Trøndelag

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was Þrǿndalǫg. The first element is the genitive plural of þrǿndr which means "person from Trøndelag", while the second is lǫg (plural of lag which means "law; district/people with a common law" (compare Danelaw, Gulaþingslǫg and Njarðarlǫg). A parallel name for the same district was Þróndheimr which means "the homeland (heim) of the þrǿndr". Þróndheimr may be older since the first element has a stem form without umlaut.

The county and national governments have also approved a Southern Sami name for the county: Trööndelage. When it is used with the word for county, it is Trööndelagen fylhke.

History

People have lived in this region for thousands of years. In the early iron-age Trøndelag was divided into several petty kingdoms called fylki. The different fylki had a common law, and an early parliament or thing. It was called Frostating and was held at the Frosta peninsula. By some, this is regarded as the first real democracy.

In the time after Håkon Grjotgardsson (838-900), Trøndelag was ruled by the Jarl of Lade. Lade is located in the eastern part of Trondheim, bordering the Trondheimsfjord. The powerful Jarls of Lade continued to play a very significant political role in Norway up to 1030.

Jarls of Lade (Ladejarl) were:

• Håkon Grjotgardsson, the first jarl of Lade.
• Sigurd Håkonsson, son of Håkon. Killed by Harald Greyhide.
• Håkon Sigurdsson, son of Sigurd. Conspired with Harald Bluetooth against Harald Greyhide, and subsequently became vassal of Harald Bluetooth, and in reality independent ruler of Norway. After the arrival of Olaf Trygvason, Håkon quickly lost all support and was killed by his own slave, Tormod Kark, in 995.
• Eirik Håkonsson, son of Håkon. Together with his brother, Svein, governor of Norway under Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark from 1000 to 1012.
• Håkon Eiriksson, son of Eirik. Governor of Norway under Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark from 1012 to 1015.

Trøndelag (together with parts of Møre og Romsdal) was briefly ceded in 1658 to Sweden in the Treaty of Roskilde and was ruled by king Charles X until it was returned to Denmark-Norway after the Treaty of Copenhagen in 1660. During that time, the Swedes conscripted 2,000 men in Trøndelag, forcing young boys down to 15 years of age to join the Swedish armies fighting against Poland and Brandenburg. Charles X feared the Trønders would rise against their Swedish occupiers, and thought it wise to keep a large part of the men away. Only about one-third of the men ever returned to their homes; some of them were forced to settle in the then Swedish Duchy of Estonia, as the Swedes thought it would be easier to rule the Trønders there, utilising the ancient maxim of divide and rule.

In the fall of 1718, during the Great Northern War, General Carl Gustaf Armfeldt was ordered by king Charles XII of Sweden to lead a Swedish army of 10,000 men into Trøndelag to take Trondheim. Because of his poor supply lines back to Sweden, Armfeldt's army had to live off the land, causing great suffering to the people of the region. Armfeldt's campaign failed: the defenders of Trondheim succeeded in repelling his siege. After Charles XII was killed in the siege of Fredriksten in Norway's southeast, Armfeldt was ordered back into Sweden. During the ensuing retreat, his 6,000 surviving threadbare and starving Caroleans were caught in a fierce blizzard. Thousands of Caroleans froze to death in the Norwegian mountains, and hundreds more were crippled for life.

Government

Main article: Trøndelag County Municipality

The county is governed by the Trøndelag County Municipality. The town of Steinkjer is the seat of the county governor and county administration. However, both the county governor and Trøndelag County Municipality also have offices in Trondheim.

The county oversees the 41 upper secondary schools, including nine private schools. Six of the schools have more than 1000 students: four in Trondheim plus the Steinkjer Upper Secondary School and the Ole Vig Upper Secondary School in Stjørdalshalsen. The county has ten Folk high schools, with an eleventh folk high school being possibly being opened in Røros, with a possible start in 2019.

Districts

The county is often sub-divided into several geographical regions:

• Namdal, the greater Namsen river valley
• Fosen, the Fosen peninsula and surrounding areas
• Innherred, the areas surrounding the inner Trondheimsfjorden
• Stjørdalen, the Stjørdalen valley
• Trondheim Region, the areas surrounding the large city of Trondheim
• Gauldalen, the Gaula river valley
• Orkdalen, the Orkla river valley

Towns and cities

There are ten towns/cities in Trøndelag, plus the "mining town" of Røros.

