Snåsa is one of the last strongholds for the seriously endangered Southern Sami language.
The 2,343-square-kilometre (905 sq mi) municipality is the 23rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Snåsa is the 277th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,021 inhabitants. The municipality's population density is 0.9 inhabitants per square kilometre (2.3/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 6.2% over the previous 10-year period.[4][5]
General information
The parish of Snåsa was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. On 1 January 1874, the eastern district of Snåsa (population: 1,015) was separated to form a new, separate municipality of Lierne. This left Snåsa with 2,235 residents. Snåsa's boundaries have not changed since then.[6]
On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Nord-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) was named Snåsa (Old Norse: Snǫs). The name is derived from the word snǫs which means "prominent mountain" or "overhanging rock" (possibly referring to the mountain of Bergsåsen, at the inner end of the lake Snåsavatnet).[7] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Snaasen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Snaasa.[8] On 21 December 1917, a royal resolution enacted the 1917 Norwegian language reforms. Prior to this change, the name was spelled Snaasa with the digraph "aa", and after this reform, the name was spelled Snåsa, using the letter å instead.[9][10]
On 24 September 2010, the national government approved a resolution to add a co-equal, official Southern Sami language name for the municipality: Snåase.[11][12] The spelling of the Sami language name changes depending on how it is used. It is called Snåase when it is spelled alone, but it is Snåasen tjïelte when using the Sami language equivalent to "Snåsa municipality".[13]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 17 March 1994. The official blazon is "Azure, a lady's-slipper orchid Or." (Norwegian: I blått en gull marisko). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a lady's-slipper orchid (Cypripedium calceolus). The lady's-slipper orchid 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 was chosen to symbolize the prevalence of orchids growing in the municipality. This particular flower is one of at least 15 species of orchids that grow in Snåsa. The arms were designed by Even Jarl Skoglund. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[14][15][16][11]
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Snåsa is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.