Sør-Odal 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 ...

Innlandet Innlandet is a county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (the municipalities of Jevnaker and Lunner were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken on the same date). The n ...

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 Odalen. The

administrative centre An administrative center 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 administrative language (such as Belgium, L ...

of the municipality is the village of Skarnes. Other villages in Sør-Odal include Disenå and Sander. The municipality is the 207th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Sør-Odal is the 131st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 7,978. 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 1.5% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

of ''Søndre Odalen'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 Janua ...

law). The borders of the municipality have not changed since that time.

Name

The municipality is named after the valley in which it is located. The first element in the name is which means "south". The last element is the old district name Odalen ( non, Ódalr). The first part of this is which is a sideform of the word which means "

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...

" (here it's referring to the Glåma river). The last part of this is which means "

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

" or "dale". The prefix "Sør-" was added when the old Odalen parish was divided in 1819 into Nordre Odalen in the north and Søndre Odalen in the south. Later, spelling reforms changed the names to Nord-Odal and Sør-Odal.

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 10 January 1992. The arms show three gold keys on a red background. They represent the three parishes of Oppstad,

Strøm Strøm is a surname of Norwegian and Danish origin which may refer to: Notable People *Hans Strøm (1726–1797), prominent Norwegian zoologist *Halfdan Strøm (1863–1949), Norwegian painter *Gunvald Strøm-Walseng (1889–1951), Norwegian bar ...

, and

Ullern Ullern is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. History The borough has its name from an old farm, Norse ''Ullarin''. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the Norse god Ullr. The last element is ''vin'', meaning pasture or mead ...

and the three local bodies of water:

Glomma The Glomma, or Glåma, is Norway's longest and most voluminous river. With a total length of , it has a drainage basin that covers fully 13% of Norway's surface area, all in the southern part of the country. Geography At its fullest length, the ...

, Oppstadåa, and Storsjøen. The keys symbolize justice, knowledge, and positive ideals. The arms were designed by Harald Hallstensen.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. ...

has three parishes () within the municipality of Sør-Odal. It is part of the

Solør, Vinger og Odal prosti The list of churches in Hamar is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Hamar which includes all of Innlandet county (plus two municipalities in Viken county) in Norway. The list is divided into several sections, one for each ...

(

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 ...

) in the Diocese of Hamar.

Geography

The municipality is a rural area in the Odalen valley that is located along the river Glåma and around the southern side of the lake Storsjøen. It is bordered by the municipalities of

Eidskog Eidskog is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vinger. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skotterud. Other villages in the municipality include Magnor, Matrand, ...

in the south, by

Kongsvinger Kongsvinger () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger. Other settlements in the municipality include Aust ...

in the east, and by

Nord-Odal Nord-Odal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Odalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sand. Other villages in the municipality include Knapper and Mo. Th ...

and Grue in the north. The terrain is dominated by rolling hills,

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much lar ...

s, and

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Sør-Odal, are responsible for primary education (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 Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usag ...

services,

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

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 adminis ...

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

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. 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, rural coun ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elects a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a 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 responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

. The municipality falls under the Romerike og Glåmdal District Court and the

Eidsivating Court of Appeal The Eidsivating Court of Appeal ( no, Eidsivating lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Hamar. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Innlandet and eastern Viken. Thes ...

Municipal council

The

of Sør-Odal is made up of 27 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a 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 often feature ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Economy

The economy is based on a mix of

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ...

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

, and services. Skarnes has a train connection to

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

via the Kongsvingerbanen railway line.

Notable residents

Hans Glad Bloch Hans Glad Bloch (16 September 1791 – 31 December 1865) was a Norwegian military officer and government official. Born in Sør-Odal, he reached the rank of General in 1850. His career included a period as commander of the Norwegian Military Acad ...

(1791 in Sør-Odal – 1865) a Norwegian military officer and government official * Peder Sather (1810 in Odal – 1886) American banker and philanthropist, eponym of the

Sather Tower Sather Tower is a bell tower with clocks on its four faces on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. It is more commonly known as The Campanile ( , also ) for its resemblance to the Campanile di San Marco in Venice. It is a recog ...

& Sather Gate at

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...

* Magnhild Haalke (1885–1984) a Norwegian novelist and teacher for 30 years in Sør-Odal * Kåre Tveter (1922 in Sør-Odal – 2012) a Norwegian painter and illustrator * Ole A. Stang Jr. (1923 in Sør-Odal – 1998) businessman, owned and ran Maarud AS * Øystein Sunde (born 1947) folk singer, guitarist and songwriter; brought up in Skarnes *

Martin Linnes Martin Linnes (born 20 September 1991) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Norwegian club Molde. A versatile player, he also played as a left-back, central midfielder, right midfielder and right winger. Cl ...

(born 1991 in Sander) a footballer with over 240 club caps and 27 for

* Kent Håvard Eriksen (born 1991 in Skarnes) a footballer with over 250 club caps

Sister cities

Sør-Odal has

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

agreements with the following places: *

Viitasaari Viitasaari is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. There are all together 230 lakes in Viitasaari. Biggest lakes are Lake Keite ...

Länsi-Suomi ''Länsi-Suomi'' () is a morning broadsheet newspaper published in Finland, based in Rauma. History and profile ''Länsi-Suomi'' was established in 1905. The paper is part of Marva Group and is based in Rauma. Until 1992 the paper supported the ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

Media gallery

Ulleren kirke.jpg, Ulleren kirke Oppstadåa I.JPG, Oppstadåa i Sør-Odal Sør-Odal, Norway - panoramio (1).jpg, Sør-Odal Maarud Airport.jpg, Maarud Airport

References

External links

*
Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, 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 ye ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sor-Odal Municipalities of Innlandet 1838 establishments in Norway