Meldal is a former municipality in

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 ...

. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it joined

Orkland Municipality Orkland is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Orkdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Orkang ...

. It was part of the

Orkdalen Orkdalen () is a valley and a traditional Norwegian district in Trøndelag county, Norway. In the early Viking Age, before King Harald Fairhair, the Orkla Valley was also a petty kingdom. The valley begins in the high Dovrefjell mountains and c ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. 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 was the village of Meldal. Other villages included

Løkken Verk Løkken Verk (or simply ''Løkken'') is a village in Orkland Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located south of the village of Svorkmo, east of the village of Bjørnli, and north of the municipal center of Meldal (village), Meld ...

, Bjørnli, Å, and

Storås Storås is a village in Orkland Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located along the Orkla River, about northwest of the village of Meldal. For most Norwegians, Storås is best known for hosting the annual festival called Stor� ...

. At the time of its dissolution in 2020, the municipality was the 184th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Meldal Municipality was also the 233rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,905. 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 ...

was and its population had increased by 0.3% over the previous 10-year period. The municipality was most renowned for its

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

activities at

, being the birthplace of the ''Orkla mining company'', now

Orkla Group Orkla ASA is a Norwegian conglomerate operating in Europe, Asia and the US. At present, Orkla operates in the branded consumer goods, aluminium products and financial investment sectors. Orkla ASA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and its he ...

. It was also home to the annual

Storåsfestivalen Storåsfestivalen was a three-day annual music festival in Norway. It was held between 2004 and 2012 in the village of Storås in Meldal Municipality, Trøndelag county. The founder was Sveinung Sundli of the band Gåte. From a starting point o ...

music festival.

General information

The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Meldal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...

law). In 1839, the southern district of Meldal (population: 2,368) was separated to form the new

Rennebu Municipality Rennebu is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Orkdalen Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Berkåk, located ...

. This left Meldal with 3,184 residents. On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old

Sør-Trøndelag Sør-Trøndelag (; ) was a Counties of Norway, county comprising the southern portion of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. It bordered the old Nord-Trøndelag () county as well as the counties of Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, and Hedmark. ...

county to the new

county. On 1 January 2020, the neighboring Agdenes Municipality,

Orkdal Municipality Orkdal is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it joined Orkland Municipality. It was part of the O ...

, and Meldal Municipality, plus the majority of Snillfjord Municipality were merged to form the new

Name

The municipality (originally the

) is named Meldal () after its location in the

valley. The first element is which means "middle". The last element is which means "

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

" or "dale". Thus the name means "the middle of the valley". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled ''Meldalen''. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to ''Meldal'', 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 5 February 1985 and it was in use until 1 January 2020 when the municipality was dissolved. 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 ''"

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 ...

, an ear of corn in a

roundel A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of differ ...

voided

embattled A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals t ...

Or"'' (). This means the arms have a red

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

(background) and 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 the top of an ear of corn inside a gear-shaped circular ring. The charge 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 ...

of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The design was chosen to symbolize the importance of local industry and agriculture. The arms were designed by Harald Ekseth.

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 ...

had two parishes () within Meldal Municipality. It is part of the Gauldal 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 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 Herborg ...

Geography

Meldal Municipality was located along the

Orkla River Orkla is a river in Trøndelag and Innlandet counties in Norway. At in length, it is the longest river in Trøndelag county. The river follows the Orkdalen valley, discharging into the Orkdal Fjord, an arm of the large Trondheimsfjorden, at th ...

in the middle of the

valley. The lakes Hostovatnet and

Svorksjøen Svorksjøen is a lake in Trøndelag county, Norway. The lake lies on the border of Orkland Municipality and Melhus Municipality. The lake lies about east of the village of Svorkmo and about southwest of the village of Korsvegen. The water f ...

were located along the northern border of the municipality. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Resfjellet, near the border with

Rindal Municipality Rindal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Orkdalen Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre is the Rindal (village), village of Rindal. Other villa ...

. There were five municipalities that bordered Meldal:

to the west,

to the south,

Midtre Gauldal Municipality Midtre Gauldal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Støren. ...

and

Melhus Municipality Melhus is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Melhus (village), village o ...

to the east, and

to the north. The

Løkken Station Løkken Station () is a former railway station that was the southern terminus of the old Thamshavn Line. It is located in the village of Løkken Verk in the present-day Orkland Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway Norway, officially ...

was the

terminal station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing such ...

on the historic

Thamshavn Line The Thamshavn Line () was Norway's first electric railway, running from 1908 to 1974 in what is now Trøndelag county. Today it is operated as a heritage railway and is the world's oldest railway running on its original alternating current elec ...

railway that used to travel through the municipality.

Government

While it existed, Meldal Municipality was 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 was 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 ...

was

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 was under the jurisdiction of the Sør-Trøndelag District Court and the

Frostating Court of Appeal The Frostating Court of Appeal () 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. These areas constitute the ...

Municipal council

The

() of Meldal is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the 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

() of Meldal was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who held this position: *1838–1843: Ole Olsen Rigstad *1844–1849: Christian Rambech *1850–1853: Ole Olsen Rigstad *1854–1859: Erik Torgersen Loe *1860–1863: Johannes Ring *1864–1875: Ole Ellefsen *1876–1877: Rasmus Dombu *1878–1879: Ole O. Steien *1880–1883: Johannes Ring ( H) *1884–1895: Ole O. Steien ( V) *1896–1897: Rasmus Dombu ( H) *1898–1904: Ole O. Steien ( V) *1905–1907: Rasmus Hoel ( H) *1908–1910: Anders O. Grut ( H) *1911–1913: Rasmus Hoel ( H) *1914–1919: J.E. Grefstad ( V) *1920–1922: E.L. Staveli ( V) *1923–1925: Gunnar Ree ( Bp) *1926–1928: E.L. Staveli ( V) *1929–1934: Gunnar Ree ( Bp) *1935–1937: Ingvald Svinsås-Lo ( V) *1938–1941: Johannes Togstad ( Ap) *1941–1945: Thorleif Eie ( NS) *1945–1951: Johannes Togstad ( Ap) *1952–1956: Anders Kokkvoll ( Ap) *1956–1967: Johan L. Strand ( Ap) *1968–1973: Ivar Bolme ( Ap) *1974–1980: John Akselsen ( Ap) *1980–2005: Arne L. Haugen ( Ap) *2005–2007: Ingrid Skarstein ( Ap) *2007–2011: Ivar Syrstad ( Sp) *2011–2019: Are Hilstad ( Ap)

References

{{authority control Orkland Former municipalities of Norway 1838 establishments in Norway 2020 disestablishments in Norway Populated places established in 1838 Populated places disestablished in 2020