Levanger
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| Levanger kommune | |||
| — Municipality — | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Nord-Trøndelag | ||
| District | Innherad | ||
| Municipality ID | NO-1719 | ||
| Administrative centre | Levanger | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor (2005) | Odd-Eiliv Thraning (Ap) | ||
| Area (Nr. 172 in Norway) | |||
| - Total | 645 km² (249 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 610 km² (235.5 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2008) | |||
| - Total | 18,355 | ||
| - Density | 29/km² (75.1/sq mi) | ||
| - Change (10 years) | 4.0 % | ||
| - Rank in Norway | 55 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Official language form | Neutral | ||
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| Website: www.levanger.kommune.no | |||
Levanger is a municipality and town in the county of Nord-Trøndelag, Norway.
The town of Levanger was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The rural municipalities of Frol, Skogn and Åsen were merged with Levanger January 1, 1962 - and the island municipality of Ytterøy was merged with Levanger January 1, 1964.
Levanger is a member of Cittaslow, the Italian initiative for slow towns.
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[edit] Economy
The world's largest paper-producing company, Norske Skog, built its first ever factory in Skogn in the vicinity of Levanger. This factory started production in 1966, is working today, and it provides 530 jobs at the plant, and an additional 1,900 jobs in transportation and forestry.
Most of the town's commercial area is concentrated around the main street, called Kirkegata (The Church Street).
[edit] Communications
The main street of the town has roads connecting to the E6 at both ends.
The town is situated on the Nordlandsbanen railway line, and is served by Levanger Station.
A ferry regularly runs between the town and the island of Ytterøy in the Trondheimsfjord.
[edit] Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the farm Levanger (Old Norse Lifangr), since the first church was built there. The first element is probably an old rivername (now Levangerelva), the last element is angr m 'fjord'.
[edit] Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from 1960, and was originally the crest of just the town. It shows a horse, a reminder of the market place traditions of Levanger.
Description: Gules; A horse, statant, or.
[edit] History
In the middle ages, the area now part of the municipality of Levanger was part of the county of Skeyna in the traditional district of Innherad. The county was ruled by earls who resided at the manor of Geite, situated on a hill nearby the present town. The county was divided into six parishes - Ekne, Alstadhaug, Levanger, Frol, Ytterøy, and Leksvik. The county church was located in Alstadhaug, which also contained the fylking, while Levanger was the main port and market town. Not much is known about the earls of Skeyna, as few documents still exist that document their existence. The reformation and the Danish occupation of Norway in 1537 caused the Norwegan nobility to disintegrate, and the last earl was most likely executed during the reformation. The Danish rulers united Skeyna with four other counties in Innherad, creating the county of Steinvikholm. Later, the Levanger area was part of the counties of Trondhjems amt, Nordre Trondhjems amt, and finally Nord-Trøndelag.
The town of Levanger was founded by Carl III, king of Sweden, May 18, 1836, on the site where the village of Levanger already existed. The village had expanded from the traditional winter fair, known as the marsimartnan (lit. the St. Marcus Market of Levanger), dating back to the 13th century. In October 1836, as the town's borders set, commissionaire Mons Lie proposed that "the town shall bear the name of Carlslevanger, so the name of this ancient soil can be united with that of the new town's glorious founder". Despite the suggestion getting refused, the town protocols spoke of Carlslevanger Stad instead of Kjøpstaden Levanger until 1838. In 1837, the municipalities of Åsen, Skogn and Ytterøy were established, which, together with the city of Levanger and the borough of Levanger, created the present municipality of Levanger.
The inhabitants of Levanger were not prepared at becoming a town, and so it took a long time before the town was constituted. In these early days the town was ruled by the Foged (Royal rural administrator).
At that time there were already established a trade organization,"Levangerpatrisiatet" from 1695, based on the market. But only citizens of Trondheim could be members, until Levanger became a town in its own right. In 1839 the first guild of the town was established, and in the following years several new trade - and craftsmen settled in the town.
In 1841 the first official elections were held, and Hans Nicolai Grønn was elected the first mayor of the town. Two years later the town got its first water pipe system, its first two primitive street lamps and a town hall.
The fire-security report of 1844 clearly confirmed the great risk of disastrous fire in the town's narrow lanes; all houses were wooden houses. Therefore the mayor hired major Johannes Sejersted to make a general report and draw up a new regulation plan, showing levanger as a more "continental" town.
And already in 1846 , two years later the town was nearly totally ruined by a great fire. Sejersteds regulation plan was used when the town was rebuilt. Levanger has been damaged by two great fires after that time; in 1877 and 1897, but each time the town has been rebuilt as a wooden town, and still today most houses are wooden houses.
Throughout the 19th century the famous market's economical importance faded out, and the ancient arrangement was reduced to a tradition without much content. That was the end of Levanger as an important port of foreign trade (Sweden-Norway)
However, in the early 20th century the town of Levanger was pleased by new establishments such as county hospital and college of education.
The German occupation in 1940 was the beginning of a 40-year long "interregnum" of the traditional "Marsimartnan".
In 1961 the town of Levanger was decided to be determined and, from 1st January 1962 become part of the Greater Municipality of Levanger and Boroughs, and the mayor was replaced by a municipal speaker. The municipality of Ytterøy was merged with Levanger two years later.
Over thirty years later, in 1997 , as a result of the resurrection of the "Marsimartnan" in 1989, the town of Levanger was re-established, though the town still is part of Levanger municipality. In 2002, Levanger joined the Cittaslow movement.
[edit] Sites
The Museum of The Town of Levanger is located on sea street 25, the Hveding Auto Museum is located on sea street 24, and The Pavilion is located on the site of the original town hall. It was used for the opening of the Market. The Alstadhaug parish church, Skogn (a medieval stone-church), and the Brusve Museum are also in Levanger, in addition to the lake of Byavatnet.
[edit] External links
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