( Norwegian; ) or ; /ˈsnɔ̯ɑse/ 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

Innherred or is a traditional district in Trøndelag county in the central part of Norway. It consists of the areas around the inner part of the Trondheimsfjord in the central-east part of the county. The district includes the municipalities of Levange ...

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

Snåsa Snåsa may refer to: Places

*Snåsa Municipality, a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway *Snåsa (village), a village in Snåsa Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway *Snåsa Church, a church built in 1200 in Snåsa Municipality in Trø ...

. Other villages include

Agle Agle is a village in Snåsa Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located along the Nordlandsbanen railway line, about north of the village of Snåsa. The mountain Andorfjellet and the lake Andorsjøen lie about to the east of t ...

and

Jørstad Jørstad, Vestbygda, or Breide is a village area in Snåsa Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located on the southern coast of the lake Snåsavatnet about southwest of the village of Snåsa. It is located along the Nordlandsbanen ...

. The municipality is the 23rd largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Snåsa is the 275th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,114 inhabitants. 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 decreased by 1.9% over the previous 10-year period. Snåsa is one of the last strongholds for the seriously endangered

Southern Sami language Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express ...

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 Snåsa 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). On 1 January 1874, the eastern district of Snåsa (population: 1,015) was separated to form the new

Lierne Municipality Lierne 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, and it is the largest municipality by area in Trøndelag. The administrative cent ...

. This left Snåsa Municipality with 2,235 residents. The boundaries of Snåsa Municipality have not changed since then. 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

) was named ''Snåsa'' (). The name is derived from the word which means "prominent

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

" or "overhanging rock" (possibly referring to the mountain of Bergsåsen, at the inner end of the lake

Snåsavatnet Snåsavatnet (; ) is Norway's sixth-largest lake. The lake is located in Steinkjer Municipality and Snåsa Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The villages of Følling and Sunnan lie at the southwestern end of the lake and the village o ...

). Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled ''Snaasen''. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to ''Snaasa''. On 21 December 1917, a royal resolution enacted the 1917 Norwegian language reforms. Prior to this change, the name was spelled ''Snaasa'' with the

digraph Digraph, often misspelled as diagraph, may refer to: * Digraph (orthography), a pair of characters used together to represent a single sound, such as "nq" in Hmong RPA * Ligature (writing), the joining of two letters as a single glyph, such as " ...

" aa", and after this reform, the name was spelled ''Snåsa'', using the letter å instead. On 24 September 2010, the national government approved a resolution to add a co-equal, official

name for the municipality: . The spelling of the Sami language name changes depending on how it is used. It is called when it is spelled alone, but it is when using the Sami language equivalent to "Snåsa Municipality".

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 17 March 1994. 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 ''" Azure, a lady's-slipper orchid Or."'' (). This means the arms have a blue

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 lady's-slipper orchid ''( Cypripedium calceolus)''. The lady's-slipper orchid 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 prevalence of orchids growing in the municipality. This particular flower is one of at least 15 species of orchids that grow in Snåsa. The arms were designed by Even Jarl Skoglund. 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 ...

has one parish () within Snåsa Municipality. It is part of the

Nord-Innherad 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

Snåsa is located about northeast 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 ...

, and it borders

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

to the southeast. Snåsa Municipality borders the municipalities of

Overhalla Overhalla is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ranemsletta (also called ''Overhalla''). Other villages include Melen, Hunn, Skogmo, ...

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 ...

, and

Lierne Lierne may refer to: Places *Lierne Municipality, a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway * Lierne National Park, a national park in Trøndelag county, Norway Other *Lierne (vault) In Gothic architecture, a lierne is a tertiary rib connecti ...

in the north and east, and

Steinkjer or is a municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Innherad Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Steinkjer (town), town of Steinkjer which is located on the inne ...

and

Verdal Verdal may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places *Verdal Municipality Verdal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Innherad Districts of Norway, region. The administrative cen ...

in the west and south. The 6th largest lake in the country,

, is partly located in the municipality. Other lakes include

Andorsjøen or is a lake in Snåsa Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It lies about east of the village of Snåsa. The Blåfjella–Skjækerfjella National Park borders the lake to the south and east. The lake Store Øyingen lies about to th ...

, Bangsjøene, Grøningen, Holderen, and Store Øyingen. The Blåfjella–Skjækerfjella National Park covers a lot of the eastern part of the municipality. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Skjækerhatten.

Government

Snåsa 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 Snåsa is made up of 17 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 Snåsa 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: *1838–1839:

Jens Rynning Jens Rynning (May 30, 1778 – June 11, 1857) was a Norwegian priest and public education advocate. He spent longest part of his working life as a priest at Ringsaker Church and Snåsa Church. Life Rynning was born in Kastnes in the prestegjeld ...

