Meldal


Meldal is a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it joined Orkland Municipality. It was part of the Orkdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Meldal. Other villages included Løkken Verk, Bjørnli, Å, and Storås.
The municipality was most renowned for its mining activities at Løkken Verk, being the birthplace of the Orkla mining company, now Orkla Group. It was also home to the annual Storåsfestivalen music festival.
At the time of its dissolution in 2020, the municipality was the 184th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Meldal was also the 233rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,930. The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 1.5% over the previous decade.

General information

The prestegjeld of Meldal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. In 1839, the southern district of Meldal was separated to form the new Rennebu Municipality.
On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Sør-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.
On 1 January 2020, the municipalities of Agdenes, Orkdal, and Meldal along with the majority of Snillfjord were merged to form the new municipality of Orkland.

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was Meðaldalr. The first element is meðal which means "middle" and the last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale". The municipality is named this probably because it is located in the middle of the Orkdalen valley. The name was historically spelled Meldalen.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 5 February 1985. The arms are a combination of a wheel as a symbol for the local industry, and a wheat ear as a symbol for the agriculture. Both items are yellow on a red background.

Churches

The Church of Norway had two parishes within the municipality of Meldal. It is part of the Gauldal prosti in the Diocese of Nidaros.
Parish Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
LøkkenLøkken ChurchBjørnli1929
MeldalMeldal ChurchMeldal1988

Geography

The municipality of Meldal was located along the Orkla River in the middle of the Orkdalen valley. The lakes Hostovatnet and Svorksjøen were located along the northern border of the municipality.
There were five municipalities that bordered Meldal: Rindal to the west, Rennebu to the south, Midtre Gauldal and Melhus to the east, and Orkdal to the north.
The Løkken Station was the terminal station on the historic Thamshavn Line railway that used to travel through the municipality.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Meldal, are responsible for primary education, outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor. The municipality falls under the Sør-Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Meldal is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows: