Hedmark
Hedmark is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Akershus. The county administration is in Hamar.
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| County | NO-04 | |
| Region | Østlandet | |
| Administrative centre | Hamar | |
| County mayor | Siri Austeng | |
| Area - Total - Percentage | Ranked 3 27,397 km² 8.57 % | |
| Population - Total (2004) - Percentage - Change (10 years) - Density | Ranked 11 188,326 4.11 % 0.5 % 7/km² | |
| Gross Regional Product - Total (2001) - Percentage - GRP/capita | Ranked 11 38,387 million NOK 2.52 % 204,205 NOK | |
Hedmark makes up the northeastern part of Østlandet, the southeastern part of the country. It includes a long part of the borderline with Sweden, Dalarna County and Värmland County. The largest lakes are Femunden and Mjøsa. It also includes parts of Glomma. Geographically, Hedmark is in the traditional sense divided in the following areas: Hedemarken, east of Mjøsa, Østerdalen, north of Elverum, and Glåmdalen, south of Elverum. Hedmark and Oppland are the only ones of the Norwegian counties with no coastline. Hedmark also hosted some of the 1994 Winter Olympic Games
In the county are the well-known towns and built-up places Hamar, Kongsvinger, Elverum and Tynset. Hedmark is one of the less urbanized areas in Norway, as about half of the inhabitants live on rural land. Population is mainly concentrated in the rich agricultural district adjoining Mjøsa to the southeast. The county's extensive forests supply much of Norway's timber; logs were previously floated down Glomma to the coast but are now transported by truck and train.
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Districts
The county is divided into three traditional districts. These are Hedmarken, Østerdalen and Solør (with Odalen and Vinger).
History
In the early Viking Age, before Harald Fairhair, Hedmark was a petty kingdom. Kings of Hedmark include:
- Halfdan Hvitbeinn
- Sigtryg Eysteinsson
- Eystein Eysteinsson, brother of Sigtryg
- Halfdan the Black, King Harald's father, was king of half of Hedmark after defeating rulers Sigtryg and his brother, Eystein.
Before 1781, the county was part of Oppland, then called Oplandene.
The name
The Norse form of the name was Heiđmork. The first element is heiđnir, the name of an old Germanic tribe. The last element is mork f 'woodland, borderland'.
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1987). It shows three barkespader (axes/spades to remove the bark from timber logs).
Municipalities
- Alvdal
- Eidskog
- Elverum
- Engerdal
- Folldal
- Grue
- Hamar
- Kongsvinger
- Løten
- Nord-Odal
- Os
- Rendalen
- Ringsaker
- Stange
- Stor-Elvdal
- Sør-Odal
- Tolga
- Trysil
- Tynset
- Våler
- Åmot
- Åsnes
External links
| Counties of Norway |  |
|---|---|
| Akershus | Aust-Agder | Buskerud | Finnmark | Hedmark | Hordaland | Møre og Romsdal | Nordland | Nord-Trøndelag | Oppland | Oslo | Østfold | Rogaland | Sogn og Fjordane | Sør-Trøndelag | Telemark | Troms | Vest-Agder | Vestfold | |
Categories
Counties of Norway | Hedmark | Petty kingdoms of Norway