Løten

Infobox_Kommune
name=Løten
idnumber=0415
county=Hedmark
landscape=Hedemarken
capital=Løten
governor=Bente Elin Lilleøkseth (Ap)
governor_as_of=2007
arearank=252
area=369
arealand=362
areapercent=0.11
population_as_of=2004
populationrank=137
population=7,282
populationpercent=0.16
populationdensity=20
populationincrease=3.4
language=Bokmål
lat_deg=60| lat_min=49| lat_sec=31| lon_deg=11| lon_min=23| lon_sec=27
utm_zone=32V| utm_northing=6745714 |utm_easting=0630002| geo_cat=adm2nd




munwebpage=www.loten.kommune.no

Løten is a municipality in the county of Hedmark, Norway.

The parish of "Løiten" was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt).

The name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after an old farm Løten (Norse "Lautvin"). The actual farm is probably the one which is now called "Prestgarden" ('the vicarage'), where the first church was built. The first element is "laut" f 'hollow depression'. (And there is a long depression between Prestgarden and the old church.) The last element is "vin" f 'meadow, pasture'.

From about 1500 until 1838 the name was written "Leuten" or "Leuthen". From 1838 until 1918 the name was written "Løiten".

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1984). It shows a drinking horn from the Middle Ages (to represent the products of Løiten Brænderi).

Location

Løten is the most eastern of the original villages in Hedmark where it is lays between Hamar municipality to the west north west, Stange municipality to the west south west, and Elverum municipality to the east. Small portions of the municipality border on Åmot in the far north and Våler in the south.

History

There has been traffic from east to west through Løten, for all recorded periods and archeological evidence supports earlier trade along this route.

The old town center was formed around the Løten Church, which is from the 13th century.

When King Christian IV prohibited the importation of German beer in the early 17th Century, distillation began in Norway. In 1624 distilled alcohol was prohibited at weddings, and by 1638 Christian forbade the clergy the right to distill in their own homes. The corn-growing districts of Løten, Vang (the former municipality in Hedmark), and Romedal all became famous for their distilleries. "Gamle Løiten" from Løiten Brænderi, which was established in 1855, was a highly prized ‘akvavit’ produced in Løten.

When the railway was opened in 1862, Løten Station became the new center of trade and management.

Edvard Munch was born in Løten on 12 December 1863.

References

"East Norway and its Frontier" by Frank Noel Stagg, George Allen & Unwin, Ltd., 1956.