• Trondheim (in Trondheim Municipality)
• Steinkjer (in Steinkjer Municipality)
• Stjørdalshalsen (in Stjørdal Municipality)
• Levanger (in Levanger Municipality)
• Namsos (in Namsos Municipality)
• Rørvik (in Nærøysund Municipality)
• Verdalsøra (in Verdal Municipality)
• Orkanger (in Orkdal Municipality)
• Brekstad (in Ørland Municipality)
• Kolvereid (in Nærøy Municipality)
• Bergstaden Røros (in Røros Municipality)

Geography

Along the coast in the southwest are the largest islands in Norway south of the Arctic Circle, including Hitra and Frøya. The broad and long Trondheimsfjord is a main feature, and the lowland surrounding the fjord are among the most important agricultural areas in Norway. In the far south is the mountain ranges Dovrefjell and Trollheimen, and in the southeast is highlands and mountain plateaus, and this is where Røros is situated. The highest mountain is the 1985 m tall Storskrymten, which is located in the county border between Møre og Romsdal, Innlandet, and Trøndelag. North of the Trondheimsfjord is the large Fosen peninsula, where Ørland Municipality is at its southwestern tip. Several valleys runs north or west to meet the fjord, with a river at its centre, such as Meldal, Gauldal, Stjørdal, Verdal. Further north is the long Namdalen with the largest river, Namsen, and Namsos is situated where the river meets the Namsen fjord. The rivers are among the best salmon rivers in Europe, especially Namsen, Gaula, and Orkla. On the northwestern part of the region is the Vikna archipelago with almost 6,000 islands and islets.

There are many national parks in the region, including Dovrefjell–Sunndalsfjella National Park, Forollhogna National Park, Skarvan and Roltdalen National Park, Femundsmarka National Park and Børgefjell National Park.

Climate

Trøndelag is one of the regions in Norway with the largest climatic variation - from the oceanic climate with mild and wetter winters along the coast to the very cold winters in the southeast inland highlands, where Røros is the only place in southern and central Norway to have recorded -50 °C. The first overnight freeze (temperature below -0 °C in autumn on average is August 24th in Røros, October 9th at Trondheim Airport Værnes, and as late as November 20th at Sula in Frøya. Most of the lowland areas near the fjords have a humid continental climate (or oceanic if -3C is used as winter threshold), while the most oceanic areas along the coast have a temperate oceanic climate with all monthly means above 0 °C. The inland valleys, hills, and highlands below the treeline have a boreal climate with cold winters and shorter summers, but still with potential for warm summer temperatures. Above the treeline is alpine tundra.

|Jan record high C = 10.3 | Jan record low C = -12.3 |Feb record high C = 9.9 | Feb record low C = -12.7 |Mar record high C = 12.6 | Mar record low C = -8.1 |Apr record high C = 19.3 | Apr record low C = -3.6 |May record high C = 24.6 | May record low C = -0.3 |Jun record high C = 27.7 | Jun record low C = 2.7 |Jul record high C = 28.5 | Jul record low C = 5 |Aug record high C = 26.3 | Aug record low C = 7.1 |Sep record high C = 22.7 | Sep record low C = 2 |Oct record high C = 18.8 | Oct record low C = -1.1 |Nov record high C = 14.6 | Nov record low C = -7 |Dec record high C = 11.1 | Dec record low C = -10.9 |Jan record high C = 13.7 | Jan record low C = -25.6 |Feb record high C = 13.8 | Feb record low C = -25.5 |Mar record high C = 15.7 | Mar record low C = -23.0 |Apr record high C = 23.3 | Apr record low C = -13.9 |May record high C = 30 | May record low C = -4.7 |Jun record high C = 34.3 | Jun record low C = -0.2 |Jul record high C = 33.5 | Jul record low C = 2.3 |Aug record high C = 31.3 | Aug record low C = -0.3 |Sep record high C = 27.9 | Sep record low C = -4.9 |Oct record high C = 22.1 | Oct record low C = -10.8 |Nov record high C = 16.1 | Nov record low C = -19.0 |Dec record high C = 13.1 | Dec record low C = -23.5

Trøndelag

There are 38 municipalities in Trøndelag.

Other municipalities

Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal held a referendum on 17 January 2022 on whether to move from Møre og Romsdal to Trøndelag, which was rejected; 36.77% voted to move, while 63.23% voted to stay. Similar referendums were hosted and rejected the preceding autumn in Aure Municipality on 13 September 2021 (45% to move, 51% to stay), and in Smøla Municipality on 26 September 2021 (27.24% to move, 70.23% to stay).

Bindal Municipality in Nordland was originally decreed by Stortinget on 8 June 2017 to become part of Nærøysund (and thus become part of Trøndelag), but the decision was reversed after another hearing on 21 November 2017, well in advance of Nærøysund becoming a municipality on 1 January 2020.

Culture

Arts

The region's official theatre is the Trøndelag Teater in Trondheim. At Stiklestad in Verdal Municipality, the historical play called The Saint Olav Drama has been played each year since 1954. It depicts the last days of Saint Olaf.

Jazz on a very high level is frequently heard in Trondheim, due to the high-level jazz education in Trondheim at Institutt for musikk (NTNU). Trondheim is also the national centre of rock music; the popular music museum Rockheim opened there in 2010. Trøndelag is known for its local variety of rock music, often performed in local dialect, called "trønderrock".

Several institutions are nationally funded, including the internationally acclaimed Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Trondheim Soloists, Olavsfestdagene and Trondheim Chamber Music Festival.

