Grong
Encyclopedia
is a municipality in Nord-Trøndelag
county
, Norway
. It is part of the Namdalen
region
. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Medjå
. Other villages in the municipality include Bergsmoen
, Formofoss, Gartland
, and Harran
.
). On 1 January 1901, the northwestern district of Høylandet
(population: 1,046) was separated from Grong to form its own municipality. On 1 January 1923, the northeastern district of Røyrvik
(population: 392), the northwestern district of Namsskogan
(population: 469), and the central district of Harran
(population: 630) were all split from Grong to form separate municipalities. This left a vastly smaller municipality of Grong with only 1,272 residents. On 1 January 1964, the municipality of Harran
(population: 1,085) was merged back into Grong.
) is named after the old Grong farm (Old Norse
: Granungar), since the first church was built there. The first element is grön which means "spruce
" and the last element is the plural
form of the suffix
-ungr.
is from modern times; they were granted on 6 February 1987. The arms show three green triangle
s on a silver/gray background. The green triangles represent spruce trees (gran), making them canting arms
. The name is supposedly derived from Granungar. The number three symbolizes the three main villages in the municipality: Harran
, Bergsmoen
, and Medjå
.
has two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Grong. It is part of the Namdal deanery
in the Diocese of Nidaros
.
in the Namdalen
valley. Two major tributaries of the Namsen flow through Grong too: the river Sanddøla and the river Neselva. The Bangsjøene
lakes lie at the extreme southern border with Snåsa
and Overhalla
. The Blåfjella–Skjækerfjella National Park covers a small part of the southeastern part of Grong.
highway follows the river Namsen
across the municipality, as does the Nordlandsbanen
railway line. The two main stations on the Nordlandsbanen are Grong Station
in Medjå
and Harran Station
in Harran
. The old Namsos Line railway used to run from Grong to Namsos
, but that is now closed.
Nord-Trøndelag
is a county constituting the northern part of Trøndelag in Norway. As of 2010, the county had 131,555 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-least populated county. The largest municipalities are Stjørdal, Steinkjer—the county seat, Levanger, Namsos and Verdal, all with between 21,000 and...
county
Counties of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. It is part of the Namdalen
Namdalen
Namdalen is a traditional district in the central part of Norway, consisting of the municipalities Namsos, Grong, Overhalla, Røyrvik, Fosnes, Nærøy, Høylandet, Namdalseid, Flatanger, Lierne, Leka, Namsskogan, and Vikna, all in Nord-Trøndelag county. The district has two towns: Kolvereid and Namsos...
region
Districts of Norway
The country Norway is historically divided into a number of districts. Many districts have deep historical roots, and only partially coincide with today's administrative units of counties and municipalities. The districts are defined by geographical features, often valleys, mountain ranges, fjords,...
. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Medjå
Medjå
Medjå or Grong is a village which serves as the administrative center of the municipality of Grong in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located along the river Namsen, at the confluence with the river Sanddøla. The Nordlandsbanen railway line runs along the eastern part of the village,...
. Other villages in the municipality include Bergsmoen
Bergsmoen
Bergsmoen is a village in the municipality of Grong in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located about west of Medjå, the municipal center of Grong...
, Formofoss, Gartland
Gartland
Gartland is a village in the municipality of Grong in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located on the northwestern side of the river Namsen about north of the municipal center, Medjå. The village sits along the main European route E6 highway and the Nordlandsbanen railway line. Directly...
, and Harran
Harran, Norway
Harran is a parish, a village, and a former municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. The parish and village of Harran is located in the northern part of the present-day municipality of Grong, about north of the village of Medjå, the administrative center of Grong. Harran is part of the...
.
General information
Grong was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistriktFormannskapsdistrikt
Formannskapsdistrikt was the name for a Norwegian local self-government districts put into force in 1838. This system of municipality was created in a bill approved by the Storting and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January 1837...
). On 1 January 1901, the northwestern district of Høylandet
Høylandet
Høylandet is a village and a municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Høylandet. Other villages include Kongsmoen and Vassbotna....
(population: 1,046) was separated from Grong to form its own municipality. On 1 January 1923, the northeastern district of Røyrvik
Røyrvik
Røyrvik is a village and municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Røyrvik. The area has always had a strong Sami influence....
