Midtre Gauldal


Midtre Gauldal is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Støren. Other villages in the municipality include Singsås, Soknedal, Enodden, and Rognes.
The municipality is the 44th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Midtre Gauldal is the 154th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,238. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 3.8% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Midtre Gauldal was established as a new municipality on 1 January 1964 after the merger of the old municipalities of Budal, Singsås, Soknedal, and Støren. On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Sør-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.

Name

The name Midtre Gauldal was created in 1964. The first element is the Norwegian word Midtre meaning "middle" and the last part is Gauldal which is the name of the valley through which the river Gaula flows. Therefore, the meaning of the name is "the middle part of Gauldalen".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 17 December 1982. The arms show a silver crossed-Y figure on a green background. The crossed-Y has several meanings. First, it symbolizes the landscape which is based on the meeting of the main Gauldal and Soknedal valleys at the village of Støren. Furthermore, the municipality has a major Y-shaped road-and-railway junction. Finally, the Budal Church, dating from 1745 is one of the oldest and one of the few remaining Y-shaped churches in the country.

Churches

The Church of Norway has four parishes within the municipality of Holtålen. It is part of the Gauldal prosti in the Diocese of Nidaros.
Parish Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
BudalBudal ChurchBudal1754
SingsåsSingsås ChurchSingsås1884
SoknedalSoknedal ChurchSoknedal1933
StørenStøren ChurchStøren1817

Geography

The municipality is bordered by Meldal municipality to the west, Rennebu municipalities to the south-west, Melhus and Selbu municipalities to the north, Holtålen municipality to the east, and Os and Tynset municipalities to the south-east.
The lake Samsjøen is located in the northern part of the municipality. The Gauldalen valley follows the Gaula River through the municipality. The mountain Forollhogna lies on the southern border of the municipality inside Forollhogna National Park.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Midtre Gauldal, 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 Midtre Gauldal is made up of 33 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Media

The newspaper Gauldalsposten is published in Midtre Gauldal.

Transportation

crosses the municipality from north to south. The Dovrebanen and Rørosbanen railway lines also cross the municipality. Some of the stations on those lines include Støren Station and Singsås Station.