Renbygda or Ålen is 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 ...

Holtålen Municipality Holtålen 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 located in the Ålen area o ...

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,

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 village is located along the Gaula River and the Rørosbanen railway line, about north of the town of Røros and about southeast of the city of

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

. The lake Riasten lies about to the east. The western part of the village area, near the

Ålen Church Ålen Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Holtålen Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Renbygda. It is the church for the Ålen parish which is part of the Gauldal prosti (deanery) in ...

, is also known simply as ''Ålen''. The village has a population (2024) of 625 and a

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 ...

of .

Flood

On 15 August 2011, the village area experienced a big

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

. This was the largest flood since 1940. The village centre as well as the nearby village of Aunegrenda were both affected. The flood arrived during the night and consequently some people woke up trapped in their homes. A rescue helicopter was used to aid people to safety. No one was able to anticipate the flood, which was a result of constant, nightly downpour. It was estimated that between of rain fell that night. There was a lot of damage on homes, cars, roads, and public buildings, plus the majority of stores in the village centre were exposed with massive amounts of water often reaching about or higher on the walls. The river flowed over all the bridges, and made it impossible to cross with any vehicle. Additionally, the only suspension bridge in the area was twisted, deemed impassable, and later rebuilt. Moreover,

had invested a large sum of money in a new football field (which was only two days from opening) which was ruined by the river. In the wake of the flood, the area received money from the Norwegian government in aid to help rebuild the village area.

References

{{Authority control Holtålen Villages in Trøndelag