Ålen Municipality
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Ålen Municipality
Ålen herred | |
|---|---|
| Aalen herred (historic name) | |
 Sør-Trøndelag within Norway | |
 Ålen within Sør-Trøndelag | |
| Coordinates: 62°50′31″N 11°18′05″E / 62.8419°N 11.3013°E | |
| Country | Norway |
| County | Sør-Trøndelag |
| District | Gauldalen |
| Established | 1855 |
| • Preceded by | Holtaalen Municipality |
| Disestablished | 1 Jan 1972 |
| • Succeeded by | Holtålen Municipality |
| Administrative centre | Renbygda |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (1964–1971) | Olav Myran (Ap) |
| Area (upon dissolution) | |
• Total | 718.1 km2 (277.3 sq mi) |
| • Rank | #149 in Norway |
| Highest elevation | 1,320 m (4,330 ft) |
| Population (1971) | |
• Total | 1,987 |
| • Rank | #373 in Norway |
| • Density | 2.8/km2 (7.3/sq mi) |
| • Change (10 years) |  −10.1% |
| Demonym | Ålbygg[2] |
| Official language | |
| • Norwegian form | Neutral[4] |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | NO-1644[5] |
Ålen is a former municipality in the old Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The 718-square-kilometre (277 sq mi) former municipality existed from 1855 until 1972. It encompassed the southeastern half of what is now Holtålen Municipality in Trøndelag county. The administrative centre was the village of Renbygda (also known as Ålen) where Ålen Church is located.[6]
Prior to its dissolution in 1972, the 718.1-square-kilometre (277.3 sq mi) municipality was the 149th largest by area out of the 449 municipalities in Norway. Ålen Municipality was the 373rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,987. The municipality's population density was 2.8 inhabitants per square kilometre (7.3/sq mi) and its population had decreased by 10.1% over the previous 10-year period.[7][8]
Name
The parish of Aalen (later spelled Ålen) was established as a municipality in 1855 when Holtaalen Municipality was divided into two and the southeastern part became the new Aalen Municipality (population: 1,487). In 1875, an uninhabited part of Aalen was moved to the neighboring Røros Municipality. Starting in the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1972, Ålen Municipality (population: 1,944) was merged with the neighboring Haltdalen Municipality (population: 778) and together they formed the new Holtålen Municipality (bringing back the name Holtålen, the historic name for the old Haltdalen Municipality).[9]
The municipality (originally the parish) is named Ålen, after an old name for the area. The name is the definite singular form of the Old Norse word áll which means "eel". This name likely refers to the winding valley in which the main village centre is located.[6][10] On 21 December 1917, a royal resolution enacted the 1917 Norwegian language reforms. Prior to this change, the name was spelled Aalen with the digraph "Aa", and after this reform, the name was spelled Ålen, using the letter Å instead.[11][12]
Churches
The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within Ålen Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Haltdalen prestegjeld and the Gauldal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.[8]
| Parish (sokn) | Church name | Location of the church | Year built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ålen | Ålen Church | Ålen | 1881 |
| Hessdalen Chapel | Hessdalen | 1940 |
Geography
The highest point in the municipality was the 1,320-metre (4,330 ft) tall mountain Forollhogna.[1] The mountain lies at a border point between Tolga-Os Municipality, Ålen Municipality, Haltdalen Municipality, and Singsås Municipality.