(population: 392), the northwestern district of Namsskogan
Namsskogan
Namsskogan is a village and municipality in Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. Namsskogan is located in the upper part of the long Namdalen valley region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Namsskogan...
(population: 469), and the central district of Harran
Harran, Norway
Harran is a parish, a village, and a former municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. The parish and village of Harran is located in the northern part of the present-day municipality of Grong, about north of the village of Medjå, the administrative center of Grong. Harran is part of the...
(population: 630) were all split from Grong to form separate municipalities. This left a vastly smaller municipality of Grong with only 1,272 residents. On 1 January 1964, the municipality of Harran
Harran, Norway
Harran is a parish, a village, and a former municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. The parish and village of Harran is located in the northern part of the present-day municipality of Grong, about north of the village of Medjå, the administrative center of Grong. Harran is part of the...
(population: 1,085) was merged back into Grong.
Name
The municipality (originally the parishParish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
) is named after the old Grong farm (Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
: Granungar), since the first church was built there. The first element is grön which means "spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
" and the last element is the plural
Plural
In linguistics, plurality or [a] plural is a concept of quantity representing a value of more-than-one. Typically applied to nouns, a plural word or marker is used to distinguish a value other than the default quantity of a noun, which is typically one...
form of the suffix
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
-ungr.
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-armsCoat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
is from modern times; they were granted on 6 February 1987. The arms show three green triangle
Triangle
A triangle is one of the basic shapes of geometry: a polygon with three corners or vertices and three sides or edges which are line segments. A triangle with vertices A, B, and C is denoted ....
s on a silver/gray background. The green triangles represent spruce trees (gran), making them canting arms
Canting arms
Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name in a visual pun or rebus. The term cant came into the English language from Anglo-Norman cant, meaning song or singing, from Latin cantāre, and English cognates include canticle, chant, accent, incantation and recant.Canting arms –...
. The name is supposedly derived from Granungar. The number three symbolizes the three main villages in the municipality: Harran
Harran, Norway
Harran is a parish, a village, and a former municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. The parish and village of Harran is located in the northern part of the present-day municipality of Grong, about north of the village of Medjå, the administrative center of Grong. Harran is part of the...
, Bergsmoen
Bergsmoen
Bergsmoen is a village in the municipality of Grong in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located about west of Medjå, the municipal center of Grong...
, and Medjå
Medjå
Medjå or Grong is a village which serves as the administrative center of the municipality of Grong in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located along the river Namsen, at the confluence with the river Sanddøla. The Nordlandsbanen railway line runs along the eastern part of the village,...
.
Churches
The Church of NorwayChurch of Norway
The Church of Norway is the state church of Norway, established after the Lutheran reformation in Denmark-Norway in 1536-1537 broke the ties to the Holy See. The church confesses the Lutheran Christian faith...
has two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Grong. It is part of the Namdal deanery
Deanery
A Deanery is an ecclesiastical entity in both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of a Dean.- Catholic usage :...
in the Diocese of Nidaros
Diocese of Nidaros
Nidaros is a diocese in the Lutheran Church of Norway. It covers Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag counties and its cathedral city is Trondheim, which houses the well-known Nidaros Cathedral. The diocese is divided into 12 deaneries . Finn Wagle was the bishop from 1991 to 2008...
.
| Parish (Sokn) | Church Name | Location of the Church | Year Built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grong | Grong Church Grong Church Grong Church is a parish church in the municipality of Grong in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Grong. The church is part of the Grong parish in the Namdal deanery in the Diocese of Nidaros. The white, wooden church building was constructed in 1877. The building... |
Medjå Medjå Medjå or Grong is a village which serves as the administrative center of the municipality of Grong in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located along the river Namsen, at the confluence with the river Sanddøla. The Nordlandsbanen railway line runs along the eastern part of the village,... |
1877 |
| Harran | Harran Church Harran Church Harran Church is a parish church in the municipality of Grong in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Harran. The church is part of the Harran parish in the Namdal deanery in the Diocese of Nidaros. The white, wooden church building was constructed in 1874 to replace... |
Harran Harran, Norway Harran is a parish, a village, and a former municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. The parish and village of Harran is located in the northern part of the present-day municipality of Grong, about north of the village of Medjå, the administrative center of Grong. Harran is part of the... |
1874 |
| Gløshaug Church Gløshaug Church Gløshaug Church is a parish church in the municipality of Grong in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Gartland. The church is part of the Harran parish in the Namdal deanery in the Diocese of Nidaros... |
Gartland Gartland Gartland is a village in the municipality of Grong in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located on the northwestern side of the river Namsen about north of the municipal center, Medjå. The village sits along the main European route E6 highway and the Nordlandsbanen railway line. Directly... |
1689 |
Geography
Grong is located along the river NamsenNamsen
Namsen is the biggest river in Nord-Trøndelag county, in the central part of Norway. The long river flows through the municipalities of Røyrvik, Namsskogan, Grong, Overhalla, and Namsos. It traditionally has been used for floating timber down from the forests to the town of Namsos, where the...
