Snillfjord 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 1924 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was split between

Hitra Municipality Hitra is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality covers the Hitra (island), island of Hitra and hundreds of smaller islands, islets, and Skerry, skerries as well as an ar ...

Heim Municipality Heim is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It was established on 1 January 2020 upon the merger of three other municipalities. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district ...

, and

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

Fosen Fosen is a traditional district in coastal Trøndelag county, Norway. The district consists of the municipalities Osen, Åfjord, Ørland, Indre Fosen, Orkland, Heim, Hitra, and Frøya. In colloquial speech, Fosen also refers to the Fosen ...

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 Krokstadøra. Other villages in Snillfjord Municipality included Ytre Snillfjord, Hemnskjela, Selnes, and Vutudal. Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the municipality was the 209th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Snillfjord Municipality was the 393rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 999. 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 1.1% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Snillfjord was established on 1 July 1924 when it was separated from the large

Hemne Municipality Hemne is a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was incorporated into Heim Municipality. It was part of the Fosen region. The administrative centre of the m ...

. The initial population was 776. 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 ...

. On 1 January 1964, the eastern part of the old

(population: 724) and the western part of the neighboring

Agdenes Municipality Agdenes is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1896 until its dissolution in 2020 when it became part of Orkland Municipality. It was part ...

(population: 196) were merged with Snillfjord Municipality (population: 681) to form a new, larger Snillfjord Municipality. On 1 January 1995, the Midtun area of

(population: 21) was transferred into Snillfjord Municipality. A road to the area had recently been built, but it connected to Snillfjord Municipality and not Agdenes Municipality, so it was decided to switch to the other municipality due to the newly opened road connection. 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, Snillfjord Municipality was dissolved and its lands were split between its three neighboring municipalities: the northwestern portion of joined

, the southwestern Vennastranda area joined the new

, and the rest joined the new

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 after the Snillfjorden since it was a central geographic feature of the municipality. The first element is probably an old name of the Snilldalselva river. The river name is derived from which comes from the word which means "fast" (related to German ). The last element is which means "the

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled ''Snilfjord''. On 19 August 1938, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to ''Snillfjord''.

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 31 August 1990 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 ''"

Vert Vert or Verts may refer to: * Vert (heraldry), the colour green in heraldry * Vert (music producer) (born 1972), pseudonym of Adam Butler, an English music producer * Vert (river), in southern France * Vert (sport), a competition in extreme versio ...

, a pitchfork

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 ...

"'' (). This means the arms have a green

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 a

pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

. The pitchfork 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 ...

which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. This design was chosen to symbolize the importance of

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 ...

in the municipality. The arms were designed by Einar H. Skjervold. 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 ...

had one parish () within Snillfjord Municipality. It is part of the

Orkdal 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 ...

Geography

The municipality of Snillfjord was located south of the

Trondheimsleia The Trondheimsleia is a strait in Møre og Romsdal and Trøndelag counties in Norway. The long strait runs between the islands of Smøla and Hitra and the mainland municipalities of Aure, Heim, and Orkland. The strait has several fjords whic ...

and east of the

Hemnfjorden Hemnfjorden is a fjord in Trøndelag county in Norway. The long fjord forms the boundary between Heim Municipality, Hitra Municipality, and Orkland Municipality. The fjord begins at the village of Kyrksæterøra at the mouths of the rivers Søo ...

. The Åstfjorden and Snillfjorden flowed east from the Hemnfjorden into the municipality. The lake Våvatnet was located on the border with

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 ...

in the southeast. The island of Hemnskjela lies in the Trondheimsleia in the north, and it is the southern entrance to the

Hitra Tunnel The Hitra Tunnel () is an undersea tunnel in Hitra Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The tunnel connects the island of Hitra to the mainland. The tunnel is long and reaches a depth of below sea level, making it the deepest tunnel in t ...

. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Gråurda. The municipality of Snillfjord was surrounded by four municipalities.

was to the southwest,

was to the northwest,

was to the northeast, and

was to the southeast.

Government

While it existed, this 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,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

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. During its existence, this 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 elected representatives, which in turn elected a

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 ...

. The municipality fell under the

Sør-Trøndelag District Court Sør-Trøndelag District Court () was a district court (Norway), district court in Trøndelag county, Norway. The court was based in the city of Trondheim (city), Trondheim at the Trondheim courthouse. The court existed from 2003 until 2021. It h ...

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 Snillfjord is made up of 17 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 Snillfjord was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who held this position: *1924–1928: Haakon Myrholt ( V) *1929–1931: Knut Snildal ( Bp) *1932–1934: Sigurd Aune ( Bp) *1935–1940: Arne O. Heggvik ( V) *1941–1941: Anders Krogstad ( NS) *1941–1942: Per P. Ven ( NS) *1942–1945: Sigurd Aune ( NS) *1945–1955: Arne O. Heggvik ( V) *1956–1959: Einar Selnes ( KrF) *1960–1967: John Snildal ( Ap) *1968–1979: Jon Selnes ( Sp) *1980–1983: Einar Berg ( Sp) *1984–1995: Kåre Berdal ( Ap) *1995–2000: Nils Gunnar Vuttudal ( Sp) *2000–2007: Anders Krokstad ( Sp) *2007–2011: John Lernes ( H) *2011–2013: John Geir Stølan ( Sp) *2013–2015: Anders Krokstad ( Sp) *2015–2019: John Lernes ( Ap)

References

{{authority control Hitra Heim, Norway Orkland Former municipalities of Norway 1924 establishments in Norway 2020 disestablishments in Norway Populated places established in 1924 Populated places disestablished in 2020