Namsskogan


Namsskogan is a municipality in Trøndelag, Norway. Namsskogan is located in the upper part of the long Namdalen valley region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Namsskogan. Other villages in the municipality include Brekkvasselv, Smalåsen, Skorovatn, and Trones.
The village of Namsskogan lies along the river Namsen in the northern part of the municipality. The European route E6 highway runs through the village.
The municipality is the 64th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Namsskogan is the 344th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 843. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 9.2% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Namsskogan was established on 1 July 1923 when it was separated from the large municipality of Grong. Initially, the population of Namsskogan was 469. The municipal boundaries have not changed since. On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Nord-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.

Name

The name of the municipality was created in 1923. The first element is the name of the river Namsen and the last element is the plural form of skog which means "woods". Therefore, the meaning of the name is "the woodlands around Namsen".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 21 December 1984. The arms show a gold moose's antler on a black background. The municipality is heavily forested and many moose can be found in the area. The arms are based on a very large antler, with a rare golden color, which hangs on the community hall.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish within the municipality of Namsskogan. It is part of the Namdal prosti in the Diocese of Nidaros.
Parish Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
NamsskoganTrones ChurchTrones1832
NamsskoganBjørhusdal ChurchNamsskogan1970
NamsskoganSkorovatn ChapelSkorovatn1965

Geography

Namsskogan is located in the northeast part of Trøndelag county. It is a heavily forested area with several large lakes including Kalvvatnet, Mellingsvatnet, Storfrøyningen, Storgåsvatnet, and Tunnsjøflyan. The river Namsen runs south through the Namdalen valley. The extreme northeastern part of the municipality is part of Børgefjell National Park.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Namskogan, are responsible for primary education, 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. The municipality falls under the Namdal District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Namskogan is made up of 13 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Politics

In the 2007 municipal elections, Namsskogan had the highest vote for the Socialist Left party in Norway, at 33.6 per cent.