in the Namdalen
Namdalen
Namdalen is a traditional district in the central part of Norway, consisting of the municipalities Namsos, Grong, Overhalla, Røyrvik, Fosnes, Nærøy, Høylandet, Namdalseid, Flatanger, Lierne, Leka, Namsskogan, and Vikna, all in Nord-Trøndelag county. The district has two towns: Kolvereid and Namsos...
valley. Two major tributaries of the Namsen flow through Grong too: the river Sanddøla and the river Neselva. The Bangsjøene
Bangsjøene
Bangsjøene is a series of lakes that straddle the borders of the municipalities of Snåsa, Grong, Overhalla, and Steinkjer in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. The southwestern lake is called Ytter-Bangsjøen, the middle lake is Midter-Bangsjøen, and the northeastern lake is Øyster-Bangsjøen...
lakes lie at the extreme southern border with Snåsa
Snåsa
Snåsa is a municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Innherred region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Snåsa. Other villages include Agle and Jørstad....
and Overhalla
Overhalla
Overhalla is a municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ranemsletta . Other villages include Melen, Skage, Skogmo, Svalia, and Øysletta.The population is concentrated in the relatively broad...
. The Blåfjella–Skjækerfjella National Park covers a small part of the southeastern part of Grong.
Transportation
The European route E6European route E6
European route E 6 is the designation for the main north-south road in Norway, and the west coast of Sweden, running from the southern tip of Sweden, at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the country north to Finnmark. The route ends close to the Norwegian border with Russia...
highway follows the river Namsen
Namsen
Namsen is the biggest river in Nord-Trøndelag county, in the central part of Norway. The long river flows through the municipalities of Røyrvik, Namsskogan, Grong, Overhalla, and Namsos. It traditionally has been used for floating timber down from the forests to the town of Namsos, where the...
across the municipality, as does the Nordlandsbanen
Nordlandsbanen
The Nordland Line is a railway line between Trondheim and Bodø in Norway. Running for approximately 729 km, it is the Norwegian railway system's longest line, and the only one in Norway to cross the Arctic Circle. It is owned by the Norwegian National Rail Administration...
railway line. The two main stations on the Nordlandsbanen are Grong Station
Grong Station
Grong Station is a railway station located in the village of Grong in the municipality of Grong in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located on the Nordland Line railway, and the station opened in 1926. Starting on 1 April 1942, the restaurant operations was taken over by Norsk...
in Medjå
Medjå
Medjå or Grong is a village which serves as the administrative center of the municipality of Grong in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located along the river Namsen, at the confluence with the river Sanddøla. The Nordlandsbanen railway line runs along the eastern part of the village,...
and Harran Station
Harran Station
Harran Station is a railway station located in the village of Harran in the municipality of Grong in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located on the Nordland Line railway. The station opened in 1940, and has been unstaffed since 1989.-References:...
in Harran
Harran, Norway
Harran is a parish, a village, and a former municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. The parish and village of Harran is located in the northern part of the present-day municipality of Grong, about north of the village of Medjå, the administrative center of Grong. Harran is part of the...
. The old Namsos Line railway used to run from Grong to Namsos
Namsos
is a town and municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Namsos. Other villages in the municipality include Bangsund, Klinga, Ramsvika, Skomsvoll, and Spillum....
, but that is now closed.
External links
- Municipal fact sheet from Statistics NorwayStatistics NorwayStatistics Norway is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876.Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every year on its web site. All releases are published both in Norwegian and English...