The 519-square-kilometre (200 sq mi) municipality is the 204th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Midt-Telemark is the 108th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 10,735. The municipality's population density is 22 inhabitants per square kilometre (57/sq mi) and its population has increased by 5.7% over the previous 10-year period.[5][6]
General information
The municipality was established on 1 January 2020 when the neighboring municipalities of Bø (population: 6,630) and Sauherad (population: 4,293) were merged. Also on the same date, the Hjukse area of Sauherad was transferred to Notodden Municipality.[4]
The coat of arms was approved for use starting on 1 January 2020 when the new Midt-Telemark municipality was established. The new arms were a combination of the arms for the two preceding municipalities that formed Midt-Telemark. The colors of the Sauherad arms and the design of the Bø arms were used. The official blazon is "Azure, three fiddles Or" (Norwegian: I blått tre gull feler, 2-1). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a set of three fiddles (two over one). The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. Bø is historically known for its musical tradition, as well as the production of fiddles (similar to the hardingfele). The fiddle was thus chosen as an appropriate symbol for the municipality. The original design of the Bø arms were designed by Halvor Holtskog, Jr. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[8][4]
The municipal council(Kommunestyre) of Midt-Telemark is made up of 29 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
