( sma, Nåavmesjenjaelmie) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denma ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, Norway. It is part of the

Namdalen Namdalen ( sma, Nååmesjevuemie) is a traditional district in the central part of Norway, consisting of the municipalities Namsos, Grong, Overhalla, Røyrvik, Nærøysund, Høylandet, Flatanger, Lierne, Leka, and Namsskogan, all in Tr ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Namsos. Some of the villages in the municipality include Bangsund, Klinga, Ramsvika, Skomsvoll, Spillum, Sævik,

Dun A dun is an ancient or medieval fort. In Ireland and Britain it is mainly a kind of hillfort and also a kind of Atlantic roundhouse. Etymology The term comes from Irish ''dún'' or Scottish Gaelic ''dùn'' (meaning "fort"), and is cognat ...

Salsnes Salsnes is a village in the municipality of Namsos in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located on the mainland of Fosnes on a small isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by ...

, Nufsfjord, Lund,

Namdalseid Namdalseid is a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it joined Namsos Municipality. It was part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipa ...

Sjøåsen Sjøåsen is a village in the municipality of Namsos in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located at the mouth of the river Årgårdselva at the end of the Løgnin arm of the Namsenfjorden. It is located along Norwegian County Road 17 at the inte ...

, Statland, Tøttdalen, and

Sverkmoen Sverkmoen is a farming area in the municipality of Namsos in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is west of the village of Namdalseid, between the lake Øyungen and the river Sverka which flows through a flat landscape covered with forest A ...

. The municipality is the 30th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Namsos is the 80th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 15,001. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

is and its population has decreased by 2.1% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Name

The first part of the name comes from the local river

Namsen or is one of the longest rivers in Trøndelag county, in the central part of Norway. The long river flows through the municipalities of Røyrvik, Namsskogan, Grong, Overhalla, and Namsos before emptying into the Namsenfjorden. The river is ...

. The last element is ''os'', which means the " mouth of a river".

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

was granted to the town of Namsos on 5 May 1961. They were re-granted on 21 October 1966 when the town was merged into the municipality of Namsos. The arms show a golden moose head on a red background. The

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

was chosen as a symbol for the municipality, since Namsos is the capital of the forest-rich

region, and the moose is the "king of the forest".

Churches

The Church of Norway has seven parishes () within the municipality of Namsos. It is part of the Namdal prosti ( deanery) in the

Diocese of Nidaros Nidaros is a diocese in the Lutheran Church of Norway. It covers Trøndelag county in Central Norway and its cathedral city is Trondheim, which houses the well-known Nidaros Cathedral. Since 10 September 2017, the Bishop of Nidaros is Herbor ...

History

On 1 January 1838, the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

of Vemundvik was established as a municipality (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1846, the village of

Namsos ( sma, Nåavmesjenjaelmie) is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Namsos. Some of the villages in the municipality include Bangsund, Kl ...

in Vemundvik was established as a ladested. Namsos was located at the mouth of the

river in the Sævik area of Vemundvik. The new ladested (town) was established as its own municipality, with 591 inhabitants. This left Vemundvik with 908 residents. In 1865, the town of Namsos also became a parish in the Church of Norway. It had been decided to build a church in the city in March 1859; the construction was finished in November. In May 1865, the parish was created, with the sub-parishes of Sævik and Vemundvik, formerly within Overhalla parish, was incorporated into Namsos' parish limits. Areas of Vemundvik lying adjacent to the town of Namsos were later incorporated within the city limits on numerous occasions. On 1 January 1882, an area with 109 inhabitants was moved to the town; on 1 July 1921 an area with 927 inhabitants; and on 1 July 1957, another area with a population of 6. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee ( no, Schei-komitéen) was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II. It convened in 1946, and its formal name was (The 1946 Committee on Municip ...

. On 1 January 1964, the size of Namsos was significantly increased as the neighboring municipalities of Vemundvik (population: 2,040) and Klinga (population: 2,482) were incorporated into the town of Namsos (population: 5,224). On the same date, the northern part of the neighboring municipality of

Otterøy Otterøy is a former municipality in the old Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1913 until its dissolution in 1964. It was located in the what is now the municipality of Namsos in Trøndelag county. The former munici ...

(population: 1,013), and the Finnanger area of

Fosnes Fosnes is a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Namsos Municipality. It was part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the mu ...

municipality (population: 116) were also incorporated into Namsos. Namsos, which previously had a population of 5,224, had its size increased to 10,875 inhabitants. Consisting mostly of wooden houses, it has been burned down to the ground on three occasions during its relatively short history. The first fire was in 1872, caused by two boys playing with matches. The second fire was in 1897, from an unknown cause. The third time was during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

when the town was bombed by German airplanes on 20 April 1940. The location by the river and the large

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s nearby made the town ideal for

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

s. There were eleven mills in their heyday, but only one remains: Moelven Van Severen. In addition, the Norwegian Sawmill Museum is located at Spillum just south of the town. The museum is located at the now closed and restored Spillum Dampsag & Hovleri sawmill from 1884. The town has a swimming pool, Oasen, built inside a mountain. On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Nord-Trøndelag county to the new

county. On 1 January 2020, the three neighboring municipalities of

, Namsos, and

merged to form a new, larger Namsos municipality. This occurred because on 16 June 2016 the three municipalities voted to merge as part of a large municipal reform across Norway.