Food and drink

The region is popularly known for its moonshine homebrew, called heimbrent or heimert. Although officially prohibited, the art of producing as pure homemade spirits as possible still has a strong following in parts of Trøndelag. Traditionally the spirit is served mixed with coffee to create a drink called karsk. The strength of the coffee varies, often on a regional basis. The mixing proportions also depend on the strength of the spirit with more coffee being used for spirit with higher alcohol content. In southern regions, people tend to use strong filter coffee, while in the north they typically serve karsk with as weak coffee as possible.

The "official dish" of the region is sodd which is made from diced sheep or beef meat and meatballs in boiled stock.

Sports

Association football and handball are widely played and watched throughout the county. As of 26 January 2024, teams in tier 1 through 3 in men's football include Rosenborg BK, Ranheim Fotball, Levanger FK, IL Stjørdals-Blink, and Strindheim IL. Tier 1 through 3 in women's football include Rosenborg BK Kvinner, KIL/Hemne, and Tiller IL.

In men's handball, tier 1 and 2 include Kolstad Håndball, Melhus IL, and Charlottenlund SK, while in women's handball, tier 1 and 2 include Byåsen HE and Levanger Håndballklubb.

Fosenhallen outside Botngård in southwestern Fosen, is Norway's only full-size speed skating hall north of Hamar. While the hall has never hosted a top level senior ISU Speed Skating World Cup event, it has frequently hosted Norwegian championships and junior world tour events.

The final two stages of the 2022 Arctic Race of Norway were held within the county, as were the Norwegian road racing championships in 2010, 2017, and 2022. Trondheim is also the starting point of the Styrkeprøven ≥500km endurance road race held most years since 1967, which heads down European route E6 through Trøndelag until Hjerkinn, after which point the race heads down to Oslo or just north of Oslo.

Hitra Municipality and Frøya Municipality compete in the Island Games, though Norwegian press coverage outside the islands about their participations are virtually non-existent.

Agriculture

Trøndelag is covered with fertile lands, especially the lowlands surrounding the Korsfjord, Trondheimsfjord, Borgenfjord, and Beitstadfjord. Trøndelag is the third largest county in Norway by agricultural land with its 1789 km2, and has the second highest meat-output with a total of almost 75000 t in 2022. The county also houses the most milking-cows, and thereby has the highest milk output, with Steinkjer Municipality producing the most.

In 2018, Trøndelag was the largest provider of beef, chicken, milk and eggs in Norway. Trøndelag provided 21.1% of all milk production, 18.9% of all beef, 28.7% of all chicken, 23.5% of all eggs, 13.2% of cereals, and 23.2% of all hay produced in Norway. Trøndelag is very much a rural county, housing merely 8.7% of Norway's population.

Domestic Breeds

Trøndelag is the origin of multiple animal breeds, the best known being Grey Troender sheep and Sided Troender cattle (STN).

Sided Troender cattle, as the name implies, is a white cow with coloured sides. It is based on "Rørosfe" from the Røros area, but later merged with the less standardized Nordland cattle. Together they are viewed as one breed with roots in both Trøndelag and Nordland, and has been since the 1920s. The breed standards are based on the original Trønder standards rather than the looser Nordland standards, with some cows being red, prioritizing black sides on hornless white cows. These are the traits most reminiscing of the old "Rørosfe".

Red Troender cattle is a now extinct breed based on the Scottish Ayrshire cattle. This domestic breed of horned red cows was mixed into extinction in the 1960s, and is now succeeded by Norwegian Red Cattle (NRF).

Tautersheep (Tautersau) was a breed of sheep from the island Tautra in Frosta Municipality, which was and still is heavily populated by monks, who have held sheep since the 11th century. It is thought that the breed is a fork of Spanish Merino sheep brought to Norway by monks during the 1500s. This theory has little written evidence to support it, which may be explained by Spains monopoly on Merino sheep until the 1800s, and export of the breed was punishable by death. Another theory is that the fine wool-features come from Moroccan sheep that were left on some islands outside Frøya. The presence of Moroccan sheep on Tarva was documented in 1757, and they are thought to have been brought inland. What is known for certain is that Hertfordshire Ryelander rams were imported in the late 1700s to mate with the local Tautra sheep. The Norwegian government held a breeding station on Edøy, that was laid to waste by invading forces during WWII. Despite a couple of decentralized breeding stations the population was too low, and to prevent inbreeding it was mixed, amongst others with Old Norwegian Sheep, to improve the quality of other breeds.

Grey Troender sheep is an endangered domesticated breed counting only 50 specimens in the year 2000. The crossbreeding to create the Grey Troender started in the late 1800s with heavy influence from Old Norwegian Sheep and Tautra Sheep. To protect this breed the government subsidises breeders. By 2011 the population had grown to 1200, whereof 500 are fertile ewes, distributed among 35 herds, and efforts are being made to revive the breed..The Committee on Farm Animal Genetic Resources has collected and frozen 3500 sperm-samples for future breeding.

Troender Rabbit (Trønderkanin) Is the only domestic Norwegian breed of rabbit. The breed was very popular during WWII as it grew fast and provided a fair amount of meat. Interest in the breed tapered off in the 1970s, and the population was as low as 40 specimens in the 1990s. The population in 2017 was around 80 specimens.f

References

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