The 1,548-square-kilometre (598 sq mi) municipality is the 53rd largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Verdal is the 81st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 15,193. The municipality's population density is 9.8 inhabitants per square kilometre (25/sq mi) and its population has increased by 2.7% over the previous 10-year period.[5][6]
General information
Flowers forming the coat of armsThe painting of Olaf II's death at the Battle of Stiklestad (dated from the first half of the 14th century), which inspired the municipal coat of arms.
The municipality of Værdalen was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). It is one of very few municipalities in Norway with unchanged borders since that date, although the spelling of the name was modified to Verdal.[7] On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Nord-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Verdalen valley (Old Norse: Veradalr). The first element is the genitive case of the river name Ver (now called Verdalselva). The meaning of the river name is probably "the quiet one". The last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale".[8] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Værdalen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Verdal, removing the definite form ending -en.[9]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 15 December 1972. The official blazon is "Gules, a cross clechéOr" (Norwegian: På rød bunn et gull kors, utbøyd og tilspisset). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a cross with a cleché design. The cross 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 is based on a cross shown in a large painting in the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, in which the death of King Olav Haraldsson (Saint Olaf) is shown. He died in the Battle of Stiklestad, the site of which is in Verdal municipality. In the painting, he holds a shield with this cross design. To commemorate the battle, the cross was taken as arms for the municipality. The arms were designed by Hallvard Trætteberg. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[10][11][12]
The most famous battle in Norwegian history, the Battle of Stiklestad, took place at Stiklestad in Verdal in the year 1030. The Stiklestad Church was built afterwards at the place where King Olav Haraldsson, later redesigned as St. Olaf, died during the battle. Olavsstøtta, a memorial pillar dedicated to St. Olaf, was erected in 1807 to commemorate the Battle of Stiklestad.
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Verdalsraset
Early on the night of 19 May 1893, the most deadly landslide in modern Norwegian history, known as Verdalsraset, took place in Verdal. It killed 116 people and at least 500 animals when approximately 100 farms were swept away. A wet winter and several spring floods in the river made the quick clay under the topsoil in a large area of the valley turn into a fluid. The slide moved about 60,000,000 m3 (78,000,000 cu yd) of clay, completely reshaping the topography of the area, including moving the course of the river.[14]
Culture
Råning
This culture is known for young people interested in cars, spending most of their time improving, enhancing, and styling their cars, and then driving them for display on a particular route around the town centre. This is not only positive, as they do show some general disregard for common laws and regulations. People living in the town center are at times bothered by noise, usually music being played at high volumes from their cars.
Stiklestad
Verdal is the location of the Stiklestad National Cultural Centre. The Saint Olav Drama appears here on an open stage every year in July. The play centers on events leading up to the Battle of Stiklestad.[15][16]
Verdal Municipality is situated along the innermost part of Trondheimsfjord and has a humid continental climate (Dfb) with mild winters for this climate. Using the −3 °C (27 °F) winter threshold as in the original Köppen climate classification, Verdal has an oceanic climate (Cfb). The all-time high 33 °C (91 °F) was recorded in July 2018. The all-time low −26.4 °C (−16 °F) was set in January 1987. The average date for first overnight freeze (below 0 °C (32 °F)) in autumn is October 6 (1981-2010 average).[17]
Climate data for Verdal 1991–2020 (81 m, Reppe, extremes 1971-2018 includes earlier stations)
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Verdal is made up of 35 representatives that 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 Verdal 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:[40]
Offshore industry (Aker Verdal) and agriculture are two of the most important parts of Verdal's economy. Despite its small size, Verdal is a municipality with great personality and cultural integrity. After several lottery grand prizes were received by some lucky inhabitants of Verdal, it is also known as one of the great "Lotto-bygds" of Norway (Small places with high a concentration of lottery wins in the national game of Lotto).
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