Stjørdal

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Stjørdal kommune
—  Municipality  —
Coat of arms of Stjørdal kommune
Coat of arms
Official logo of Stjørdal kommune
Nord-Trøndelag within
Norway
Stjørdal within Nord-Trøndelag
Stjørdal within Nord-Trøndelag
Coordinates: 63°28′30″N 11°10′15″E / 63.475, 11.17083
Country Norway
County Nord-Trøndelag
District Stjørdalen
Municipality ID NO-1714
Administrative centre Stjørdal
Government
 - Mayor (2005) Johan Arnt Elverum (Sp)
Area (Nr. 117 in Norway)
 - Total 938 km² (362.2 sq mi)
 - Land 913 km² (352.5 sq mi)
Population (2008)
 - Total 20,616
 - Density 21/km² (54.4/sq mi)
 - Change (10 years) 10.7 %
 - Rank in Norway 48
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Official language form Neutral
Data from Statistics Norway
Website: www.stjordal.kommune.no

Stjørdal is a municipality and town in the county of Nord-Trøndelag, Norway.

Stjørdal was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Stjørdal was divided in Øvre Stjørdal and Nedre Stjørdal January 1, 1850. Øvre Stjørdal was divided in Hegra and Meråker January 1, 1874 - and Nedre Stjørdal was divided in Lånke, Skatval and (lesser) Stjørdal January 1, 1902. All of these municipalities (except for Meråker) were again merged to recreate the old (greater) Stjørdal January 1, 1962.

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[edit] Economy

Pedestrian street in Stjørdal town
Pedestrian street in Stjørdal town

Township was declared in 1997. Stjørdal is the fastest growing municipality in Nord-Trøndelag due to its proximity to Trondheim and also to StatoilHydro's presence (it controls a large part of the petroleum activity in the Norwegian Sea from Stjørdal). Trondheim is only about 35 km from Stjørdal either by road or train (Trønderbanen). Stjørdal is in the process of "growing together" with Trondheim, a show of regional urbanization. The distance to Steinkjer is about 85 km, and the towns of Levanger and Verdal is about 40-45 km to the north. All these four towns lies on the eastern shore of Trondheimsfjorden. Stjørdal consists of the old administration areas of Skatval, Hegra, Lånke and Stjørdal.

The river of "Stjørdalselven" runs through the valley of Stjørdal, with the peninsula of Skatval on the northern side.

8. May 1945 - following years of occupation, people could never forget the celebration this day.
8. May 1945 - following years of occupation, people could never forget the celebration this day.

The village of Hell is located in Lånke. Hell is especially known for its train station, where you find the old sign saying "Gods expedition" ("Cargo handling" in Norwegian).

Stjørdal is a communication centre, with the regional airport, Trondheim Airport, Værnes, as well as port facilities and the E6 and railway (Trondheim - Bodø) going through the municipality. In addition, there are train and road connections east to Sweden.

[edit] Name

The Old Norse form of the name was Stjórardalr. The first element is the genitive case of the rivername Stjór (now Stjørdalselva), the last element is dalr m 'valley, dale'. The meaning of the rivername is unknown.

Steinvikholmen castle in Stjørdal municipality where the last archbishop of Norway resided
Steinvikholmen castle in Stjørdal municipality where the last archbishop of Norway resided

[edit] Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from 1983, but is inspired by an old seal for the district from 1344. It shows a dragon (also see the coat-of-arms of Skiptvet).

[edit] Birdlife

The Stjørdal area has a rich bird life with well over 260 recorded species and several good birding localities. Though Stjørdal can not boast of a long coast line (It's only 25 km long) some of best birding areas are to be found along Stjørdalfjorden. Halsøen is virtually situated near the centre of Stjørdal, and can be easy viewed from a number of advantage points from route E6 in the east, or Langøra in the west. Formed by the old river outlet, this tidal area is well worth checking. Due to the shallow waters and extensive areas of mud at low tide Halsøen is used both as a wintering area and a migration stopover point by many species.

[edit] External links