The 1,040-square-kilometre (400sqmi) municipality is the 110th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Os Municipality is the 289th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,895. The municipality's population density is 1.8 inhabitants per square kilometre (4.7/sqmi) and its population has decreased by 6.1% over the previous 10-year period.[6][7]
General information
View of the Os areaView of the village of Os i ØsterdalenView of Tufsingdalen in the winterOs Church and Mount Hummelfjellet
The parish of Os was historically part of Tolga Municipality. On 1 July 1926, the parish of Os (population: 1,936) was separated from Tolga Municipality to become a separate municipality. In 1927, a small area of Tolga Municipality (population: 18) was transferred to Os Municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1966, Os Municipality (population: 2,015) was merged with Tolga Municipality (population: 1,944) to form the new Tolga-Os Municipality. This arrangement was not well-liked by the local residents so after a few years, the municipalities began to ask to undo the merger. On 1 January 1976, the merger was reversed and Os Municipality (population: 1,859) and Tolga Municipality (population: 1,865) were re-established using their old boundaries.[8]
Historically, the municipality was part of Hedmark county. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became a part of the newly-formed Innlandet county (after Hedmark and Oppland counties were merged).[9]
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Os farm (Old Norse: Óss) since the first Os Church was built there in 1703. The name is identical with the word óss which means "mouth of a river" (here it is referring to the Vangrøfta river running out into the Glomma river).[5][10]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 9 July 1993. The official blazon is "Vert, three bells Or" (Norwegian: I grønt tre gull bjeller, 2-1). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is three cowbells (two over one). The charge 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 symbolizes both traditional and modern business life in the mountain municipality of Os. At the same time, the design is intended to signal hope for the future. The three bells are an image of unity and cooperation between the three main parts of the municipality. The arms were designed by Kjell Akeren. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms, although the bells are slightly off centre, closer to the flagpole.[11][12][5][13]
The municipal council(Kommunestyre) of Os Municipality is made up of 15 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
Note: On 1 Jan 1966, Os Municipality became part of Tolga-Os Municipality. On 1 Jan 1976, this merger was undone and Os became a separate municipality once again.
The mayor (Norwegian: ordfører) of Os Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:[33][34]
Lakes in the region include Flensjøen, Femunden, and Siksjøen. The large river Glomma runs through the northern part of the municipality.[5] The highest point in the municipality is the 1,592.91-metre (5,226.1ft) tall mountain Nordre Sålekinna, on the border with Tolga Municipality.[1] Other mountains in the municipality include Forollhogna and Håmmålsfjellet.
↑Mæhlum, Lars; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (26 November 2024). "Innlandet". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
↑"Godkjenning av våpen og flagg". Lovdata.no (in Norwegian). Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet. 9 July 1993. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
↑"Os kommune, våpen". Digitalarkivet (in Norwegian). Arkivverket. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
↑Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (25 November 2024). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
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