Geography

The town is located on a small bay, about from the sea, near the head of

Namsenfjorden The Namsenfjorden or Namsfjorden is a fjord in Trøndelag county, Norway. The long fjord flows along the border between the municipalities of Namsos and Flatanger. It runs southeast from the Folda firth, between the mainland in the south and the ...

and at the mouth of the river Namsen, one of the richest

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

rivers in Europe. The municipality also includes the islands of

Otterøya Otterøya is an island in the municipality of Namsos in Trøndelag county, Norway. The island is the largest island in the northern part of Trøndelag county. Otterøya sits just to the northwest of the town of Namsos on the north side of the ...

and Hoddøya as well as the southwestern half of Elvalandet island. The main part of the town is built on a small, low-lying promontory which extends into the bay. To the north, low

ed hills rise fairly steeply to over . There is a viewpoint from the hills above the city which is called Klompen with a height of with a road for cars up to the top that is open each summer. To the east extends the wide

valley. To the south over the bay and mouth of the river Namsen are hills that reach .

Climate

Namsos has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

or oceanic climate, depending on the winter threshold used (0C or -3C). The weather station is near the small airport, situated about inland from Namsos along the river. Monthly average daily high temperature range from in the coldest months (January and February) to in July. The all-time high is recorded on July 27, 2019. The warmest month on record at the airport was July 2014 with average daily high and monthly mean . Namsos Airport recorded on May 31, 2013, which is the record high for May for the Trøndelag region. The record low was recorded January 2010. Autumn and winter are the wettest seasons, while late spring is the driest.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Namsos, are responsible for primary education (through tenth grade), outpatient health services,

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...

and other social services,

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. The municipality is governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elect a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

. The municipality falls under the

Trøndelag District Court Trøndelag District Court ( no, Trøndelag tingrett) is a district court located in Trøndelag county, Norway. This court is based at four different courthouses which are located in Brekstad, Namsos, Steinkjer, and Trondheim. The court serves the ...

and the

Frostating Court of Appeal The Frostating Court of Appeal ( no, Frostating lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Trondheim. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Trøndelag and Møre og Romsdal. ...

Municipal council

The

() of Namsos is made up of 41 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featur ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Namsos (incomplete list): *2015–present: Arnhild Holstad ( Ap) *2007-2015: Morten Stene (Ap) *2003-2007: Kåre Aalberg ( SV) *1992-2003: Snorre Ness (Ap) *1976-1991:

Gunnar Solum Gunnar Solum (1929 – 11 June 2008) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He started his career in journalism. He was editor-in-chief of '' Brønnøysunds Avis'', then became a journalist in '' Namdalsavisa'' in 1961. He was promoted ...

(Ap)

Transportation

Namsos Airport Namsos Airport ( no, Namsos lufthavn; ), referred locally as Høknesøra Airport, is a regional airport located along the Namsen river, just outside the town of Namsos in Trøndelag county, Norway. The airport is served with Dash 8 aircraft from ...

is located just outside the town of Namsos, around 3 km from the city, with direct flights to Oslo, Trondheim, Rørvik, Mosjøen, Bodø.

Norwegian County Road 17 County Road 17 ( no, Fylkesvei 17), also known as the Coastal Highway ( no, Kystriksveien), is a Norwegian highway that runs from the town of Bodø in Nordland county (in the north) to the town of Steinkjer in Trøndelag county (in the south). I ...

runs through part of the municipality. The closed

Namsos Line The Namsos Line ( no, Namsosbanen) is a railway line between the village of Medjå and the town of Namsos in Trøndelag county, Norway. The line branches off from the Nordland Line at Grong Station and runs through the municipalities of Grong ...

runs from Namsos to

Grong ( sma, Kråangke) is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Medjå (sometimes called ''Grong'' also). Other villages in the municipality inc ...

. The island of

is connected to the mainland via the Lokkaren Bridge.

Notable people

Public service

* Jørgen Johannes Havig (1808–1883) bailiff (

lensmann in modern Norwegian or in Danish and older Norwegian spelling (; ) is a term with several distinct meanings in Nordic history. The Icelandic equivalent was a . Fief-holder The term traditionally referred to a holder of a royal fief in Denmark ...

), farmer and politician; helped found Namsos * Christian Møinichen Havig (1825 in Overhalla – 1912) a Norwegian bailiff, (

) * Fredrik Havig (1855 in Namdalen – 1927) a Norwegian judge, Mayor and politician * Osborne J. P. Widtsoe (1877 in Namsos – 1920) principal of the Latter-day Saints University in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

* Olav Heggstad (1877 in Namsos – 1954) a civil engineer and professor at the Norwegian Institute of Technology * Otto Christian Dahl (1903 in Namsos – 1995) a missionary in Madagascar, linguist and

government scholar Government scholar (Norwegian, ''statsstipendiat'') is a position awarded by the Parliament of Norway upon the recommendation of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Research and funded directly over the State budget of Nor ...