*1840–1843: Pål Olsen Gran *1844–1847:

*1848–1851: Bård Larsen Bøgset *1852–1859: Lorentz Peter Elster *1860–1861: Peter Muus *1862–1865: Bertel Gravbrøt *1866–1868: Lorentz Nicolai Bøgset *1868–1871: Thomas Conrad Hirsch *1872–1873: Peter Muus *1874–1875: Butulf Brønstad *1876–1883: Erik Belbo ( V) *1884–1887: Gunnerius Larsen ( V) *1888–1893: Nils Muus ( V) *1894–1898: Ole Eggen ( V) *1899–1901: Nils Muus ( V) *1902–1907: Ole Eggen ( V) *1908–1916: Lorents Seem ( Rp) *1917–1919: Johan N. Brede ( LL) *1920–1922: Størker Jørstad ( V) *1922-1922: Arne H. Five ( LL) *1923–1925: Nikolai Kjenstad ( Bp) *1926–1928: Arne H. Five ( V) *1929–1934: Olaf Eggen ( Bp) *1935–1937: Emil Mona ( Bp) *1938–1945: Olaf Eggen ( Bp/ NS)) *1945-1945: Emil Mona ( Bp) *1945-1945: Peter Finsaas ( V) *1946–1947: Jon Viem ( Ap) *1948-1948: Peter Finsaas ( V) *1948–1951: Johannes Gåsmo ( Bp) *1952–1955: Jon Viem ( Ap) *1956–1963: Johannes Gåsmo ( Sp) *1964–1967: Åsmund Grande ( Sp) *1968–1975: Arne Sandnes ( Sp) *1976–1987: Fridtjof Jørstad ( Sp) *1988–1989: Ludvig Lundheim ( V) *1990–1991: Arnold Skjemstad ( Ap) *1992–1999: Eystein Bardal ( Sp) *1999–2003: Alfred Berget ( Ap) *2003-2015: Vigdis Hjulstad Belbo ( Sp) *2015-2019: Tone Våg ( Ap) *2019–present: Arnt Einar Bardal ( Sp)

Transportation

The

European route E6 European route E6 (, , or simply E6) is the main north–south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the countr ...

highway runs through the municipality on the north side of the

lake and the

Nordland Line The Nordland Line (, ) is a railway line between Trondheim and Bodø, Norway. It is the longest in Norway and lacks electrification. The route runs through Trøndelag and Nordland counties, carrying a combination of commuter, long-haul passenge ...

runs along the south side of the lake. The train stops at

Jørstad Station Jørstad Station () is a railway station in the village of Jørstad in Snåsa Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The station was opened on 30 October 1926 when this section of the Nordlandsbanen The Nordland Line (, ) is a railway lin ...

and

Snåsa Station Snåsa Station () is a railway station on the Nordland Line serving the village of Snåsa in Snåsa Municipality, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsul ...

Trivia

* ''Inge Altemberg'', the leading character in the movie ''

Sweet Land ''Sweet Land'' is a 2005 American Independent film, independent period drama film written and directed by Ali Selim. It is an adaptation of the 1989 short story "A Gravestone Made of Wheat" by Will Weaver. The film stars Elizabeth Reaser, Tim Gu ...

'', played by

Elizabeth Reaser Elizabeth Ann Reaser (born July 2, 1975) is an American film, television, and stage actress. Her work includes the films '' Stay'', '' The Family Stone'', '' Sweet Land'', '' Against the Current'', '' The Twilight Saga'', ''Young Adult'', and '' ...

comes to America just after WWI from Snåsa

Notable people

(1778–1857), a priest and public education advocate who spent his working life as a priest in Ringsaker and Snåsa *

Bernt Julius Muus Bernt Julius Muus (March 15, 1832 – May 25, 1900) was a Norwegian-American Lutheran minister and church leader. He helped found St. Olaf College, a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. Biography Early life and education M ...

(1832 in Snåsa – 1900), a Norwegian-American Lutheran minister who helped found

St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and th ...

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, Dakota and Rice County, Minnesota, Rice counties in the U.S. state, state of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 U ...

* Peder Falstad (1894 in Snåsa – 1965), an American ski jumper who competed at the

1932 Winter Olympics The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lake Placid 1932, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February 4 ...

* Arne Sandnes (1924 in Snåsa – 2016), a politician and Mayor of Snåsa Municipality * Joralf Gjerstad (born 1926 in Snåsa – 2021), a self identified psychic and untested faith healer who was known as ''"the man with warm hands"'' * Geir Høgsnes (1950 in Snåsa - 2009), a sociologist and academic *

Jon Åge Tyldum Jon Åge Tyldum (born 26 October 1968) is a former Norway, Norwegian biathlon, biathlete. He won the overall Biathlon World Cup, World Cup in 1992 and 1995. At the World Championships he has won seven medals. In 1998 he retired from the sport. B ...

(born 1968 in Snåsa), a former biathlete * Anders Eide (born 1971 in Snåsa), a cross-country skier who competed at the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...

Media gallery

File:Sandmo Snåsa.jpg, Sandmo, old ''husmannsplass'', now protected File:Vinje prestegard Snåsa steinkjeller.jpg, Protected building at Vinje old Vicarage File:Vinje prestegard Snåsa.jpg, The main building, Vinje vicarage from the 18th century File:Sandmo Snåsa stabbur.jpg, ''Stabbur hus'' storage shed File:Jørstadelva railway bridge.JPG, Jørstadelva railway bridge File:Sandmo Snåsa bekkestue.jpg, Bekkestue at Sandmo

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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snaasa Municipalities of Trøndelag Sámi-language municipalities 1838 establishments in Norway Populated places established in 1838