Overhalla 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' ...

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 ...

. It is part of the

Namdalen Namdalen () is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in the central part of Norway, consisting of the municipalities of Namsos Municipality, Namsos, Grong Municipality, Grong, Overhalla Municipality, Overhalla, Røyrvik Municipality, Røyr ...

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 is the village of

Ranemsletta Ranemsletta is the administrative centre of Overhalla Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located on the north shore of the river Namsen, along the Norwegian County Road 17 which connects it to the town of Namsos to the we ...

(also called ''Overhalla''). Other villages include Melen, Hunn,

Skogmo Skogmo is a village in Overhalla Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located along the Norwegian County Road 17, about northeast of the municipal centre, Ranemsletta. The village lies just north of the river Namsen and about south ...

, Svalia, and

Øysletta Øysletta is a village in Overhalla Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located on the south shore of the river Namsen, along the now-defunct Namsos Line railway. The municipal center, Ranemsletta lies about to the northwest and th ...

. The population is concentrated in the relatively broad

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 t ...

river valley at the center.

Public services A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service (economics), service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing availab ...

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

are the main sources of income. ''Overhallahus'' (a house building company) and ''Pharmaq'' (a fish vaccine factory) are both located in the municipality. The municipality is the 155th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Overhalla is the 205th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,924. 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 increased by 5.1% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Overhalla - no-nb digifoto 20150122 00106 NB MIT FNR 20017

The municipality of Overhalla was established 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). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee () was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a ...

, although Overhalla's borders were only slightly modified. On 1 January 1964, the Galguften and Hauknes area (population: 15) of

Høylandet Municipality Høylandet is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Høylandet. Other villages include Kongsmoen and Vassbotna. The municipality is the ...

(on the southern shore of the lake

Eidsvatnet Eidsvatnet is a lake on the border of Høylandet Municipality and Overhalla Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The lake lies about northeast of the village of Skogmo. The lake empties into the river Bjøra which flows a short distance i ...

) was transferred to Overhalla Municipality. On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old

Nord-Trøndelag Nord-Trøndelag (; "North Trøndelag") was a counties of Norway, county constituting the northern part of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. It bordered the old Sør-Trøndelag ("South Trøndelag") county as well as the county of Nordl ...

county to the new

county.

Name

The municipality (originally 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 ...

) is named ''Overhalla'' (), an old name for the area. Historically, the

district was divided in two parts: "the upper half" and "the lower half". The first element comes from the word which means "upper". The last element derives from the word which means "half". Thus, the name means "the upper half (of Namdalen)". The municipality of Overhalla today is, however, just a fraction of the old part of what was historically considered ''œfri hálfa''. Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled ''Overhallen''. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to ''Overhalla''.

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 2 June 1989. 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 ''" Or, sevense crosses

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 ...

in annulo"'' (). This means the arms have a

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) 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

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 circular arrangement of seven

greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Jesus, Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

es. The design was inspired by a 1344 seal used by local peasants on a document regarding the coronation of King Håkon Magnusson. The seal depicts a building topped with a cross similar to those on the coat of arms and at the local

Ranem Church Ranem Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Overhalla Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Ranemsletta. It is the church for the Ranem parish which is part of the Namdal prosti (deanery) in ...

. The arms were designed by Harald Ekseth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Geography

The municipality includes part of the lake

, from which the river Bjøra flows into the river

, which runs from the east to the west. By the time it reaches the border with

Namsos Municipality (Norwegian language, Norwegian) or is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is t ...

, the river Namsen is already brackish and influenced by the tides the ocean. The river Nordelva also empties into the estuary here. On the south side of the Namsen river, there is an area of mountains and mountain lakes. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Reinsjøfjellet. The Bangsjøene lakes form the border with

Snåsa Municipality (Norwegian language, Norwegian; ) or ; /ˈsnɔ̯ɑse/ is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Innherred Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the ...

. The western approaches to Geitfjell lies in Overhalla Municipality, while the summit lies in

Grong Municipality () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Medjå (sometimes ca ...

. The southern tip of the lake

Storgrønningen Storgrønningen is a lake in Høylandet Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The extreme southern tip of the lake crosses over the border into Overhalla Municipality. The lake lies about west of the village of Høylandet and about southe ...

lies in Overhalla Municipality, while the vast majority of the lake lies in

Government

Overhalla 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

Trøndelag District Court Trøndelag District Court () 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 is subordinate to the Frostating C ...

