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 ...

in Innlandet county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It is located in the traditional district of Hedemarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of

Brumunddal Brumunddal is a town in Ringsaker Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of the municipality. It is located on the shores of the lake Mjøsa, about north of the town of Hamar. The town is a small, densely ...

. Other settlements in Ringsaker include the town of Moelv and the villages of Furnes, Kvål, Kylstad,

Mesnali Mesnali is a village in Ringsaker Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located about southeast of the town of Lillehammer (town), Lillehammer and about southwest of Sjusjøen. Sjusjøen is an area in Norway that is very famou ...

Nydal Nydal is a village in Ringsaker Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the European route E6 highway about northwest of the town of Hamar and about southeast of the town of Brumunddal. The village of Furnes lies ...

, Rudshøgda, Stavsjø,

Tingnes Tingnes is a village in Ringsaker Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located on the southern end of the Nes peninsula, along the shores of the lake Mjøsa. The village lies about southeast of the village of Stavsjø. Th ...

, and

Byflaten Byflaten or Veldre is a village in Ringsaker Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located about northwest of the town of Brumunddal. Veldre Church is located on the west side of the village. The village has a population (202 ...

. The municipality is the 77th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Ringsaker is the 30th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 35,073. 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 increased by 5.7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Ringsaker was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the municipality of Ringsaker (population: 16,490) was merged with the neighboring municipalities of Furnes (population: 7,288) and Nes (population: 4,184) plus the Hamarsberget and Vikersødegården exclave areas of the municipality of Vang (population: 34) to create the new, larger municipality of Ringsaker. On 1 January 1965, a part of Ringsaker (population: 100) was transferred to the neighboring Hamar Municipality. On 1 January 1967 there was a municipal land swap between Vang and Ringsaker municipalities. The Stav, Valsigsvea, and Arnkvern Nedre areas of Vang (population: 50) was transferred to Ringsaker Municipality and the Stensby and Holmlund areas of Ringsaker (population: 114) was transferred to Vang. On 1 January 1992, the parts of the Stensby, Hanstad, Viker, and Stammerud areas of Ringsaker (population: 224) were transferred to the neighboring Hamar Municipality.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old ''Ringsaker'' farm (), since the first

Ringsaker Church Ringsaker Church ( no, Ringsaker kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Ringsaker Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Moelv. It is the church for the Ringsaker parish which is part of the Ringsak ...

was built there. The first element is the genitive case of or , of unknown meaning. One proposal is that or ('Lord of the Ring') may have been an epithet or alias for the Norse god Ullr, based on a ceremony mentioned in the poem '' Atlakviða'' where an oath is sworn by ('the ring of Ullr'). The last element is , meaning 'acre' or any field, generally.

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 it ...

was granted on 1 February 1985. The arms show a silver or white moose on a red background. The moose in the arms is taken from pre-historic cave paintings found at the Stein farm in Ringsaker, indicating the early inhabitation of the area. They were designed by Arne Løvstad.

Churches

The Church of Norway has six parishes () within the municipality of Ringsaker. The municipality makes up all of the Ringsaker prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman 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 reside ...

) within the Diocese of Hamar.

Geography

Ringsaker is located on the east side of the lake

Mjøsa Mjøsa is Norway's largest lake, as well as one of the deepest lakes in Norway and in Europe. It is the fourth-deepest lake in Norway. It is located in the southern part of Norway, about north of the city of Oslo. Its main tributary is the rive ...

, the largest lake in Norway. It borders the municipality of

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the muni ...

to the northwest; the municipalities of Øyer, Stor-Elvdal, and Åmot to the north; Hamar Municipality to the east; the municipalities of

Stange is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Hedemarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Stangebye ...

and Østre Toten to the south; and Gjøvik Municipality to the west. Ringsaker is situated in an agricultural and lumbering region. Ringsaker lies in the traditional district of Hedmarken which consists largely of rolling agricultural terrain, hilly green mountains, and pine forests. The

Hedmarksvidda Hedmarksvidda ( en, The Hedmark moorland) is a forest and low mountain moorland plateau area in Innlandet county, Norway. The area is generally described as including the areas between the Østerdal valley in the east, the Gudbrandsdal valley in ...

plateau is in the upper parts of the municipality. The rivers

Brumunda Brumunda is a river in Innlandet county, Norway. The long river begins at the lake Brumundsjøen on the border of Ringsaker and Hamar municipalities. The river begins at the lake, just north of Høljemyra and continues in a southerly direction t ...

, Flakstadelva, and Moelva all flow through the municipality. The principal urban centers in Ringsaker include the towns of

and Moelv.

Economy

Ringsaker's main industries are agriculture, forestry, and diversified manufacturing. The area of

Sjusjøen Sjusjøen is a cross country skiing destination in the municipality of Ringsaker in Innlandet county, Norway. Situated on the mountain plateau south of Sjusjøen is Hedmarksvidda. The area is located with forest and mountain terrain about abo ...

has a relatively large amount of holiday cottages that are especially attractive for outdoor sports including cross-country skiing vacations.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Ringsaker, are responsible for

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

(through 10th grade), outpatient

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

, senior citizen services, unemployment 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. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

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 s ...

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 a ...

, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elects a mayor. The municipality falls under the

Østre Innlandet District Court Østre Innlandet District Court ( no, Østre Innlandet tingrett) is a district court located in Innlandet county, Norway. This court is based at three different courthouses which are located in Elverum, Hamar, and Tynset. The court serves the eas ...

and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Ringsaker is made up of 39 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows: