The 351-square-kilometre (136 sq mi) municipality is the 250th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Hamar is the 32nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 32,382. The municipality's population density is 95.9 inhabitants per square kilometre (248/sq mi) and its population has increased by 10.3% over the previous 10-year period.[5][6]
Among the municipality's responsibilities, it the operation of nine primary and three lower secondary school, with a combined 3,115 pupils.[7] The municipality also owns the power company Hamar Energi, and the sports venues Briskeby Arena, Vikingskipet and Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre.[8]
General information
Map of the municipality
In 1848, the village of Hamar was granted kjøpstad status for a land area of about 400 decares (99 acres). This newly designated "town" (population: 1,025) was separated from the municipality of Vang to and established as a separate municipality in 1849. On 1 January 1878, the town/municipality of Hamar was enlarged by annexing about 800 decares (200 acres) of land and 138 people from Vang to Hamar. In 1946, a large area in Vang that surrounded the town of Hamar (population: 4,087) was transferred out of Vang and into Hamar. The next year in 1947, part of the municipality of Furnes (population: 821) was transferred into Hamar. On 1 January 1965, a part of Ringsaker (population: 100) was transferred to Hamar. On 1 January 1992, the municipality of Vang (population: 9,103) was merged with the town of Hamar (population: 16,351) and parts of the Stensby, Hanstad, Viker, and Stammerud areas of Ringsaker (population: 224) to form a new, larger Hamar Municipality.[9][10]
Name
The municipality (originally the town) is named after the old Hamar farm (Old Norse: Hamarr). The medieval market was first built on this farm and that market eventually became a kjøpstad, the town of Hamar. This town later became a self-governing municipality. The name is identical with the word hamarr which means "stone" or "rocky hill".[4]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was first granted on 2 June 1896 and re-granted on 9 July 1993. The official blazon is "Argent, a grouse sable displayed standing on a pine tree issuant from the base" (Norwegian: I sølv, en svart orrfugl med flakte vinger i toppen av et grønt furutre med naturfarget stamme). This means the arms have a field (background) has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The charge is a black grouse sitting at the top of a pine tree. An older version of the arms had been used for a long time. The old version was first described in the anonymous Hamar Chronicle, written in 1553. Since then, it has been generally kept the same, although it has had some minor revisions over the years. The arms were designed by Andreas Bloch (1896 version) and by Per Solheim (1963 version) and Arvid Steen (1993 version). The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[11][12][13][4]
Hamar has a humid continental climate (Dfb) with fairly dry and cold winters, and comfortably warm summers. The Hamar II weather station, at an elevation of 141 metres (463 ft), started recording in 1968. The all-time high 33 °C (91 °F) was recorded in July 2018, which was the warmest month on record with average daily high 28.8 °C (83.8 °F) and mean 21.6 °C (70.9 °F). The all-time low −29.8 °C (−21.6 °F) is from in December 2010, which was a very cold month with mean −14 °C (7 °F) and average daily low −18.2 °C (−0.8 °F). A previous weather station (Hamar I, at an elevation of 139 m) recorded the coldest month on record with mean −17.2 °C (1.0 °F) in January 1917. In August 1975, the weather station "Staur Forsøksgård" in nearby Stange recorded 35 °C (95 °F).
Climate data for Hamar 1991-2020 (141 m, extremes 2008-2020, precipitation days 1961-90)
The municipal council(Kommunestyre) of Hamar is made up of 39 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
Note: In 1946, the town of Hamar was greatly enlarged by annexing lands from Vang. A new election was held for the newly enlarge town to finish out the original term.
Note: In 1946, the town of Hamar was greatly enlarged by annexing lands from Vang. A new election was held for the newly enlarge town to finish out the original term.