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 Overhalla is made up of 21 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

() of Overhalla is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position: *1838–1841: Hans Tetlie *1842–1843: Andreas Samuelsen Vibstad *1844–1845: Halle E. Gansmo *1846–1849: Mathias A. Sellæg *1850-1851: Ove Christian Roll *1851–1853: Mathias A. Sellæg *1854–1855: Johan A. Sellæg *1856–1859: J.G. Steen *1860–1861: Halle E. Tetlie *1862–1869: Andreas Erlandsen *1870–1871: Johannes F. Barlien *1872–1877: Peter N. Solum *1878–1887: Svein G. Tetlie ( V) *1888-1889: Ole M. Weglo ( V) *1889–1891:

Vilhelm Andreas Wexelsen Vilhelm Andreas Wexelsen (5 June 1849 – 9 July 1909) was a Norwegian bishop and politician for the Liberal Party (Norway), Liberal Party. He served five terms in the Storting, Norwegian Parliament, was Norwegian Ministry of Church Affairs ...

( V) *1892–1910: Ole M. Weglo ( V) *1911–1919: Peter S. Raabakken ( V) *1920–1922: Esten Saugen ( Bp) *1923–1928: Lorents Nagelhus ( Bp) *1929–1931: Esten Saugen ( Bp) *1932–1934: Lorents Nagelhus ( Bp) *1935–1940: Olav Flotten ( Bp) *1941–1942: Magnus Øyesvold ( NS) *1942–1945: Aage Hagerup ( NS) *1945-1945: Olav Flotten ( Bp) *1946–1951: Agnar Grande ( Bp) *1952–1955: Inge Himo ( Bp) *1956–1960: Agnar Grande ( Bp) *1960–1961: Inge Himo ( Sp) *1962–1963: Sigmund Flasnes ( Sp) *1964–1970: Kristian Hildrum ( Sp) *1970–1975: Jostein O. Mørkved ( V) *1976–1979: Sigmund Flasnes ( Sp) *1980–1981: Jørund Øvereng ( Sp) *1982–1999: Jørgen Tømmerås ( Sp) *1999–2003: Frank Jensen ( Ap) *2003–2003: Susanne Bratli ( Ap) *2003–2011: Jostein Hildrum ( Sp) *2011–2021:

Per Olav Tyldum Per Olav Tyldum (born 24 April 1964) is a Norwegian politician. He was elected representative to the Storting from the constituency of Nord-Trøndelag for the period 2021–2025, for the Centre Party. Earlier, Tyldum was the mayor of Overhalla ...

( Sp) *2021–present: Hege Kristin Kværnø Saugen ( Sp)

Transportation

The historic

Namsos Line The Namsos Line () is a railway line between the village of Medjå and the Namsos (town), town of Namsos in Trøndelag county, Norway. The line branch line, branches off from the Nordland Line at Grong Station and runs through Grong Municipality ...

railway traversed the municipality on its way from

Grong Grong may refer to: Places *Grong Municipality, a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway *Medjå Medjå or Grong is a village which serves as the administrative center of Grong Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located along th ...

Namsos Namsos may refer to: Places *Namsos Municipality, a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway *Namsos (town) Namsos is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the administrative center of Namsos Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. ...

, but the line was closed to passenger traffic in 1978. Freight traffic on the line was discontinued in 2002. The

Norwegian County Road 17 County Road 17 (), also known as the Coastal Highway (), 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). It is long and includes six ferry ...

also crosses the municipality.

Culture

There are 38 grave mounds in the Hunn area. The Olamo-haugen is the largest of those. The other ones have been dated to years 600 to 800

Common Era Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the ...

, just before the

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

. During the construction of a school in Hunn, the Olamo-haugen mound was uncovered and studied. About or about one-third of the mound was excavated by the time the dig was concluded (in 2022).

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 Overhalla Municipality. It is part of the

Namdal prosti This list of churches in Nidaros is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Nidaros in Norway. It includes all of the parishes in Trøndelag county. The diocese is based at the Nidaros Cathedral in the city of Trondheim (city), T ...

(

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 ...

Notable people

Public service

* Jacob Hersleb Darre (1757 in Overhalla – 1841), a vicar and representative at the

Norwegian Constitutional Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly ( or ) is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised the dissolution of the union with Denmark. The meetings took place at the Eidsvoll Manor in th ...