* Knut Løfsnes (1918 in Namsos – 1996) a

Norwegian resistance The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *Asserting the legitimacy of the exiled government, ...

member, politician and lawyer * Live Marié Strømmen (2001 Namsos - present day) a breakdancer and saleswoman * Guttorm Hansen (1920 in Namsos – 2009) a writer and politician;

President of the Storting The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

1973-1981 and a prolific book writer *

(1929–2008) a Norwegian politician, four time Mayor of Namsos * Anne Alvik (born 1937) a Norwegian physician and civil servant. *

Harald Tveit Alvestrand Harald Tveit Alvestrand (born 29 June 1959) is a Norwegian computer scientist. He was chair of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) from 2001 until 2005, succeeding Fred Baker. Within the IETF, Alvestrand was earlier the chair of the Areas ...

(born 1959 Namsos) a Norwegian computer scientist

The Arts

Olav Duun Olav Duun (21 November 1876 – 13 September 1939) was a noteworthy author of Norwegian fiction. He is generally recognized to be one of the more outstanding writers in Norwegian literature. He once lacked only one vote to receive the Nobel ...

(1876 on Jøa – 1939) a noteworthy author of Norwegian fiction * Arne Svendsen (1884 in Fosnes – 1958) a songwriter, folk poet, actor and revue writer IMDb Database
retrieved 28 August 2020 *

Simon Flem Devold Simon Flem Devold birthname Helge Flem Devold (17 March 1929 – 20 May 2015) born in Namsos, Norway, was a Norwegian author, journalist and jazz clarinetist. When he was three years of age he and his family moved to Ålesund, where he was rais ...

(1929 in Namsos – 2015) an author, journalist and jazz clarinetist *

Åge Aleksandersen Åge Aleksandersen (born 21 March 1949 in Namsos, Norway) is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is one of his country's best known singer/songwriters and musicians. Some of his most well known songs are "''Lys og varme''" (''Light ...

(born 1949 in Namsos) a Norwegian singer, songwriter and guitarist * Terje Tysland (born 1951 in Namsos) a singer, songwriter, guitarist and accordion player *

Idar Lind Idar Lind (born 23 September 1954) is a Norwegian novelist, crime fiction writer, songwriter and playwright. Biography Lind was born on the island of Otterøya (now part of Namsos) in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. He made his literary debut ...

(born 1954 on Otterøya) novelist, crime fiction writer, songwriter and playwright * Carl Frode Tiller (born 1970 in Namsos) a

Nynorsk Nynorsk () () is one of the two written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language ( no, Landsmål) parallel to the Dano-N ...

author, historian and musician * Frode Saugestad (born 1974 in Namsos) a literary scholar, publisher and adventurer * Jostein Gulbrandsen (born 1976 in Namsos) a New York-based guitarist and composer * Jon Rune Strøm (born 1985 in Namsos) a Jazz musician, plays Upright bass & Bass guitar * D.D.E. a pop/rock group founded in Namsos in 1992

Sport

Per Joar Hansen - Norway national under-21 football team (03)

* Anton Dahl (1882 in Bangsund – 1952) a sports shooter, competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics *

Tone Haugen Tone Haugen (born 6 February 1964) is a former Norwegian professional footballer who played as a midfielder. With the Norway women's national team, Haugen won the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup and an Olympic bronze medal in 1996. At club level ...

(born 1964 in Namsos) a former footballer with 90 appearances with the

Norway women's national football team The Norway women's national football team is controlled by the Football Association of Norway. The team is former European, World and Olympic champions and thus one of the most successful national teams. The team has had less success since the 2 ...

and team bronze medallist at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Per Joar Hansen Per Joar Hansen (born 17 August 1965) is a Norwegian football coach. He grew up in the small community of Trofors in Nordland. He played for and managed Rosenborg BK, and he has managed GIF Sundsvall, Aalesunds FK, Ranheim and the Norwegian u ...

(born 1965 in Namsos) a Norwegian football coach * twins

Nina Solheim Nina Solheim (born 4 August 1979) is a Norwegian taekwondo practitioner. She won a silver medal in the women's heavyweight (+67 kg) division at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, beaten by Mexican María del Rosario Espinoza i ...

& Mona Solheim (born 1979) Norwegian taekwondo practitioners * Gunhild Følstad (born 1981 in Overhalla) a former footballer, made 76 appearances for the

* Kjell Rune Sellin (born 1989 in Namsos) a footballer with over 300 club caps

Media gallery

File:Namsos fraa fjorden.jpg, View of the town from the fjord File:Luftfoto2SpillumDampsag.jpg, Sawmill Museum File:Bangsund1.jpg, View of Bangsund File:3. Kart.tif, Map of the area File:Namsos sentrum fra byfjellet klompen ca 1935.jpg, View of the town in 1935 File:Ruinsofnamsos.jpg, View of the town in 1940 after the German bombing

References

External links

*
Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway
Oasen Swimming Pool

Avinor: Picture showing Namsos Airport and Namsos
{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Trøndelag 1846 establishments in Norway