Soknedal is a former municipality in the old Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The 440.7-square-kilometre (170.2 sq mi) municipality existed from 1841 until its dissolution in 1964. It is located in the western part of what is now Midtre Gauldal Municipality in Trøndelag county. The administrative center of the municipality was the village of Soknedal, where the Soknedal Church is located. The municipality was named after the Soknedalen valley in which it is located. The valley is named after the river Sokna which runs through the valley.[6]
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the 440.7-square-kilometre (170.2 sq mi) municipality was the 223rd largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Soknedal Municipality was the 450th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,928. The municipality's population density was 4.4 inhabitants per square kilometre (11/sq mi) and its population had decreased by 4.8% over the previous 10-year period.[7][8]
General information
The municipality of Soknedal was established in 1841 when the old Støren Municipality was split into three separate municipalities: Horg Municipality (in the north), Støren Municipality (in the central part), and Soknedal Municipality (in the southwest). Initially, Soknedal Municipality had 1,966 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, a municipal merger took place: Budal Municipality (population: 529), Singsås Municipality (population: 1,554), Soknedal Municipality (population: 1,916), and Støren Municipality (population: 2,296) were all merged to form the new Midtre Gauldal Municipality.[9]
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named Soknedal (Old Norse: Sóknardalr) after the valley in which it is located. The first element comes from the name of the river Sokna which flows through the valley. The river name comes from the word sœkja which means "to suck" or "to attack", likely referring to the rough waters of the river. The last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale".[10] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Soknedalen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Soknedal, removing the definite form ending -en.[11]
The municipal council(Herredsstyre) of Soknedal was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
The mayor (Norwegian: ordfører) of Soknedal was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who held this position:[19][20]
