Tokke

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Municipality in Telemark, Norway

title: "Tokke" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["tokke", "municipalities-of-telemark", "1964-establishments-in-norway"] description: "Municipality in Telemark, Norway" topic_path: "geography/norway" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokke" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Municipality in Telemark, Norway ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox kommune"]

Field	Value
name	Tokke
image_skyline	Dalen i Telemark.jpg
image_caption	View of Dalen and Bandak
idnumber	4034
county	Telemark
district	Vest-Telemark
capital	Dalen
established	1 Jan 1964
preceded	Lårdal and Mo
demonyms	Daling, Eidsboring, Lårdøl, Skafsåing, Tokkebu
language	Nynorsk
coatofarms	Tokke komm.svg
webpage	www.tokke.kommune.no
mayor	Jarand Felland
mayor_party	Sp
mayor_as_of	2015
area_rank	117
area_total_km2	984.58
area_land_km2	904.65
area_water_km2	79.93
area_water_percent	8.1
population_as_of	2023
population_rank	268
population_total	2198
population_density_km2	2.4
population_increase	-3.8
coordinates
utm_zone	32V
::

Tokke is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dalen. Other villages in Tokke include Åmdals Verk, Eidsborg, Høydalsmo, Lårdal, and Øvre Byrte. The Eidsborg Stave Church is one of Norway's old stave churches and it is located in Eidsborg, just north of Dalen.

The 985 km2 municipality is the 117th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Tokke is the 268th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,198. The municipality's population density is 2.4 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 3.8% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Dalen_Hotel-2011.jpg" caption="Dalen Hotel"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Eidsborg_stavkirke_2000.jpg" caption="Eidsborg stave church"] ::

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the neighboring municipalities of Lårdal (population: 1,929) and Mo (population: 1,658) were merged to form the new municipality of Tokke.

Name

The municipality is named after the local river Tokke (). The name is related to the name of the lake Totak (from which the river originates). The river name is probably derived from the Old Norse word þot meaning "roaring", "rushing", or "howling".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 6 February 1987. The official blazon is "Or a bear passant sable" (). This means the arms have a field (background) with a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The charge is a bear which is displayed with a tincture of sable which means it is black. The bear symbolizes the rich nature in the forests in the municipality. The bear also plays a major role in many local legends and stories. The arms were designed by Stein Davidsen. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Tokke. It is part of the Øvre Telemark prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

::data[format=table title="style="font-size:medium"|'''''Churches in Tokke'''''"]

Parish (sokn)	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Eidsborg, Mo, og Skafså	Eidsborg Stave Church	Eidsborg	1200s
Mo Church	Mo	1839
Skafså Church	Skafså	1839
Høydalsmo og Lårdal	Høydalsmo Church	Høydalsmo	1747
Lårdal Church	Lårdal	1831
::

Geography

Tokke Municipality is located in the Vest-Telemark region. It borders the municipalities of Vinje, Kviteseid, Seljord, Fyresdal (in Telemark) and the municipalities of Valle and Bykle (in Agder). The highest peak is Urdenosi which is 1520 m above sea level. Other mountains in Tokke including Brandsnutene, Gråsteinsnosi, Sæbyggjenuten, Stølsdalsnutane, and Svolhusgreini. The river Tokke and the lakes Bandak, Botnedalsvatn, and Byrtevatn are all located in the municipality as well.

