The 1,235-square-kilometre (477 sq mi) municipality is the 86th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Selbu is the 199th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 4,144. The municipality's population density is 3.6 inhabitants per square kilometre (9.3/sq mi) and its population has increased by 2.8% over the previous 10-year period.[4][5]
General information
View of the Øverbygda area
The municipality (originally the parish) of Selbu was established on 1 January 1838 (see Formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1901, the eastern part of the municipality was separated to form the new municipality of Tydal. This left Selbu with 4,607 inhabitants. The borders of Selbu have not changed since that date.[6]
On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Sør-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named "Selbu" (Old Norse: Selabú) after a nearby lake since the first Selbu Church was built near its southeastern shore. The first element is the genitive case of the old name of the lake Selbusjøen (Old Norse: Seli). The old name of the lake is probably derived from the word seli which means "harness" since the lake is long and narrow. The last element is bú which means "rural district".[7]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 31 May 1991. The official blazon is "Argent, 24 lozengessable in three rosettes two over one" (Norwegian: I sølv 24 svarte spissruter samlet i tre rosetter, 2-1). This means the arms have a field (background) 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 charge is a three selburoses made out of 8 rhombus shapes each. The selburose design is a typical pattern used in the local lusekofte (traditional Norwegian sweaters) and other woollen garments. Home knitting has been a long tradition in the municipality. The arms were designed by John Digernes. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[8][9][10][11]
Traditionally, Selbu has been an agricultural and forest managing community. The area is well known for its special knitting techniques. The last decades have led to efforts in business such as high technology, electronics, and mechanics. The newspaper Selbyggen has been published in Selbu since 1889.[12]
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Selbu is made up of 25 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
Joint list of the Socialist Left Party, Communist Party, and independent socialists (Fellesliste av Sosialistisk venstreparti, Norges kommunistisk parti og uavhengige sosialister)
The largest lake in Selbu is Selbusjøen with an area of about 60 square kilometres (23 sq mi). It is located 160 metres (520 ft) above sea level. Another lake in the municipality is Sørungen. The highest mountain in Selbu is the 1,441-metre (4,728 ft) tall mountain Fongen, located inside Skarvan and Roltdalen National Park. The Nea River and Rotla River both flow through the municipality. The municipality covers a total of 1,254 square kilometres (484 sq mi) which consists of:
^Including the Selbusjøen Lake, which itself is over 58 square kilometres (22 sq mi) in area, making it the largest lake in Sør-Trøndelag and the 17th largest lake in Norway.
Climate
Located inland in the Trøndelag region at relatively low altitude, Selbu has a humid continental climate (Dfb), but with a relatively mild winter for this climate type, as the sea is not that far away. The all-time low −30 °C (−22 °F) was recorded Februar 2010 and January record low is also from 2010, all the other record lows are from 1983 or older. The all-time high 33.3 °C (91.9 °F) is from June 2020. Recent decades have tended to be warmer than earlier decades; 8 of the 12 record highs are from after 2010.
Climate data for Selbu 1991-2020 (160 m, precipitation days 1961-90, extremes 1957-2020 includes earlier stations)
Marit Guldsetbrua Emstad (born 1841 in Selbu), an artist who popularized the Selburose knitting design in 1857 when she knitted three pairs of mittens with an eight-petalled rose design
Belle Gunness (1859 in Selbu – ca.1908), a Norwegian-American serial killer who was active in Illinois and Indiana between 1884 and 1908; he was thought to have killed at least fourteen people
+2.8%
