Snåsa (Urban East Norwegian: [ˈsnòːsɑ]; Southern Sami: Snåase) is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Innherred region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Snåsa. Other villages include Agle and Jørstad.

Snåsa kommune Snåasen tjielte
Municipality
View of Snåsa over Snåsavatnet
Flag Coat of arms Trøndelag within Norway
Snåsa within Trøndelag
Coordinates: 64°13′28″N 12°37′31″E
Country	Norway
County	Trøndelag
District	Innherad
Established	1 Jan 1838
• Created as	Formannskapsdistrikt
Administrative centre	Snåsa
Government
• Mayor (2019)	Arnt Einar Bardal (Sp)
Area
• Total	2,342.66 km2 (904.51 sq mi)
• Land	2,145.70 km2 (828.46 sq mi)
• Water	196.96 km2 (76.05 sq mi)  8.4%
• Rank	#23 in Norway
Population  (2022)
• Total	2,033
• Rank	#277 in Norway
• Density	0.9/km2 (2/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	−6.1%
Demonym	Snåsning[1]
Official languages [2]
• Norwegian form	Neutral
• Sámi form	Southern Sami
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-5041
Website	Official website
Data from Statistics Norway

Snåsa is one of the last strongholds for the seriously endangered Southern Sami language.

The 2,343-square-kilometre (905 sq mi) municipality is the 23rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Snåsa is the 277th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,033 inhabitants. The municipality's population density is 0.9 inhabitants per square kilometre (2.3/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 6.1% over the previous 10-year period.[3][4]

General information

The parish of Snåsa was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. On 1 January 1874, the eastern district of Snåsa (population: 1,015) was separated to form a new, separate municipality of Lierne. This left Snåsa with 2,235 residents. Snåsa's boundaries have not changed since then.[5] On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Nord-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.

Name

The name of the municipality (and the old prestegjeld) comes from the Old Norse word Snǫs. The name is identical with the word snös which means "prominent mountain" or "overhanging rock" (possibly referring to the mountain of Bergsåsen, at the inner end of the lake Snåsavatnet). The name was spelled Snaasen until the early 20th century.[6] The Southern Sami language version of the name is Snåasen tjielte, which was officially accepted in 2010 as an alternate name for the Norwegian name Snåsa kommune.[7]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 17 March 1994. The arms show a yellow Lady Slipper orchid (Cypripedium calceolus) on a blue background. This particular flower is prevalent throughout the municipality, in fact at least 15 species of orchid have been found growing in Snåsa.[7][8]

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Snåsa. It is part of the Nord-Innherad prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

Geography

Snåsa is located about 180 kilometres (110 mi) northeast of the city of Trondheim, and it borders Sweden to the southeast. Snåsa borders the municipalities of Overhalla, Grong, and Lierne in the north and east, and Steinkjer and Verdal in the west and south. The 6th largest lake in the country, Snåsavatnet, is partly located in the municipality. Other lakes include Andorsjøen, Bangsjøene, Grøningen, Holderen, and Store Øyingen. The Blåfjella–Skjækerfjella National Park covers a lot of the eastern part of the municipality.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Snåsa, 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 is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor.[9] The municipality falls under the Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Snåsa is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Snåsa (incomplete list):

• 2019–present: Arnt Einar Bardal (Sp)
• 2015-2019: Tone Våg (Ap)
• 2003-2015: Vigdis Hjulstad Belbo (Sp)

Transportation

The European route E6 highway runs through the municipality on the north side of the Snåsavatnet lake and the Nordland Line runs along the south side of the lake. The train stops at Jørstad Station and Snåsa Station.

Trivia

• Inge Altemberg, the leading character in the movie Sweet Land, played by Elizabeth Reaser comes to America just after WWI from Snåsa

Notable people

• Jens Rynning (1778–1857) a Norwegian priest and public education advocate, spent his working life as a priest in Ringsaker and Snåsa
• Bernt Julius Muus (1832 in Snåsa – 1900) a Norwegian-American Lutheran minister, helped found St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota
• Peder Falstad (1894 in Snåsa – 1965) an American ski jumper, competed at the 1932 Winter Olympics
• Arne Sandnes (1924 in Snåsa – 2016) a politician and Mayor of Snåsa municipal council
• Joralf Gjerstad (born 1926 in Snåsa) a self identified psychic and untested faith healer, known as "the man with warm hands"
• Geir Høgsnes (1950 in Snåsa - 2009) a Norwegian sociologist and academic
• Jon Åge Tyldum (born 1968 in Snåsa) a former Norwegian biathlete
• Anders Eide (born 1971 in Snåsa) a Norwegian cross-country skier who competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics

Media gallery

• 
  Sandmo, old husmannsplass, now protected
• 
  Protected building at Vinje old Vicarage
• 
  The main building, Vinje vicarage from the 18th century
• 
  Stabbur hus storage shed
• 
  Jørstadelva railway bridge
• 
  Bekkestue at Sandmo

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Snåsa.

• Trøndelag travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway (in Norwegian)

На других языках

[de] Snåsa

[ru] Сноса