The 2,166-square-kilometre (836 sq mi) municipality is the 28th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Stor-Elvdal is the 263rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,281. The municipality's population density is 1.1 inhabitants per square kilometre (2.8/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 13.6% over the previous 10-year period.[5][6]
General information
View of the Evenstad Bridge over the river GlommaAerial view of the valley just north of Koppang
The parish of Store Elvedalen was established as a municipality 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 1965, the neighboring municipality of Sollia (population: 356) was merged with Stor-Elvdal (population: 3,808) to form a new, larger municipality of Stor-Elvdal.[4][7]
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named Stor-Elvdal after the large Elvdalen valley (Old Norse: Elfardalr) which was the historical name for the whole area. The first element is the genitive case of the word elfr which means "river", referring to the river Glomma which flows through the valley. The last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale". Thus this word means "river valley". The name also includes the prefix stor which means "big". This prefix was added to the old name "Elvdalen" to distinguish it from the nearby municipality of Lille Elvdalen ("little Elvdalen", later the name was shortened to Alvdal). In the late Middle Ages the two areas were distinguished using the words Ytre Elvdalen (meaning "outer" Elvdalen) and Øvre Elvdalen (meaning "upper" Elvdalen).[4][8] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Store Elvdalen or Stor-Elvedalen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Stor-Elvdal, removing the definite form ending -en.[9]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 12 February 1988. The official blazon is "Vert, two wood saws argentbendwise" (Norwegian: I grønt to skråstilte sølv tømmersager). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is two diagonal two-man saws. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The design and color were chosen to symbolize the importance of forestry in the municipality. The arms were designed by Even Jarl Skoglund. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[10][11][12]
The municipal council(Kommunestyre) of Stor-Elvdal 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.
The lake Atnsjøen is located in the northwestern part of the municipality, just outside Rondane National Park. The river Glomma runs through the municipality.