Government

Tokke Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Telemark District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Tokke is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party. |name = Tokke |start = 2023 |end = 2027 |reference = |collapsed = |nynorsk = yes |Total = 21 |Arbeiderpartiet = 6 |Grønne = 1 |Høyre = 2 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 1 |Senterpartiet = 10 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 1 |}} |name = Tokke |start = 2019 |end = 2023 |reference = |collapsed = yes |nynorsk = yes |Total = 21 |Arbeiderpartiet = 8 |Grønne = 2 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 1 |Senterpartiet = 9 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 1 |}} |name = Tokke |start = 2015 |end = 2019 |reference = |collapsed = yes |nynorsk = yes |Total = 21 |Arbeiderpartiet = 9 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 1 |Senterpartiet = 11 |}} |name = Tokke |start = 2011 |end = 2015 |reference = |collapsed = yes |nynorsk = yes |Total = 21 |Arbeiderpartiet = 10 |Fremskrittspartiet = 1 |Høyre = 3 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 1 |Senterpartiet = 6 |}} |name = Tokke |start = 2007 |end = 2011 |reference = |collapsed = yes |nynorsk = yes |Total = 21 |Arbeiderpartiet = 8 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 1 |Senterpartiet = 9 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 1 |Høyre = 1 |Fremskrittspartiet = 1 |}} |name = Tokke |start = 2003 |end = 2007 |reference = |collapsed = yes |nynorsk = yes |Total = 21 |Arbeiderpartiet = 7 |Fremskrittspartiet = 1 |Høyre = 1 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 1 |Senterpartiet = 9 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 2 |}} |name = Tokke |start = 1999 |end = 2003 |reference = |collapsed = yes |nynorsk = yes |Total = 21 |Arbeiderpartiet = 8 |Høyre = 1 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 1 |Senterpartiet = 9 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 1 |otherparty = Cross-party local list |otherparty_no = Tverrpolitisk bygdeliste |otherparty_number = 1 |}} |name = Tokke |start = 1995 |end = 1999 |reference = |collapsed = yes |nynorsk = yes |Total = 21 |Arbeiderpartiet = 6 |Senterpartiet = 10 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 1 |H/KrF = 2 |otherparty = Cross-party local list |otherparty_no = Tverrpolitisk Bygdeliste |otherparty_number = 2 |}} |name = Tokke |start = 1991 |end = 1995 |reference = |collapsed = yes |nynorsk = yes |Total = 21 |Arbeiderpartiet = 7 |Høyre = 2 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 3 |KrF/Sp = 7 |otherparty = Cross-party local list |otherparty_no = Tverrpolitisk Bygdeliste |otherparty_number = 2 |}} |name = Tokke |start = 1987 |end = 1991 |reference = |collapsed = yes |nynorsk = yes |Total = 29 |Arbeiderpartiet = 11 |Høyre = 3 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 2 |Senterpartiet = 3 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 2 |otherparty = Cross-party local list |otherparty_no = Tverrpolitisk Bygdeliste |otherparty_number = 8 |}} |name = Tokke |start = 1983 |end = 1987 |reference = |collapsed = yes |nynorsk = yes |Total = 29 |Arbeiderpartiet = 14 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 2 |H/KrF/Sp = 13 |}} |name = Tokke |start = 1979 |end = 1983 |reference = |collapsed = yes |nynorsk = yes |Total = 29 |Arbeiderpartiet = 15 |Høyre = 4 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 3 |Senterpartiet = 4 |otherparty = Cross-party list |otherparty_no = Tverrpolitisk liste |otherparty_number = 3 |}} |name = Tokke |start = 1975 |end = 1979 |reference = |collapsed = yes |nynorsk = yes |Total = 29 |Arbeiderpartiet = 16 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 4 |Senterpartiet = 6 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 1 |otherparty = Non-party list |otherparty_no = Upolitisk Liste |otherparty_number = 2 |}} |name = Tokke |start = 1971 |end = 1975 |reference = |collapsed = yes |nynorsk = yes |Total = 29 |Arbeiderpartiet = 17 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 3 |Senterpartiet = 7 |Venstre = 2 |}} |name = Tokke |start = 1967 |end = 1971 |reference = |collapsed = yes |nynorsk = yes |Total = 29 |Arbeiderpartiet = 16 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 3 |Senterpartiet = 7 |Sosialistisk_Folkeparti = 1 |Venstre = 2 |}} |name = Tokke |start = 1963 |end = 1967 |reference = |collapsed = yes |nynorsk = yes |Total = 29 |Arbeiderpartiet = 18 |Kristelig_Folkeparti = 2 |Senterpartiet = 6 |Sosialistisk_Folkeparti = 1 |Venstre = 2 |}}

Mayor

The mayors () of Tokke:

1964-1971: Gunvald Jupskås
1972-1979: Olav K. Tho
1980-1984: Gunvald Jupskås
1984-1987: Marie Sund
1988-1989: Geirmund Skaalen (H)
1990-2005: Birger Nygård (Sp)
2005-2011: Olav Seltveit Urbø (Sp)
2011-2015: Hilde Alice Vågslid (Ap)
2015–present: Jarand Felland (Sp)

Notable people

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Talleiv_Olsson_Huvestad_2.jpg" caption="Talleiv Huvestad, 1814"] ::

Talleiv Huvestad (1761 in Skafså – 1847), a teacher, farmer, and politician
Søren Georg Abel (1772 in Mo – 1820), a priest and politician
Jens Matthias Pram Kaurin (1804 in Lårdal – 1863), a theology professor and Lutheran priest
Marcus Jacob Monrad (1816–1897), a philosopher and academic who grew up in Mo
Vetle Vislie (1858 in Skafså – 1933), a educationalist, writer, and politician
Alf Blütecher (1880 in Lårdal – 1959), an actor
Thomas Offenberg Backer (1892 in Mo – 1987), an engineer
Andreas Backer (1895 in Mo – 1975), a journalist and newspaper editor
Anne Grimdalen (1899 in Skafså – 1961), a sculptor
Eivind Groven (1901 in Eidsborg – 1977), a microtonal composer and music-theorist
Arvid Torgeir Lie (1938 in Skafså – 2020), a poet, short story writer, and translator
Lene Vågslid (born 1986 in Tokke), a teacher and politician

References

(2022-06-30). "Tokke". [[Kunnskapsforlaget]].
Statistisk sentralbyrå. "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)".
Statistisk sentralbyrå. "09280: Area of land and fresh water (km²) (M)".
Jukvam, Dag. (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen". [[Statistics Norway.
Rygh, Oluf. (1914). "Norske gaardnavne: Bratsbergs amt". W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri.
(24 July 2022). "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World.
(1987-02-06). "Godkjenning av våpen og flagg". Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet.
"Tokke, Telemark (Norway)".
(2022-09-20). "kommunestyre". [[Kunnskapsforlaget]].
"Kommunestyrevalg 2023 - Telemark". [[Valgdirektoratet]].
"Kommunestyrevalg 2019 - Vestfold og Telemark". [[Valgdirektoratet]].
"Kommunestyrevalg 2015 - Telemark". [[Valgdirektoratet]].
"Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)". Statistics Norway.
"Kommunestyrevalg 2011 - Telemark". [[Valgdirektoratet]].
(2000). "Kommunestyrevalget 1999". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1996). "Kommunestyrevalget 1995". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1993). "Kommunestyrevalget 1991". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1988). "Kommunestyrevalget 1987". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1984). "Kommunestyrevalget 1983". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1979). "Kommunestyrevalget 1979". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1977). "Kommunevalgene 1975". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1973). "Kommunevalgene 1972". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1967). "Kommunevalgene 1967". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1964). "Kommunevalgene 1963". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
"Ordførar".
{{IMDb name. 0089939. Alf Blütecher. Retrieved 12 November 2020.

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