Ålen is a former municipality in the old Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The 718-square-kilometre (277 sq mi) former municipality existed from 1855 until 1972. It encompassed the southeastern half of what is now the municipality of Holtålen in Trøndelag county. The administrative centre was the village of Renbygda (also known as Ålen) where Ålen Church is located.[3]

Ålen Municipality
Ålen herred
Aalen herred  (historic name)
Sør-Trøndelag within Norway
Sør-Trøndelag within Norway
Ålen within Sør-Trøndelag
Ålen within Sør-Trøndelag
Coordinates: 62°50′31″N 11°18′05″E / 62.8419°N 11.3013°E / 62.8419; 11.3013
CountryNorway
CountySør-Trøndelag
DistrictGauldalen
Established1855
 • Preceded byHoltaalen Municipality
Disestablished1 Jan 1972
 • Succeeded byHoltålen Municipality
Administrative centreRenbygda
Area
 (upon dissolution)
 • Total718 km2 (277 sq mi)
Population
 (1972)
 • Total1,944
 • Density2.7/km2 (7.0/sq mi)
DemonymÅlbygg[1]
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-1644[2]

History

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Ålen Church

The parish of Ålen (historically spelled Aalen) was established as a civil municipality in 1855 when it was split off from the municipality of Holtaalen. Initially, Ålen had a population of 1,487. (The now smaller Holtaalen municipality later changed its name to Haltdalen in 1937.) In 1875, an uninhabited part of Ålen was moved to the neighboring municipality of Røros. On 1 January 1972, the municipality of Ålen was merged with the neighboring municipality of Haltdalen to make a new municipality called Holtålen, bringing back to use a name from an earlier municipality. Prior to the merger Ålen municipality had a population of 1,944.[4]

Name

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The municipality (originally the parish) is named Ålen, after an old name for the area. The name is the definite singular form of the Old Norse word áll which means "eel". This name likely refers to the winding valley in which the main village centre is located.[3][5] On 21 December 1917, a royal resolution enacted the 1917 Norwegian language reforms. Prior to this change, the name was spelled Aalen with the digraph "Aa", and after this reform, the name was spelled Ålen, using the letter Å instead.[6][7]

Government

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While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elected a mayor.[8]

Mayors

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The mayors of Ålen:[9][10]

  • 1855–1863: Carl Aas
  • 1864–1897: Jon Jørgensen Reitan (V)
  • 1898–1901: Eilif Hofstad (V)
  • 1902–1904: Anders Jonsen Reitan (V)
  • 1905–1907: Peder P. Lien (V)
  • 1908–1916: Svend Larsen Skaardal (Ap)
  • 1917–1931: Lars Henriksen Kirkbak (Ap)
  • 1932–1945: Ole Kristoffersen Sundt (Ap/NS)
  • 1945–1945: Halfdan Bendz (LL)
  • 1946–1963: Lars Rønning (Ap)
  • 1964–1971: Olav Myran (Ap)

Municipal council

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The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Ålen was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

Ålen kommunestyre 1968–1971 [11]  
Party name (in Norwegian) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 14
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) 1
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 2
Total number of members:17
Ålen kommunestyre 1964–1967 [12]  
Party name (in Norwegian) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 15
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) 2
Total number of members:17
Ålen herredsstyre 1960–1963 [13]  
Party name (in Norwegian) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 14
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) 1
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 2
Total number of members:17
Ålen herredsstyre 1956–1959 [14]  
Party name (in Norwegian) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 14
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) 1
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 2
Total number of members:17
Ålen herredsstyre 1952–1955 [15]  
Party name (in Norwegian) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 13
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) 1
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 2
Total number of members:16
Ålen herredsstyre 1948–1951 [16]  
Party name (in Norwegian) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 14
  Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) 2
Total number of members:16
Ålen herredsstyre 1945–1947 [17]  
Party name (in Norwegian) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 12
  Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti) 2
  Local List(s) (Lokale lister) 2
Total number of members:16
Ålen herredsstyre 1938–1941* [18]  
Party name (in Norwegian) Number of
representatives
  Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) 13
  Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister) 3
Total number of members:16
Note: Due to the German occupation of Norway during World War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  2. ^ Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (26 January 2023). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
  3. ^ a b Haugen, Morten, ed. (28 November 2014). "Ålen – tidligere kommune". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  4. ^ Jukvam, Dag (1999). Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
  5. ^ Rygh, Oluf (1901). Norske gaardnavne: Søndre Trondhjems amt (in Norwegian) (14 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 209.
  6. ^ "Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. 1917. Samling af Love, Resolutioner m.m". Norsk Lovtidend (in Norwegian). Oslo, Norway: Grøndahl og Søns Boktrykkeri: 1000. 1917.
  7. ^ Den Nye rettskrivning : regler og ordlister (in Norwegian). Kristiania, Norge: Den Mallingske Boktrykkeri. 1918.
  8. ^ Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  9. ^ Reitan, Anders Jonsen (1936). Ålen (in Norwegian). p. 190.
  10. ^ Tretvik, Aud Mikkelsen; Stalsberg, Anne (1998). Ålen og ålbyggen (in Norwegian). Vol. 3. Holtålen kommune.
  11. ^ "Kommunevalgene 1967" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1967. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Kommunevalgene 1963" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1964. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  13. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1959" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1960. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  14. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  15. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  16. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  17. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  18. ^ "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938. Retrieved 14 April 2020.