindal Municipality to Brønnøy Municipality.[12]
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Bindalen valley (Old Norse: Birnudalr). The first element is the genitive case of the river name Birna (now called the river Åbjøra). The river name is derived from the word birna which means "(female) bear". The last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale".[13][14] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Bindalen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Bindal, removing the definite form ending -en.[15]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 9 February 1990. The official blazon is "Azure, six nails Or in annulo" (Norwegian: I blått seks gull nagler i rosett). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a circular arrangement of six nails or rivets. The charge 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 blue color in the field symbolizes the importance of the sea and boating and the circular arrangement of rivets was chosen to symbolize the importance of the boat building industry in Bindal. There are six rivets to represent 6 school districts, 6 originally inhabited islands, and 6 fjords areas in the municipality. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen.[16][17][18][19]
From the coast, the municipality reaches into the mountains towards the lake Majavatnet in Grane. The highest point in the municipality is the 1,088.13-metre (3,570.0 ft) tall mountain Tjeldviktinden on the border with Brønnøy Municipality.[1] Another notable mountain is the 1,058-metre (3,471 ft) tall Heilhornet.[20] It also includes part of the lakes Eidvatnet and Fjellvatnet, which also partially lie in Brønnøy Municipality. Other lakes include Åbjørvatnet, Kalvvatnet, and Saglivatnet. The river Åbjøra runs through the eastern part of Bindal. Part of the island of Austra is in Bindal.
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Bindal 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.
The mayor (Norwegian: ordfører) of Bindal is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position (incomplete list):[41]
Boat races for Nordland boats have been held annually since 1978 in the main village of Terråk during the last weekend of June. Bindal has a traditional boat-building industry and Nordland boats are still manufactured here.
Education
Bindal has two schools; one of them is classified as independent and therefore not administered by the municipality.
Terråk skole in Terråk is a 1st-10th grade school and the largest in Bindal with approximately 100 students attending it.
Bindalseidet friskole is an independent school located in Bindalseidet. It is a 1st-10th grade school.
Notable people
Otto Sverdrup (1854 in Bindal – 1930), a sailor and Arctic explorer
Fredrik Paasche (1886 in Bindal – 1943), an educator, author and literary historian
Carl Ludvig Godske (1906 in Bindal – 1970), a mathematician and meteorologist
^Nielsen, Yngvar (1897). "Kampen om Trondhjem 1657-1660". Festskrift Udgivet i Anledning af Trondhjems 900 Aars Jubilaeum 1897. Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters. p. 99. Der kunde her tvistes om Bindalen, enten den skulde høre til Helgeland eller til Namdalen. Distriktet stod i et noget uklart Forhold; nogle Afgifter betalte dets Indbyggere til Fogden i Helgeland, andre til Fogden i Namdalen, saaledes at der med Grund kunde reises Tvivl om, hvor det rettelig hørte hen. Man enedes, efter nogen Forhandling om at dele Distriktet. Nogle af dets Gaarde henlagdes til Helgeland og forbleve Norske, medens den største Del, som hørende til Namdalen, skulde lyde under den svenske Krone.
^Helland, Amund, ed. (1909). "Part 3: Byerne og Søndre og Nordre Helgeland Fogden". Norges Land og Folk: Topografisk-Statistisk Beskrevet. Vol. 18 Nordlands Amt. Kristiania: Aschehoug. p. 45. Mellem Nordre Trondhjems amt og Nordland var tidligere Bindalsfjorden grænsen. Det som laa paa søndre side af fjorden, kaldtes Sør-Bindalen og hørte til Namdalen, medens nordsiden kaldtes Nord-Bindalen og udgjorde en del af Nordland.
^Norges Land og Folk. 1908. p. 45. Da Bindalen i 1815 i geistlig henseende blev skilt fra Brønnø som eget sognekald, blev det nye præstegjeld regnet til Tromsø stift; i civil henseende vedblev distriktet at være delt.
