The 1,861-square-kilometre (719 sq mi) municipality is the 44th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Midtre Gauldal is the 156th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,133. The municipality's population density is 3.4 inhabitants per square kilometre (8.8/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 2.1% over the previous 10-year period.[4][5]
General information
Midtre Gauldal was established as a new municipality on 1 January 1964 after the merger of the old municipalities of Budal (population: 529), Singsås (population: 1,554), Soknedal (population: 1,916), and Støren (population: 2,296).[6] 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".[7]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 17 December 1982. The official blazon is "Vert, three crosses in pall conjoined argent" (Norwegian: I grønt tre sølv kors samlet i form av et gaffelkors). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is a design made up of three crosses, joined in the middle, which makes a Y-shaped figure. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The crossed-Y design 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. The arms were designed by Halvor Aune. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[8][9][10]
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 (in Hedmark county) to the south-east.
Kotsøy village in Midtre Gauldal is situated in the Gaula river valley close to Gaula river, surrounded by steep hills covered with spruce forest. The climate is boreal, but with fairly mild winters for this climate type, and not far from humid continental climate. The record high 34.3 °C (93.7 °F) was recorded July 25, 2019. The record low −31.1 °C (−24.0 °F) was recorded February 2010, and the January record low is also from 2010.
Climate data for Kotsøy 1991-2020 (127 m, extremes 2007-2020)
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Midtre Gauldal is made up of 33 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
−2.1%
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