Prior to its dissolution in 1963, the 259-square-kilometre (100 sq mi) municipality was the 317th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Sparbu Municipality was the 217th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 3,995. The municipality's population density was 15.4 inhabitants per square kilometre (40/sq mi) and its population had increased by 7.2% over the previous 10-year period.[7][8]
General information
The parish of Sparbu was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The eastern Ogndalen valley (population: 1,441) was separated from Sparbu Municipality on 1 January 1885 to form the new Skei Municipality (later this was renamed Ogndal Municipality). This left Sparbu Municipality with 2,842 residents.[9]
On 1 January 1964, a large municipal merger took place involving six rural municipalities and the town of Steinkjer. The following places were merged to form a new, larger Steinkjer Municipality:[9]
The municipality (originally the parish) is named an old name for the area (Old Norse: Sparabú). The first element is spara which has an uncertain meaning, however it is possible that it means "something excellent" or "something one saves for". The last element is bú which means "household" or "farm". Historically, the name was spelled Sparbuen (using the definite singular form).[10]
The municipal council(Herredsstyre) of Sparbu was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
The mayor (Nynorsk: ordførar) of Sparbu was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who held this position:[18]