Orkland


Orkland is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Orkdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Orkanger. Other notable population centres in the municipality include Krokstadøra, Selbekken, Ingdalen, Lensvik, Vassbygda, Vernes, Leksa, Kjøra, Geitastrand, Gjølme, Thamshavn, Fannrem, Vormstad, Svorkmo, Hoston, village of Meldal, Løkken Verk, Bjørnli, Å, and Storås.
The municipality is the 42nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Orkland is the 70th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 18,217. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 5.6% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Orkland was established on 1 January 2020 after the merger of the old municipalities of Agdenes, Orkdal, Meldal, and most of Snillfjord.

Name

The name of the municipality comes from the name of the local river Orkla and the Orkladalen valley in which the river runs. There was another municipality of Orkland that existed from 1920 until 1963, and its area will be part of the new municipality.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms for the municipality was approved in 2019. It is somewhat of a combination of the old arms for Meldal and Orkdal. The arms are divided horizontally by a wavy line with green above and silver below representing agriculture and forestry and the sea and water. In the centre of the arms there is a gear which represents the industry of the community. The colors of the gear are inverted from the background.

Churches

The Church of Norway had eight parishes within the municipality of Orkland. It is part of the Orkdal prosti in the Diocese of Nidaros.
Parish Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
AgdenesAgdenes ChurchVernes1857
AgdenesLensvik ChurchLensvik1863
AgdenesIngdal ChapelIngdalen1960
GeitastrandGeitastrand ChurchGeitastrand1859
LøkkenLøkken ChurchBjørnli1929
MeldalMeldal ChurchMeldal1988
OrkangerOrkanger ChurchOrkanger1892
OrkdalOrkdal ChurchFannrem1893
OrkdalSøvasskjølen ChurchSvorksjødalen1981
OrklandMoe ChurchVormstad1867
SnillfjordSnillfjord ChurchKrokstadøra1898

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Orkland, 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 elects a mayor. The municipality falls under the Sør-Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Orkland is made up of 51 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows: