Area rank 181 in Norway Area 613.3 km² Population 3,920 (2010) | Administrative centre Meldal Demonym(s) Meldaling Local time Saturday 10:31 AM | |
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Weather -2°C, Wind W at 5 km/h, 83% Humidity | ||
Meldal is a village and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Orkdalen region.
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Map of 7336 Meldal, Norway
The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Meldal. The 0.75-square-kilometre (190-acre) village of Meldal has a population (2013) of 628, giving the village a population density of 837 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,170/sq mi). Other villages include Løkken Verk, Bjørnli, and Storås.
The municipality is most renowned for its mining activities at Løkken Verk, being the birthplace of the Orkla mining company, now Orkla Group. It is also home to the annual Storåsfestivalen music festival.
General information
Meldal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). In 1839, the southern district of Rennebu was separated from Meldal to form a municipality of its own.
Name
The Old Norse form of the name was Meðaldalr. The first element is meðal which means "middle" and the last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale". The municipality is named this probably because it is located in the middle of the Orkdalen valley. The name was historically spelled Meldalen.
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 5 February 1985. The arms are a combination of a wheel as a symbol for the local industry, and a wheat ear as a symbol for the agriculture. Both items are yellow on a red background.
Churches
The Church of Norway has two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Meldal. It is part of the Deanery (prosti) of Orkdal and the Diocese of Nidaros.
Geography
The municipality of Meldal is located along the Orkla River in the middle of the Orkdalen valley. The lakes Hostovatnet and Svorksjøen are located along the northern border of the municipality.
The municipality of Rindal (in Møre og Romsdal) lies to the west, Rennebu lies to the south, Midtre Gauldal and Melhus to the east, and Orkdal to the north.
The Løkken Station is the terminal station on the Thamshavn Line railway.