Brandval is a former municipality in the old Hedmark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1867 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Kongsvinger Municipality in the traditional district of Solør. The administrative centre was the village of Brandval where Brandval Church is located. Other villages in the municipality included Lundersæter and Roverud.
Prior to its dissolution in 1963, the municipality was the 190th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Brandval Municipality was the 197th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 4,445. The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 5.5% over the previous 10-year period.
General information Historically, Brandval was part of the large parish of Grue. On 1 January 1838, when municipalities were established in Norway, Brandval was part of Grue Municipality, making up the southern part of the municipality. On 1 January 1867, the Brandval area (population: 3,946) was separated from Grue to become the new Brandval Municipality. This left Grue Municipality with 6,464 residents. In 1941 a small part of Grue Municipality (population: 68) was transferred to Brandval Municipality.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, a large municipal merger took place which merged the following areas to form a new, larger Kongsvinger Municipality which had a total population of 12,990 residents. Brandval Municipality (population: 4,384) Vinger Municipality (population: 6,257) the town of Kongsvinger (population: 2,349)
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Brandval farm () since the first Brandval Church was built there. The first element is which means "fire" or "burning". The last element is which means "land that is cleared by burning". Thus the name likely refers to a forested area that was cleared by burning.
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Brandval Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Brandval prestegjeld and the Solør prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar.
Churches in BrandvalParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtBrandvalBrandval ChurchBrandval1651Lundersæter ChapelLundersæter1868
Geography The municipality included the populated Glomma river valley in the west and the more sparsely populated Finnskogen forest area in the east. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Rafjellet, just south of the border with Grue Municipality. Grue Municipality was located to the north, Sør-Odal Municipality was located to the west, and Vinger Municipality was located to the south. To the east of Brandval Municipality was Fryksände Municipality (present-day Torsby Municipality) in Sweden.
Government While it existed, Brandval Municipality was 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 was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Brandval Municipality was made up of 21 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
Mayors The mayor () of Brandval Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1868–1870: Lars Bredesen Breen 1871–1886: Per Hansen Gjølstad 1887–1889: Kolbjørn Olsen 1890–1897: Per Hansen Gjølstad 1898–1901: Martin Hansen 1902–1910: Arne Næss 1911–1913: Rangvald Jahr 1914–1919: Nils Aas 1920–1931: Ole Ruud 1932–1934: Kasper Dalermoen 1935–1936: Arnt Nylund 1937–1937: Thor Hals 1938–1940: Gustav Storhæsen 1941–1945: Ole Sandbæk 1945–1947: Anton Braaten 1948–1963: John Ruud
See also
List of former municipalities of Norway
References