The 955-square-kilometre (369 sq mi) municipality is the 122nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Nordre Land is the 151st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,527. The municipality's population density is 7.1 inhabitants per square kilometre (18/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 3.4% over the previous 10-year period.[5][6]
General information
The old Land Municipality was established on 1 January 1838 after the formannskapsdistrikt law went into effect. This municipality was quite large and in less than a decade, the municipality was divided. In 1847, the old Land Municipality was divided into Nordre Land (population: 4,595) in the north and Søndre Land (population: 4,604) in the south. On 1 January 1868, a part of Søndre Land (population: 340) was transferred to Nordre Land. On 1 January 1914, Nordre Land municipality was divided into two municipalities: Torpen (population: 2,219) in the north and Nordre Land (population: 2,570) in the south. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, the municipality of Nordre Land (population: 3,870) was merged with the neighboring municipality of Torpa (population: 2,620) and the Tranlia and Store Røen areas of the neighboring municipality of Fluberg (population: 196).[7]
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the historical district of Land (Old Norse: Land) which was once a petty kingdom of its own. The name is identical to the word land which means "land". In 1847, when the old Land Municipality was divided, the municipality was named Nordre Land, using the old name plus the word nordre which means "northern", therefore the name means "(the) northern (part of) Land".[8]
The coat of arms was granted on 20 November 1987. The official blazon is "Azure, two log-driving hooks Oraddorsed issuant from the base" (Norwegian: I blått to oppvoksende adosserte gull fløterhaker). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is two hooks for log driving (Norwegian: brøtningshaker) which are aligned vertically like a mirror image. The charge has a tincture of Or (heraldry) 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 local rivers and lakes. The log driving hook was chosen because of the rich local traditions of forestry and log driving, including the vast number of log dams within the area. Tools were required for the log driving, and the local blacksmiths made pike poles. Every blacksmith created his own shape or design for the poles, and one of the most famous pike poles in Nordre Land was the design made by the blacksmith Kristian Halden. In addition to pike poles he made knives. The poles and knives were named "Hæillhakar" and "Hæillakniver" by the locals. It is the "Halden Pole" which has been the model for the municipal arms of Nordre Land. The arms were designed by Dag Magne Staurheim. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[9][10][11][12]
The municipal council(Kommunestyre) of Nordre Land is made up of 23 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
The rock carvings at Møllerstufossen are more than 6,000 years old. There are 11 carvings of moose, and also two that are more difficult to interpret. Sometime in the Stone Age this must have been an important place.
The Lands Museum is located in Dokka. About thirty buildings are reassembled in the area. In the main building from the Thomle farm there are rococo paintings on the walls by Peder Aadnes dating from about 1750.