Biri is a former municipality in the old Oppland county, Norway. The 188-square-kilometre (73 sq mi) municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Gjøvik Municipality in the traditional district of Vestoppland. The administrative centre was the village of Biri.[2]
Biri herred | |
---|---|
Former municipality | |
![]() View of the village of Biri | |
![]() Oppland within Norway | |
![]() Biri within Oppland | |
Coordinates: 60°57′20″N 10°36′41″E | |
Country | Norway |
County | Oppland |
District | Vestoppland |
Established | 1 Jan 1838 |
• Created as | Formannskapsdistrikt |
Disestablished | 1 Jan 1964 |
• Succeeded by | Gjøvik Municipality |
Administrative centre | Biri |
Area (upon dissolution) | |
• Total | 188 km2 (73 sq mi) |
Population (1964) | |
• Total | 3,274 |
• Density | 17/km2 (45/sq mi) |
Demonym | Biring[1] |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
ISO 3166 code | NO-0525 |
The parish of Biri was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1910, the municipality of Biri was divided in half. The western part (population: 2,028) became Snertingdal Municipality and the eastern part (population: 2,815) continued as Biri Municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the municipality of Biri (population: 3,274) was merged with the town of Gjøvik (population: 8,251), the municipality of Snertingdal (population: 2,471), and most of the municipality of Vardal (population: (9,612) to create a new Gjøvik Municipality with 23,608 residents.[3]
The municipality is named "Biri" after the old Biri farm (Old Norse: Biríð) since the first Biri Church was located there. The name is presumably very old, and the meaning is unknown. One possibility is that the Old Norse name came from berhíð which means "bear den".[4][2]
All municipalities in Norway, including Biri, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality was governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elected a mayor.[5]
The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Biri was made up of 21 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:
Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 13 | |
Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 1 | |
Centre Party (Senterpartiet) | 6 | |
Liberal Party (Venstre) | 1 | |
Total number of members: | 21 |
Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 12 | |
Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 1 | |
Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 6 | |
Liberal Party (Venstre) | 2 | |
Total number of members: | 21 |
Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 12 | |
Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 1 | |
Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 6 | |
Liberal Party (Venstre) | 1 | |
Total number of members: | 20 |
Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 10 | |
Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 2 | |
Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 6 | |
Liberal Party (Venstre) | 2 | |
Total number of members: | 20 |
Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 12 | |
Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 2 | |
Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 4 | |
Joint list of the Liberal Party (Venstre) and the Radical People's Party (Radikale Folkepartiet) | 2 | |
Total number of members: | 20 |
Party Name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
---|---|---|
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 10 | |
Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet) | 7 | |
Joint list of the Liberal Party (Venstre) and the Radical People's Party (Radikale Folkepartiet) | 3 | |
Total number of members: | 20 | |
Note: Due to the German occupation of Norway during World War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945. |
The mayors of Biri:[12]
Innlandet county, Norway | |||||||||||||||||||||
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