Rendalen
Rendalen is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bergset. Other villages in the municipality include Hanestad, Otnes, Sjølisand, Unset, Åkre, and Åkrestrømmen. The municipality is the 13th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Rendalen is the 294th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,741. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 11.6% over the previous 10-year period. General information. The municipality of Rendalen was established on 1  January 1965 when the old municipalities of Ytre Rendal (population: 1,913) and Øvre Rendal (population: 1,629) were merged. On 1 January 1984, the unpopulated Spekedalen valley was transferred from Tynset Municipality to Rendalen. Name. The municipality is named after the Rendalen valley () which is located within the municipality. The first element of the name is the word which means "reindeer" and the last element is which means "valley" or "dale". The river Rena runs through the valley and it is not known if the valley was named after the river or if the river was named after the valley. A  nearby mountain Renafjellet also has a similar name. Coat of arms. The coat of arms was granted on 2 June 1989. The arms show two white or silver reindeer on a blue background. They symbolize the importance of reindeer farming in the community. The arms are a canting since the name Rendalen is derived from the word for reindeer. The two heads represent the two former municipalities of Øvre Rendal and Ytre Rendal which were merged in 1965 to form this municipality. The arms were designed by the artist Arvid Sveen. Churches. The Church of Norway has four parishes () within  the municipality of Rendalen. It is part of the Nord-Østerdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar. Geography. The municipality has an area of which makes it the 2nd largest municipality (after Ullensvang) in Southern Norway. The 11 largest municipalities are all in rural Northern Norway and they are followed by Ullensvang and Rendalen. Rendalen municipality is bordered on the northwest by the municipalities of Alvdal and Tynset, in the north by Tolga, in the east by Engerdal, in the south by Trysil and Åmot, and in the west by Stor-Elvdal. Rendalen municipality encompasses most of the Rendalen  valley, a side valley of the large Østerdalen valley which dominates Eastern Norway. In addition, the municipality encompasses the northern part of the lake Storsjøen as well as the lakes Sølensjøen, Galtsjøen, Harrsjøen, and Lomnessjøen. The mountains Elgspiggen and Sølen are in Rendalen as well. The rivers Glomma and Renaelva both flow through the municipality. Government. All municipalities in Norway, including Rendalen, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in  turn elects a mayor. The municipality falls under the Østre Innlandet District Court and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal. Municipal council. The municipal council of Rendalen is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows: Mayor. The mayors of Rendalen have included: Economy. The primary occupations are in farming and logging, but tourism is also important. The Renåfjellet mountain area provides for excellent alpine hiking. International relations. Twin towns – Sister cities. Rendalen has sister city agreements with the following places: