Eidskog is a

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

Innlandet Innlandet is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (Jevnaker Municipality and Lunner Municipality were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken ( ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It is located in the traditional district of Vinger. The

administrative centre An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

of the municipality is the village of Skotterud. Other villages in the municipality include Magnor,

Matrand Matrand is a village in Eidskog Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located approximately south of the Kongsvinger (town), town of Kongsvinger and about north of the village of Skotterud. Matrand is approximately northwest ...

, and

Åbogen Åbogen is a village in Eidskog Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located just south of the municipal border with Kongsvinger and approximately from the border with Sweden. The village of Matrand lies about to the south o ...

. The municipality is the 181st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Eidskog is the 155th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,032. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

is and its population has decreased by 4.1% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality was established on 1 January 1864 when the old Vinger Municipality was divided in two: Vinger (population: 6,226) in the north and Eidskog (population: 6,920) in the south. On 1 January 1986, the northern part of the

area (population: 14) was transferred from Kongsvinger Municipality to Eidskog Municipality.

Name

The municipality is named ''Eidskog'' () since it was an old name for the area. The first element is the

plural In many languages, a plural (sometimes list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated as pl., pl, , or ), is one of the values of the grammatical number, grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than ...

genitive case In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive ca ...

of which means "

isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

" or in this situation, a "path between two lakes". The first element is which means "

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

s" or "

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

". Thus the name means "the woods with the many ". (In historical times, people traveled in small boats on the lakes and the rivers, but they had to drag the boats over the .) Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled ''Eidskogen''. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to ''Eidskog'', removing the definite form ending ''-en''.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted on 12 September 1986. The official

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

is ''"

Argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

, a grouse

sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaz ...

regardant crested

gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). Gules is portrayed in heraldic hatch ...

"'' (). This means the arms have a field (background) has a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

is a

black grouse The black grouse (''Lyrurus tetrix''), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large Aves, bird in the grouse family. It is a Bird migration, sedentary species, spanning across the Palearctic in m ...

with a red

comb A comb is a tool consisting of a shaft that holds a row of teeth for pulling through the hair to clean, untangle, or style it. Combs have been used since prehistoric times, having been discovered in very refined forms from settlements dating ba ...

. The design was chosen since this type of bird is a common inhabitant of the many

s in the municipality.

Forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

is also one of the main sources of income in the area. The arms were designed by Stein Davidsen. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

has two parishes () within the municipality of Eidskog. It is part of the Solør, Vinger og Odal prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

) in the

Diocese of Hamar The Diocese of Hamar () is a diocese within the Church of Norway. The Diocese of Hamar includes all of the churches in Innlandet county plus the churches in Lunner Municipality in Akershus county. Administratively, the diocese is divided into 1 ...

Geography

The municipality is located in the southeastern part of

county. It is bordered to the north by the municipality of

Kongsvinger Kongsvinger () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger. Other settlements in the municipality include Aust ...

(in Innlandet) and in the west by

Aurskog-Høland Aurskog-Høland is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bjørkelangen. The municipality of Rømskog, in Østfold county was m ...

, Nes (both in

Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...

and

Sør-Odal Sør-Odal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Odalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skarn ...

(in Innlandet). Eidskog also borders

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, both to the east and south. The lakes Digeren, Mangen, and Skjervangen are all located in Eidskog.

History

The name ''Eidskog'' is ancient and was used for the southern part of Vinger, the region between today's

in Norway and

Arvika Arvika is a locality and the seat of Arvika Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden with 14,244 inhabitants in 2010. Geography The town of Arvika is situated at Kyrkviken, a bay of Glafsfjorden, Sweden's only inland fjord, a remnant of the tim ...

in Sweden. The Vinger Royal Road () historically traveled through Eidskog (and continues today as the Norwegian National Road 2). It was one of the most important traffic arteries between Norway and Sweden. The name Eidskog was already in use during the

saga Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...

period and became, after the

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon ca ...

Saint Olaf Saint Olaf ( – 29 July 1030), also called Olaf the Holy, Olaf II, Olaf Haraldsson, and Olaf the Stout or "Large", was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the ...

and important pilgrim's route from

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Nidaros Cathedral Nidaros Cathedral () is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county. It is built over the burial site of Olav II of Norway, King Olav II ( 995–1030, reigned 1015–1028), who became the patron saint of th ...

. During the 12th century, the Eidskog Church was built. It was a stave church built in Midtskog (which means ). The present Eidskog Church is built on the same site (now called

) and this building was constructed in 1665. The way through Eidskog was also militarily important and many times through history has been the point of Swedish strikes into

Hedmark Hedmark () was a Counties of Norway, county in Norway from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar. Hedmar ...

