# Ålen Municipality

Ålen is a former municipality in the old Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The 718-square-kilometre (277 sq mi) former municipality existed from 1855 until 1972. It encompassed the southeastern half of what is now Holtålen Municipality in Trøndelag county. The administrative centre was the village of Renbygda (also known as Ålen) where Ålen Church is located.
Prior to its dissolution in 1972, the 718.1-square-kilometre (277.3 sq mi) municipality was the 149th largest by area out of the 449 municipalities in Norway. Ålen Municipality was the 373rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,987. The municipality's population density was 2.8 inhabitants per square kilometre (7.3/sq mi) and its population had decreased by 10.1% over the previous 10-year period.

## General information

The parish of Aalen (later spelled Ålen) was established as a municipality in 1855 when Holtaalen Municipality was divided into two and the southeastern part became the new Aalen Municipality (population: 1,487). In 1875, an uninhabited part of Aalen was moved to the neighboring Røros Municipality. Starting in the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1972, Ålen Municipality (population: 1,944) was merged with the neighboring Haltdalen Municipality (population: 778) and together they formed the new Holtålen Municipality (bringing back the name Holtålen, the historic name for the old Haltdalen Municipality).

### Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named Ålen, after an old name for the area. The name is the definite singular form of the Old Norse word áll which means "eel". This name likely refers to the winding valley in which the main village centre is located. On 21 December 1917, a royal resolution enacted the 1917 Norwegian language reforms. Prior to this change, the name was spelled Aalen with the digraph "Aa", and after this reform, the name was spelled Ålen, using the letter Å instead.

### Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within Ålen Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Haltdalen prestegjeld and the Gauldal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.
Churches in Ålen :
| Parish (sokn) | Church name | Location of the church | Year built |
| Ålen | Ålen Church | Ålen | 1881 |
| Ålen | Hessdalen Chapel | Hessdalen | 1940 |

## Geography

The highest point in the municipality was the 1,320-metre (4,330 ft) tall mountain Forollhogna. The mountain lies at a border point between Tolga-Os Municipality, Ålen Municipality, Haltdalen Municipality, and Singsås Municipality.

## Government

While it existed, Ålen Municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Frostating Court of Appeal.

### Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Ålen 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.
Ålen kommunestyre 1967–1971 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 14 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 1 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 2 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 17 |
Ålen kommunestyre 1963–1967 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 15 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 2 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 17 |
Ålen herredsstyre 1959–1963 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 14 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 1 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 2 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 17 |
Ålen herredsstyre 1955–1959 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 14 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 1 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 2 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 17 |
Ålen herredsstyre 1951–1955 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 13 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 1 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 2 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 16 |
Ålen herredsstyre 1947–1951 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 14 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti) | 2 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 16 |
Ålen herredsstyre 1945–1947 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 12 |
| | Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti) | 2 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 2 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 16 |
Ålen herredsstyre 1937–1941* :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 13 |
| | Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister) | 3 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 16 |
| Note: Due to the German occupation of Norway during World War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945. |||

### Mayors

The mayor (Norwegian: ordfører) of Ålen was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who held this position:
* 1855–1863: Carl Aas
* 1864–1897: Jon Jørgensen Reitan (V)
* 1898–1901: Eilif Hofstad (V)
* 1902–1904: Anders Jonsen Reitan (V)
* 1905–1907: Peder P. Lien (V)
* 1908–1916: Svend Larsen Skaardal (Ap)
* 1917–1931: Lars Henriksen Kirkbak (Ap)
* 1932–1945: Ole Kristoffersen Sundt (Ap/NS)
* 1945–1945: Halfdan Bendz (LL)
* 1946–1963: Lars Rønning (Ap)
* 1964–1971: Olav Myran (Ap)