Prior to its dissolution in 1963, the 201-square-kilometre (78 sq mi) municipality was the 370th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Beitstad Municipality was the 353rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 2,601. The municipality's population density was 13 inhabitants per square kilometre (34/sq mi) and its population had decreased by 1.7% over the previous 10-year period.[7][8]
General information
The parish of Bedstaden was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1846, the neighboring Nummedalseidet Municipality to the north was merged with Bedstaden. The spelling was later changed to Beitstad. On 1 January 1904, the northern district of Nummedalseidet (population: 1,368) was separated from Beitstad to create the new Namdalseid Municipality (this was the same area that joined Beitstad Municipality in 1846). The split left Beitstad Municipality with 2,946 inhabitants. On 1 July 1913 another split took place. All of Beitstad Municipality located west of the Beitstadsundet strait and the Hjellbotn bay (population: 993) was separated and became the new Malm Municipality, leaving Beitstad Municipality with a population of 1,934.[9]
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, a large merger took place with the following municipalities being merged to form a new, larger Steinkjer Municipality.[9]
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the local Beitstadfjorden (Old Norse: Beitisstǫð). The first element is beitir which was likely the old name for the local Beitstadfjorden. The meaning of this name is uncertain, but it may come from the beita which means "to graze" or "to bite". The last element is stǫð which means "landing place" or "harbour".[6][10] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Bedstaden or Beitstaden. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Beitstad, removing the definite form ending -en.[11]
The municipal council(Herredsstyre) of Beitstad was made up of 17 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 Beitstad was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who held this position:[19]