The 1,229-square-kilometre (475 sq mi) municipality is the 87th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Elverum is the 57th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 21,568. The municipality's population density is 17.8 inhabitants per square kilometre (46/sq mi) and its population has increased by 6% over the previous 10-year period.[5][6]
The parish of Elverum was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The borders have not changed since that time.[7]
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Elverum farm (Old Norse: Alfarheimr) since the first Elverum Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of elfr which means "river" (referring to the Glomma river). The last element is heimr which means "home" or "farm".[8]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 9 December 1988. The official blazon is "Gules, an owl displayedOr" (Norwegian: I rødt ei gull ugle med utslåtte vinger). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is an owl. The owl has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. This design is a symbol for wisdom and teaching, since Elverum has a number of schools in it. Most owls are forest birds, and the owl can also represent wild animals and birds, and thus symbolize the forest and wilderness areas in and around Elverum. Finally, the owl has lifted wings and claws out which symbolize a determined defense and the fighting spirit of Norwegians. In 1940, when Norway was under attack from the German forces, the government fled to Elverum where King Haakon VII received the power from the Storting to govern the country in exile without the Parliament during the war (Elverum Authorization). The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[9][10][11]
Sagtjernet is a lake in the northern parts of Elverum where lots of residents visit in the summer. It is a lake formed by the last ice age. Rokosjøen is another lake in the municipality. The rivers Julussa, Glomma, and Flisa flow through the municipality.
The municipal council(Kommunestyre) of Elverum is made up of 35 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
During the Nordic Seven Years' War (1563–1570), Swedish troops invaded Norway in a number of locations, including a number of incursions into Østerdalen. In 1563, Norwegian troops stopped the Swedish advance at Elverum, which provided a strategic point since it lay on both north–south and east–west trade and travel routes.
The parishes of Idre and Särna originally belonged to the prestegjeld of Elverum, but they were occupied by Swedish troops in 1644, and since then they were lost to Sweden.
A Norwegian infantry regiment, the Oppland Regiment, was formed in 1657 and Elverum became a garrison. The area of population east of the river called Leiret (literally the camp) adjacent to Christiansfjeld Fortress was built up by soldiers as well as the merchants and craftsmen who settled nearby. The central areas of the town of Elverum on the east side of the river is referred to as Leiret.
In 1878, Terningmoen at Elverum became the home base for the Oppland Regiment and an infantry school was founded here in 1896. The Oppland Regiment had a history which included courageous involvement in combat from the Swedish wars of the 17th century through the Germaninvasion of Norway in 1940. As part of the general restructuring, the unit was disbanded in 2002.
View of the west side of the river Glomma from Gammelbrua
In the Danish-Norwegian period, Elverum was the location for a bailiff (fogd), a judge (sorenskriver), a church provost (prost), and numerous military officers.
It became important as a market town as well. In 1570 Hamar Cathedral in Hamar was burned and Hamarhus castle was destroyed by the Swedish armies during the Seven Years' War with Sweden. Hamar lost its city status, leaving no kjøpstad, or official market city, between Christiania and Trondheim. Eastern Norway needed an organized market for trading goods. The Grundset market (Grundsetmart'n) in Elverum municipality grew to meet the need. It is recorded as existing in the 17th century, and in 1765 the owner of Gaarder obtained special market privileges from the king, to take place six miles north of the population center of Elverum on his estate. By 1767, it was described as Norway's largest and most famous market. In the first week of March, for almost 300 years, the folks of the district met to trade and to celebrate. People from Gudbrandsdal, Oslo, Trøndelag, and Sweden also regularly came to Grundsetmart'n. The Grundset market was finally abandoned in 1901, when pressures of the railroad and other markets made it superfluous.
The railway connecting Oslo and Trondheim passed through Elverum in 1877.
World War II
Elverum municipality served as a temporary capital of Norway during the World War II German invasion. On 9 April 1940 Norwegian troops prevented German parachute troops from capturing Norway's King Haakon, Crown Prince, and Parliament while the Parliament was meeting to issue the Elverum Authorization, authorizing the exiled government until the Parliament could again convene. On April 11, shortly after the government's refusal to submit to German terms, the central part of the town of Elverum was reduced to ashes.
Museums
Norwegian Forest Museum
Glomdal Museum
The Norwegian Forest Museum is a national museum recognizing the importance of forestry, hunting, and fishing to the Norwegian history and economy.
Glomdal Museum
From the eastern side of the Glomma river (the Museum of Norwegian Forestry – Skogmuseet), a pedestrian bridge across the Klokkerfoss waterfall to Prestøya, and then a bridge across the Prestfossen falls leads to the Glomdal Museum, one of the largest Norwegian outdoor museums, with numerous houses from the mountain parishes of Østerdalen and the lowland districts of Solør on the Glomma river valley. The exhibition includes a library with numerous books, including handwritten medieval manuscripts.
Åsmund Sveen (1910 in Elverum – 1963), a poet, novelist, and literary critic who was purged after WWII
Gunnar Sønstevold (1912 in Elverum – 1991), a Norwegian composer of orchestral works; vocal music; chamber music; and music to a number of plays, ballets, and films[39]
Dagfinn Grønoset (1920–2008), a journalist and writer who lived in Elverum
Bjørn Ole Rasch (born 1959 in Elverum), a keyboard player, composer, and producer
Baard Slagsvold (born 1963 in Elverum), a Norwegian pop and jazz musician
^"Godkjenning av våpen og flagg". Lovdata.no (in Norwegian). Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet. 9 December 1988. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
^"Kommunestyrevalget 1995"(PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1996. Archived(PDF) from the original on 20 September 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
^"Kommunestyrevalget 1991"(PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1993. Archived(PDF) from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
^"Kommunestyrevalget 1987"(PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1988. Archived(PDF) from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
^"Kommunestyrevalget 1983"(PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1984. Archived(PDF) from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
^"Kommunestyrevalget 1979"(PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1979. Archived(PDF) from the original on 29 September 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
^"Kommunevalgene 1975"(PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1977. Archived(PDF) from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
^"Kommunevalgene 1972"(PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1973. Archived(PDF) from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
^"Kommunevalgene 1967"(PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1967. Archived(PDF) from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
^"Kommunevalgene 1963"(PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1964. Archived(PDF) from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
^ abcdSkrede, Magne (1958). Elverum : en bygdebeskrivelse (in Norwegian). Vol. 4 : Tillegg til Finne-Grønns bok om Elverum. Elverum, Norge: Elverum kommune. pp. 237–257. Archived from the original on 11 July 2024. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
^ abSolbakken, Evald O. (1951). Det røde fylke gjennom 100 år (in Norwegian). Hedmark fylkes arbeiderparti. p. 48. Archived from the original on 11 July 2024. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
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