* Hans Barlien (1772 in Overhalla – 1842), a farmer and politician who established the

Norwegian-American Norwegian Americans () are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the 20th century. There are more than 4.5 milli ...

immigrant settlement in Sugar Creek, Iowa *

Christian Møinichen Havig Christian Møinichen Havig (April 4, 1825 – April 10, 1912) was a Norwegian bailiff (''lensmann'') and Storting representative for Nordland from 1871 to 1888. Family Havig was born at the Havika farm in Overhalla in the Namdalen district (now ...

(1825 in Overhalla – 1912), a bailiff and politician *

Kristen Gran Gleditsch Kristen Gran Gleditsch (1867–1946) was a Norwegian military officer and topographer. Biography Kristen Gran Gleditsch was born in Overhalla Municipality as a son of dean Lars August Gleditsch (1814–1886). He was a brother of bishop Jens Gr ...

(1867 in Overhalla - 1946), a Norwegian military officer and topographer *

Alf Hildrum Alf Ivar Hildrum (born 18 April 1948) is a Norwegian media executive and politician for the Labour Party. He was born in Overhalla Municipality. A siv.øk. by education, he worked as an information secretary in the Norwegian Ministry of Trade ...

(born 1948 in Overhalla), a media executive and politician *

Inge Ryan Inge Ryan (born 15 August 1956 in Overhalla Municipality) is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party. From 2009 to 2017, he was County Governor of Nord-Trøndelag. Ryan was mayor of Namsskogan Municipality from 1991 to 1995, and w ...

(born 1956 in Overhalla), a Norwegian politician who was Mayor of

Namsskogan Municipality Namsskogan is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag, Norway. Namsskogan is located in the upper part of the long Namdalen valley Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Namsskogan ...

from 1991–1995 and County Governor of Nord-Trøndelag from 2009-2017 * Susanne Bratli (born 1966 in Overhalla), a Norwegian politician and Mayor of Overhalla in 2003 *

Trine Skei Grande Trine Skei Grande (born 2 October 1969) is a Norwegian politician who served as the leader of the Liberal Party of Norway from 2010 to 2020. She also served as Minister of Education from January to March 2020,; and as Minister of Culture and Gend ...

(born 1969 in Overhalla), a politician and former leader of the

Liberal Party of Norway The Liberal Party (, , V; ) is a social liberal political party in Norway. It was founded in 1884 and is the oldest political party in Norway. Despite its native name, the Liberal Party is positioned in the centre on the political spectrum, and ...

The Arts

* Kristian Elster (1841 in Overhalla – 1881), a novelist, journalist, literary critic, theatre critic, and forester *

Per Kvist Per Kvist was the artist name of Vidar Wexelsen (4 April 1890 – 23 May 1947), a Norwegian revue writer, entertainer, stage actor, film actor and children's writer. Personal life Wexelsen was born in Overhalla Municipality as a son of vica ...

(1890 in Overhalla – 1947), a revue writer, entertainer, and stage & film actor. Retrieved 11 October 2020. *

Johannes Rian Johannes "Johs" Rian (17 May 1891 – 10 December 1981) was a Norwegian painter. Johs Rian was born in Overhalla Municipality in Nordre Trondheim, Norway. He was a son of farmers Peter Rian (1856–1934) and Elen Blengslien (1864–1952). He als ...

(1891 in Overhalla – 1981), a painter *

Bjarne Brøndbo Bjarne Arnstein Brøndbo (born 19 September 1964 in Namsos Municipality, Norway) is the vocalist and the front figure in the Norwegian rock group D.D.E. since the start in 1992. Brøndbo has previously played in the bands Humanic (1978–1985) a ...

(born 1964) and

Eskil Brøndbo Eskil Brøndbo (born 26 January 1970 in Namsos (town), Namsos) is the drummer in the band D.D.E. (band), D.D.E. where his brother, Bjarne Brøndbo is the vocalist. He is cousin of the Electronica musician Rune Brøndbo, Rune "Sternklang" Brøndbo. ...

(born 1970), two rock musicians from Namsos

Sport

Gunhild Følstad Gunhild Bentzen Følstad (born 3 November 1981) is a Norwegian former football defender from Overhalla Municipality (near Namsos). The daughter of a football trainer, she played for Trondheims-Ørn and the Norway women's national football team, ...

(born 1981 in Overhalla), an international women's footballer

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 ...

{{authority control Municipalities of Trøndelag 1838 establishments in Norway Populated places established in 1838