. To defend against these assaults, a number of

fortifications A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

were built in the vicinity, including ones at Magnor and Matrand, but the chief fortification was Kongsvinger Fortress (to the north). The last Swedish attack through Eidskog was in 1814 when Major General Carl Pontus Gahn on July 31 crossed the border and marched against Kongsvinger. His forces were stopped at Lier outside Kongsvinger on 2 August 1814 by troops led by Lieutenant Colonel Andreas Samuel Krebs (1769-1818) and retreated to Eidskog. On 4 August 1814, Krebs followed after to drive Swedish troops off Norwegian territory. The two forces met in the Battle of Matrand which was the bloodiest battle of the war and ended with a Norwegian victory. Later in 1814, Norway was joined in union with Sweden and the confrontations at the Eidskog border ended. The Soot Canal, constructed in 1849, has Norway's oldest

sluice A sluice ( ) is a water channel containing a sluice gate, a type of lock to manage the water flow and water level. There are various types of sluice gates, including flap sluice gates and fan gates. Different depths are calculated when design s ...

gates. It was the work of Engebret Soot (1786–1859). It was built to allow timber to be transported (floated) to the

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a List of cities in Norway, town and a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, R ...

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, 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 ...

s. The canal was long and had 16 locks which extended from Lake Skjervangen at above sea level up to Lake Mortsjølungen at above sea level. The route through Eidskog became an important connection between the two countries; this was strengthened with the opening of the ''Grenseban'' railway in 1862, which connected Christiania to

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Government

Eidskog Municipality is responsible for

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

services,

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

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

economic development In economics, economic development (or 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 object ...

, and municipal

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s and utilities. 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, borough cou ...

of directly elected representatives. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the

Romerike og Glåmdal District Court Romerike og Glåmdal District Court () is a district court (Norway), district court located in Innlandet and Akershus counties in Norway. This court is based at three different courthouses which are located in Eidsvoll (village), Eidsvoll, Kongsv ...

and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

of Eidskog is made up of 25 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, 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 oft ...

Mayors

The

mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

() of Eidskog: *1864-1872: Henry T. Fearnley *1872-1879: Haagen Pedersen Malmer *1879-1895: Meldal Johnsen *1895-1897: O. Løken *1897-1905: Hans Taugbøl *1905-1907: O. Løken *1908-1913: Otto Pramm *1913-1915: Ole Syversen Fagernæs ( V) *1915-1915: M. T. Huse *1915-1916: Olof Nilsson *1917-1919: Otto Pramm *1920-1922: H. A. Rambøl *1923-1928: Thorvald Taugbøl *1929-1934: Kaspar Billerud *1935-1945: Selmer Alm ( Ap) *1945-1947: Hallgrim Sørli ( Ap) *1948-1963: Sigurd Skjørberg *1964-1981: Ivar Delviken *1982-1983: Kaare Fjeld *1984-1999: Kåre Delviken *1999-2005: Ivar Skulstad ( Ap) *2005-2007: Greta Storm Ofteland ( Ap) *2007-2015: Knut Gustav Woie ( Sp) *2015–present: Kamilla Thue ( Ap) Morokulien

Attractions

* Soot Canal - the first

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

constructed in Norway, used for log floating * Grenselosmuseet - museum on the route for escape to Sweden during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

* Oppistun Børli - poet Hans Børli's home * Morokulien - memorial to the long lasting peace with Sweden * Rønning Treski - last wood ski producer in Norway

Notable people

* Erik Werenskiold (1855 in Eidskog – 1938), a Norwegian painter and illustrator * Konrad Hirsch (1900 in Eidskog – 1924), a Swedish footballer who played in

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had al ...

* Julla Sæthern (1901 in Eidskog – 1981), a Norwegian barrister, feminist, and politician * Hans Børli (1918 at Eidskog – 1989), a Norwegian poet, writer, and

lumberjack Lumberjack is a mostly North American term for workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees. The term usually refers to loggers in the era before 1945 in the United States, when trees were felled us ...

* Torgrim Sollid (born 1942 in Eidskog), a composer and folk and jazz musician * Ivar Skulstad (born 1953), a politician and Mayor of Eidskog 1999 to 2005 * Kristin Solli Schøien (born 1954), an author and composer who lives in Eidskog * Remi Eriksen (born 1967), the Group President and CEO of

DNV GL Det Norske Veritas (DNV), formerly DNV GL, is an international accredited registrar and classification society headquartered in Høvik, Norway. DNV provides services for several industries, including maritime, oil and gas, renewable energy, ...

(a classification society) * Wilhelm Brenna (born 1979), a retired Norwegian ski jumper and junior world champion * Andreas Ulvo (born 1983), a jazz pianist, organist, keyboardist, and composer

References

External links

* *
Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every year on its web site. All rele ...

Culture in Eidskog on the map
{{use dmy dates, date=March 2022 Municipalities of Innlandet 1864 establishments in Norway