| Midtre Gauldal | |
| Idnumber: | 5027 |
| County: | Trøndelag |
| District: | Gauldal |
| Capital: | Støren |
| Established: | 1 Jan 1964 |
| Preceded: | Budal, Singsås, Soknedal, and Støren |
| Demonyms: | Gauldaling Gauldøl |
| Language: | Neutral |
| Coatofarms: | Midtre Gauldal komm.svg |
| Webpage: | www.midtre-gauldal.kommune.no |
| Mayor: | Trude Solem Heggdal |
| Mayor Party: | Ap |
| Mayor As Of: | 2023 |
| Area Rank: | 44 |
| Area Total Km2: | 1860.52 |
| Area Land Km2: | 1803.24 |
| Area Water Km2: | 57.19 |
| Area Water Percent: | 3.1 |
| Population As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Rank: | 156 |
| Population Total: | 6133 |
| Population Density Km2: | 3.4 |
| Population Increase: | -2.1 |
| Coordinates: | 62.9211°N 10.5006°W |
| Utm Zone: | 32V |
| Utm Northing: | 6977719 |
| Utm Easting: | 0576211 |
| Geo Cat: | adm2nd |
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 1861km2 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 and its population has decreased by 2.1% over the previous 10-year period.[1] [2]
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).[3] On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Sør-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.
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".[4]
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.[5] [6] [7]
The Church of Norway has four parishes (Norwegian: sokn) within the municipality of Holtålen. It is part of the Gauldal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.
| Budal | Budal Church | Budal | 1754 | |
| Singsås | Singsås Church | Singsås | 1884 | |
| Soknedal | Soknedal Church | Soknedal | 1933 | |
| Støren | Støren Church | Støren | 1817 |
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.
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.
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 was recorded July 25, 2019. The record low was recorded February 2010, and the January record low is also from 2010.
Midtre Gauldal Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.[8] The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.
The municipal council (Norwegian: 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.
The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Midtre Gauldal:
The newspaper Gauldalsposten is published in Midtre Gauldal.[10]
European route E6 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.