- Hedmark
Infobox Fylke
name = Hedmark
idnumber = 04
capital =Hamar
governor =Sigbjørn Johnsen
governor_date = 1997
governor_party = Arbeiderpartiet
mayor =Arnfinn Nergård
mayor_date = 2007
mayor_party = Senterpartiet
region = Østlandet
arearank = 3
area = 27397
arealand = 26082
areapercent = 8.57
population_as_of = 2008
populationrank = 11
population = 189,586
populationpercent = 4.11
populationdensity = 7
populationincrease = 0.5
gdp_as_of = 2001
gdprank = 11
gdppercent = 2.52
gdpcapita = 204,205
incomecapita = 132,200
language = Neutral
demonym = Hedmarking
munwebpage = www.hedmark-f.kommune.noAudio|Hedmark.ogg|Hedmark is a county in
Norway , borderingSør-Trøndelag ,Oppland andAkershus . The county administration is inHamar .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 andVärmland County . The largest lakes are Femunden andMjøsa . It also includes parts ofGlomma . Geographically, Hedmark is in the traditional sense divided in the following areas: Hedemarken, east ofMjøsa , Østerdalen, north ofElverum , and Glåmdalen, south of Elverum. Hedmark andOppland are the only Norwegian counties with no coastline. Hedmark also hosted some of the1994 Winter Olympic Games In the county are the well-known towns and built-up places
Hamar ,Kongsvinger ,Elverum andTynset . 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 adjoiningMjøsa to the southeast. The county's extensive forests supply much of Norway's timber; logs were previously floated downGlomma to the coast but are now transported by truck and train.Districts
The county is divided into three traditional districts. These are
Hedmarken ,Østerdalen andSolør (withOdalen andVinger ).History
In the early
Viking Age , beforeHarald Fairhair , Hedmark was apetty 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.Hedmark was originally a part of the large
Akershus amt, but in 1757 "Oplandenes amt" was separated from it. Some years later, in 1781, this was divided into "Kristians amt" (nowOppland ) and "Hedemarkens amt".The name
The Norse form of the name was "Heiðmörk". The first element is "heiðnir", the name of an old Germanic tribe. The last element is "mörk" f 'woodland, borderland'. (See also
Telemark andFinnmark )Until 1919 the county was called "Hedemarkens amt".
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).
Politics
Every four years the inhabitants of Hedmark vote to elect the 33 representatives of the Hedmark Fylkesting, the Hedmark County Assembly. After the elections of September 2007 the majority of the seats of the assembly is held by a three-party coalition consisting of the Labour Party (14 seats), the Centre Party (5 seats) and the Socialist Left Party (2 seats). A total of 8 parties are represented in the assembly, the remaining 5 being the Progress Party (4 seats), the Conservative Party (4), the Liberal Party (2), the Christian Democratic Party (1) and the Pensioners Party (1). The assembly is headed by the county mayor (Norwegian: Fylkesordfører). As of the 2007 elections the county mayor is
Arnfinn Nergård . He represents the Centre Party. In 2003 a parliamentary system was established, which means that the county assembly elects a political administration or council to hold the executive political power. This county council reflects the majority of the county assembly and includes the three parties holding the majority of the assembly seats, i.e., the Labour Party, the Center Party and the Socialist Left Party. The council is lead bySiv Tørudbakken , who represents the Labour Party.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
* [http://www.hedmark.org/ Official homepage]
*
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