Hedmark () was a county in Norway from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar.
Hedmark and Oppland counties were merged into Innlandet county on 1 January 2020, when Norway's former 19 counties became 10 bigger counties / regions.
Hedmark made up the northeastern part of Østlandet, the southeastern part of the country. It had a long border with Sweden to the east (Dalarna County and Värmland County). The largest lakes were Femunden and Mjøsa, the largest lake in Norway. Parts of Glomma, Norway's longest river, flowed through Hedmark. Geographically,
Hedmark was traditionally divided into: Hedemarken (east of the lake Mjøsa), Østerdalen ("East Valley" north of the town Elverum), and Solør / Glåmdalen (south of Elverum) and Odal in the very south. Hedmark and Oppland were the only Norwegian counties with no coastline. Hedmark also hosted some events of the 1994 Winter Olympic Games.
Hamar, Kongsvinger, and Elverum were cities in the county. Hedmark was one of the less urbanized areas in Norway; about half of the inhabitants lived on rural land. The population was mainly concentrated in the rich agricultural district adjoining Mjøsa to the southeast. The county's extensive forests supplied much of Norway's timber; at one time, logs were floated down Glomma to the coast but are now transported by truck and train.
Engerdal Municipality in Hedmark had the distinction of marking the current southernmost border in Norway of Sápmi, the traditional region of the Sami people.
The county was divided into three traditional districts. Those were Hedmarken, Østerdalen, and Solør (with Odalen and Vinger).
Hedmark was originally a part of the large Akershus amt, but in 1757 Oplandenes amt was separated from it. Some years later, in 1781, this was divided into Kristians amt (now Oppland) and Hedemarkens amt. Until 1919, the county was called Hedemarkens amt.
Etymology The Old Norse form of the name was Heiðmǫrk. The first element is heiðnir, the name of an old Germanic tribe and is related to the word heið, which means moorland. The last element is mǫrk 'woodland, borderland, march'. (See also Telemark and Finnmark.)
Coat of arms The coat of arms dates from 1987. It shows three , adzes used to remove bark from timber logs.
Politics Every four years the inhabitants of Hedmark elected 33 representatives to the Hedmark Fylkesting, the Hedmark County Assembly. After the elections of September 2007, the majority of the seats of the assembly were held by a three-party coalition consisting of the Labour Party (14 seats), the Centre Party (5 seats) and the Socialist Left Party (2 seats). Eight parties were represented in the assembly, the remaining 5 being the Progress Party (4 seats), the Conservative Party (4), the Liberal Party (2), the Christian Democratic Party (1) and the Pensioners Party (1). The assembly was headed by the county mayor (Norwegian: Fylkesordfører). From 2007 to 2011, the county mayor was Arnfinn Nergård, representing the Centre Party. In 2003, a parliamentary system was established, which meant that the county assembly elected a political administration or council to hold executive power. This county council reflected the majority of the county assembly and included the three parties holding the majority of the assembly seats, i.e., the Labour Party, the Center Party and the Socialist Left Party. The council was led by Siv Tørudbakken, a member of the Labour Party.
Municipalities
Rank Name Inhabitants Area km2 Ringsaker Municipality Hamar Municipality Elverum Municipality Stange Municipality Kongsvinger Municipality Sør-Odal Municipality Løten Municipality Åsnes Municipality Trysil Municipality Eidskog Municipality Tynset Municipality Nord-Odal Municipality Grue Municipality Åmot Municipality Våler Municipality Stor-Elvdal Municipality Alvdal Municipality Os Municipality Rendalen Municipality Folldal Municipality Tolga Municipality Engerdal Municipality Total Hedmark
+ Number of minorities (1st and 2nd gen.) in Hedmark by country of origin in 2017 Nationality Population (2017)Poland 2,204Sweden 1,421Somalia 1,125Lithuania 1,119Eritrea 948Germany 746Iraq 721Thailand 694Afghanistan 620Syria 608Denmark 605Vietnam 572Bosnia-Herzegovina 539Iran 503Netherlands 418Russia 418Kosovo 416Philippines 369
Districts
Glåmdal Hedmarken Østerdalen Solør Vinger
Cities
Hamar Kongsvinger Brumunddal Elverum
Parishes
Alvdal Austmarka (Østmark) Brandval Brøttum Deset Drevsjø (Drevsjøhytte) Eidskog Elverum Engerdal Finnskog Folldal Furnes Gjesås Grue Hamar Helgøy Kapell Hof Innset Kongsvinger Kvikne Lundersæter Løten Mo Nes Nord-Odal Nordre-Osen Opstad Os (Dalsbygda) Ottestad Rendal Rendalen Revholt Ringsaker Romedal Sand Sollia Stange Stavsjø (Ballishol) Stor Elvdal Strand Strøm Sør-Odal Sør Osen Tangen Tolga Trysil Tylldal Tynset Ulleren Vallset (Tomter) Vang Veldre Vestmarka Vingelen Vinger Våler Ytre Rendal Øvre Engerdal Øvre Rendal Åmot Åsnes Odalen Branch (LDS, 1857-1873) Trysil Frimenighet, (1859-1891)
Villages
Atna Bergesida Bergset Braskereidfoss Brumunddal Disenå Drevsjø Espa Flisa Furnes Fådalen Fåset Galterud Grinder Hanestad Hekne Heimdal Heradsbygd Hjellum Hodalen Ilseng Ingeberg Innbygda Kirkenær Kjellmyra Knapper Koppang Kvål Kylstad Lundersæter Magnor Matrand Mesnali Mo (Gardvik) Moelv Namnå Nybergsund Os i Østerdalen Otnes Ottestad Plassmoen Rena Ridabu Risberget Rotberget Roverud Rudshøgda Sand (Sagstua) Sander Sandvika Sinnerud Sjølisand Skarnes Skasenden Skotterud Slettmoen Sorken Starhellinga Svullrya Tangen Telneset Tylldalen Tørberget Unset Vangsås/Slemsrud Våler Østby Øversjødalen Åbogen Ådalsbruk Åkre Åkrestrømmen Åsta
Former municipalities
Brandval Municipality Furnes Municipality Hof Municipality Kvikne Municipality Nes Municipality Rendal Municipality Romedal Municipality Sollia Municipality Tolga-Os Municipality Vang Municipality Vinger Municipality Ytre Rendal Municipality Øvre Rendal Municipality Åsnes og Våler Municipality
References
External links
Official homepage