Namsos


is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Namsos. Some of the villages in the municipality include Bangsund, Klinga, Ramsvika, Skomsvoll, Spillum, Sævik, Dun, Salsnes, Nufsfjord, Lund, Namdalseid, Sjøåsen, Statland, Tøttdalen, and Sverkmoen.
The municipality is the 30th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Namsos is the 78th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 13,078. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 0.4% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Name

The first part of the name comes from the local river Namsen. The last element is os, which means the "mouth of a river".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted to the town of Namsos on 5 May 1961. They were re-granted on 21 October 1966 when the town was merged into the municipality of Namsos. The arms show a golden moose head on a red background. The moose was chosen as a symbol for the municipality, since Namsos is the capital of the forest-rich Namdalen region, and the moose is the "king of the forest".

Churches

The Church of Norway has seven parishes within the municipality of Namsos. It is part of the Namdal prosti in the Diocese of Nidaros.
Parish Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
FosnesDun ChurchDun1949
FosnesFosnes ChapelFosnesvågen on Jøa1926
FosnesLund ChapelLund1965
FosnesSalen ChapelSalsnes1953
KlingaKlinga ChurchKlinga1866
NamdalseidNamdalseid ChurchNamdalseid1858
NamsosNamsos Churchtown of Namsos1960
OtterøyOtterøy ChurchSkomsvoll1858
StatlandStatland ChurchStatland1992
VemundvikVemundvik ChurchVemundvik1875

History

On 1 January 1838, the parish of Vemundvik was established as a municipality. In 1846, the village of Namsos in Vemundvik was established as a ladested. Namsos was located at the mouth of the Namsen river in the Sævik area of Vemundvik. The new ladested was established as its own municipality, with 591 inhabitants. This left Vemundvik with 908 residents.
In 1865, the town of Namsos also became a parish in the Church of Norway. It had been decided to build a church in the city in March 1859; the construction was finished in November. In May 1865, the parish was created, with the sub-parishes of Sævik and Vemundvik, formerly within Overhalla parish, was incorporated into Namsos' parish limits.
Areas of Vemundvik lying adjacent to the town of Namsos were later incorporated within the city limits on numerous occasions. On 1 January 1882, an area with 109 inhabitants was moved to the town; on 1 July 1921 an area with 927 inhabitants; and on 1 July 1957, another area with a population of 6.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the size of Namsos was significantly increased as the neighboring municipalities of Vemundvik and Klinga were incorporated into the town of Namsos. On the same date, the northern part of the neighboring municipality of Otterøy, and the Finnanger area of Fosnes municipality were also incorporated into Namsos. Namsos, which previously had a population of 5,224, had its size increased to 10,875 inhabitants.
Consisting mostly of wooden houses, it has been burned down to the ground on three occasions during its relatively short history. The first fire was in 1872, caused by two boys playing with matches. The second fire was in 1897, from an unknown cause. The third time was during World War II when the town was bombed by German airplanes on 20 April 1940.
The location by the river and the large forests nearby made the town ideal for sawmills. There were eleven mills in their heyday, but only one remains: Moelven Van Severen. In addition, the Norwegian Sawmill Museum is located at Spillum just south of the town. The museum is located at the now closed and restored Spillum Dampsag & Hovleri sawmill from 1884. The town has a swimming pool, Oasen, built inside a mountain.
On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Nord-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.
On 1 January 2020, the three neighboring municipalities of Fosnes, Namsos, and Namdalseid merged to form a new, larger Namsos municipality. This occurred because on 16 June 2016 the three municipalities voted to merge as part of a large municipal reform across Norway.

Geography

The town is located on a small bay, about from the sea, near the head of Namsenfjorden and at the mouth of the river Namsen, one of the richest salmon rivers in Europe. The municipality also includes the islands of Otterøya and Hoddøya as well as the southwestern half of Elvalandet island.
The main part of the town is built on a small, low-lying promontory which extends into the bay. To the north, low forested hills rise fairly steeply to over. There is a viewpoint from the hills above the city which is called Klompen with a height of with a road for cars up to the top that is open each summer. To the east extends the wide Namdalen valley. To the south over the bay and mouth of the river Namsen are hills that reach.

Climate

The climate is generally maritime. The average temperature in January is, in July it is. The all-time high is recorded on July 27, 2019. The mean annual temperature is and the annual precipitation is.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Namsos, 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 Namdal District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Namsos is made up of 41 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Namsos :
is located just outside the town of Namsos, around 3 km from the city, with direct flights to Oslo, Trondheim, Rørvik, Mosjøen, Bodø.
Norwegian County Road 17 runs through part of the municipality.
The closed Namsos Line runs from Namsos to Grong. The island of Otterøya is connected to the mainland via the Lokkaren Bridge.

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