The 1,957-square-kilometre (756 sq mi) municipality is the 39th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Røros is the 170th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 5,685. The municipality's population density is 2.9 inhabitants per square kilometre (7.5/sq mi) and its population has increased by 1.8% over the previous 10-year period.[6][7]
The mining town of Røros (the administrative centre of the municipality) is sometimes called Bergstaden which means "mountain town" due to its historical renown for copper mining. It is one of two towns in Norway that were historically designated "mining towns", along with the "silver-town" of Kongsberg. Many of the modern-day inhabitants of the town of Røros still work and live in the characteristic 17th and 18th century buildings which led to its designation as a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site in 1980. The town of Røros has about 80 historic wooden houses, most of them standing around courtyards. Many retain their dark pitch-log facades, giving the town a medieval appearance.[8]
General information
The parish of Røros was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1875, an unpopulated area of the neighbouring Ålen Municipality was transferred to Røros Municipality. On 1 January 1926, Røros Municipality was divided into four separate municipalities: Røros landsogn (population: 701) in the south and west, Brekken Municipality (population: 1,098) in the east, and Glåmos Municipality (population: 983) in the north. The remaining part of Røros, mostly areas surrounding and including the town of Røros (population: 2,284) remained as a much smaller Røros Municipality.[9]
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Røros Municipality (population: 3,063) was merged with its three neighbors: Glåmos Municipality (population: 700), Brekken Municipality (population: 964), and Røros landsogn (population: 482) to recreate the large Røros Municipality that existed prior to 1926. On 21 April 1989, an unpopulated part of Røros Municipality was transferred to the neighbouring Holtålen Municipality.[9]
On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Sør-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.
Name
The municipality (originally the parish and town) is named after the old Røros farm (Old Norse: Røyðaróss) since this was the site of the mining town of Røros. The first element comes from the local river name Røa (Røyðr) which has an unknown meaning. The last element comes from óss which means "mouth of a river" (the small river Røa runs into the great river Glåma here).[10]
On 9 September 2022, the national government approved a resolution to add a co-equal, official Sami language name for the municipality: Rosse.[11] The spelling of the Sami language name changes depending on how it is used. It is called Rosse when it is spelled alone, but it is Rossen tjïelte when using the Sami language equivalent to "Røros municipality".[5]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 29 October 1992. The blazon is "Gules, a venus symbol over a crossed hammer and chisel Or" (Norwegian: I rødt, en gull kobber (venus-symbol) over korslagt bergjarn og feisel). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a venus symbol over a crossed hammer and chisel. 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. The design symbolizes the copper mining industry in Røros. The venus symbol is the old symbol for copper, which was heavily mined in Røros for centuries. The arms were designed by Sverre Ødegaard. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[12][13][14]
Røros and its people were made famous to Norwegians at the turn of the 20th century by semi-fictional authorJohan Falkberget, who told the story of the mining community from the perspective of the hard-tested miners at the bottom of the social ladder.
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Røros is made up of 27 representatives who are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
The mayor (Norwegian: ordfører) of Røros is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:[36][37]
Røros is located on a gently sloping plateau about 630 metres (2,070 ft) above sea level that is forested with mostly birch and some pine, but the tree line is never far away. The highest point in the municipality is the 1,561.38-metre (5,122.6 ft) tall mountain Storviglen.[1] The largest lake within the municipality is Aursunden and the river Glåma has its origin here. The most northerly part of the lake Femunden, the third largest lake in Norway, is located in Røros, just west of Femundsmarka National Park. These lakes and others in Røros, such as Bolagen and Flensjøen, are well suited for kayaking and fishing. Other lakes include Feragen, Håsjøen, Rambergssjøen, Korssjøen, Nedre Roasten, Rogen, and Rien.
Climate
Røros has a subarctic climate. Mostly sheltered from oceanic influences, and located at ca 650 m amsl, Røros has recorded the coldest temperatures in the southern half of Norway with −50.3 °C (−58.5 °F) in early January 1914. In the European cold snap of January 2010 Røros recorded low of −42 °C (−44 °F). The coldest months recorded are January 1941 and January 1942, both with mean −20.6 °C (−5.1 °F), and average daily low −26.9 °C (−16.4 °F) in January 1941. Winters at Røros are reliably cold. The warmest January (1973) had mean −2.8 °C (27.0 °F), the warmest winter month on record was December 2006 with mean −0.5 °C (31.1 °F), and the warmest March (2012) had mean −0.3 °C (31.5 °F). The heat record 30.7 °C (87.3 °F) was recorded in July 2008. The warmest month on record is July 2014 with mean 16 °C (61 °F), while July 2018 had the warmest average daily high with 23.3 °C (73.9 °F).
Skiing conditions in winter are usually excellent, with the period from February to April being the optimum, as the sun is higher and the days longer than earlier in winter. The deepest snow depth recorded in Røros is 200 centimetres (79 in) in March 1956. In more recent years, 87 centimetres (34 in) snow on the ground was recorded in March 2009. Snow on the ground is virtually guaranteed in Røros from December to early April. Early May 1997 saw 76 cm snow on the ground (source: eklima/met.no).
Haugan, an unincorporated settlement situated 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from Røros Airport, is the location of a weather station operated by the Norwegian Meteorologist institute. (Norwegian: Meteorologisk institutt).[38]
All the record lows are old, the most recent (December) from 1978, while more than half of the monthly record highs are from year 2000 or later.
Climate data for Røros (625 m; 1981 - 2010; precipitation days 1961-90, extremes 1900 - 2018)
During winter, a traditional market called "Rørosmartnan" is organized and that draws an average of 60,000–70,000 tourists each year. The market begins on the last Tuesday in February and lasts five days.[39]
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