Elverum is a municipality in Østerdalen in the Inland. Elverum
borders the municipalities of Åmot in the north, Trysil in the
northeast, Våler in the south and Løten in the west.
Elverum
municipality covers 1229 km² and large parts of this are covered by
forest.
There are 21,086 inhabitants in Elverum municipality,
of which 15,248 live in the municipal center Elverum as of 1 January
2017. The municipality has had a steady growth in the population
throughout the post-war period. Population growth is due in
particular to increased public services, through Sykehuset
Innlandet, Høgskolen i Innlandet and the Armed Forces.
Elverum is located in Sør-Østerdal in Østerdalen
which is divided by the river Glåma. The municipality consists of a
lot of forest, but there are also larger areas and cultural
landscapes with agricultural areas in Heradsbygd and Jømna south of
the village Elverum. Cultivated area is largely laid on river
deposits along Glåma. Further east there are many beautiful
mountains and large forest areas with a rich wildlife that is used
as hiking areas and for hunting and fishing.
The residential
areas in the settlement of Elverum are Hanstad, Mastmoen,
Fjeldsetlia, Bryggeriberget, Leiret, Øverleiret, Vestad,
Løvbergsmoen, Søbakken, Strandstykket and Strandmoen. The other
settlements in Elverum are Jømna, Melåsberget, Sørskogbygda, Hernes,
Nordskogbygda, Heradsbygd and Strandbygda.
Elverum has an inland climate with relatively little precipitation, cold winters, hot summers and significant differences between day and night temperatures in the summer. Normal values for the period 1961−1990 are given in the table below.
The reason
for the location of Elverum center ("Camp"), is Christiansfjeld
fortress. Soldiers came there to settle, and as more came, there
were also shopkeepers and salesmen. This formed the basis for
population growth.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, several
fortifications were built around Elverum.
At Elverum Folk
High School on April 9, 1940, the same day that Germany invaded
Norway, King Haakon said his famous no to the German envoy Bräuer.
And it was here - and in Hamar - that Storting President C. J.
Hambro held the last two Storting meetings in freedom on the same
day. The meeting resulted in the Elverum power of attorney. On April
11, 19 German bombers destroyed most of the Leiret district. 41
people died. The king and government fled on to Nybergsund in
Trysil, which was also bombed.
Elverum declared itself a city
on September 30, 1996.
Millennium site
The
municipality's millennium site is Rådhusplassen, which was restored
in 2007. In the adjacent Elvarheimparken, the Millennium Tree was
planted, an ash tree.
Museums
The national Norwegian
Forest Museum and the district museum Glomdalsmuseet are located on
opposite sides of Glomma by Elverum center, respectively in Leiret
and Vestad. The museums are connected by bridges to the museum
island Prestøya which is owned by the Forest Museum, where there is
a large collection of huts, stables, ljørkoier and other forest
houses. At the beginning of August, the annual Nordic hunting and
fishing days are arranged. The Glomdal Museum has exhibited a
significant building mass from Østerdalen and Glåmdalen with
traditional buildings. The Glomdal Museum also has a national
exhibition on the culture and history of the Tatars, Latjo Drom. The
outdoor areas at both museums are suitable for hiking, as well as
more culturally and historically oriented activities.
Galleries
Gallery T v / Tunet Elverum AS (established 2016).
Located in Gamle Trysilveg 3b. Permanent sales exhibition with
pictures from more than 30 famous Norwegian artists. Own framework
workshop and café. www.agena.no/tunet/galleri-t/
Elverum art
gallery (moved to Hamar in 2014)
Gallery Nysted, on the old farm
Nysted in the center. Base for Elverum Kunstforening. Exhibitions
from all corners of Norway.
www.elverumkunstforening.no
Other sights
Christiansfjeld fortress
Grundsetmartn the first week of March is one of the country's oldest
markets, already mentioned in the Faroese saga. Traditionally, this
was a meeting place where horses, grain from the flat settlements
and colonial goods from the central east were sold or exchanged for
leather and other merchandise from the valleys (Østerdalen and
Gudbrandsdalen). Today, it is increasingly a market like any other,
even though leather and agricultural machinery are still sold.
The festivals in Elverum are held annually in early August. The
Youth Symphony Orchestra is a regular feature of the festival.
The volume festival was held annually in Elvarheimsparken and on
various club stages in the city. It was arranged in 2018 for the
thirteenth and final time.
Starmoen Fritidspark east of the
city center houses the Nordic region's largest outdoor go-kart
center, 18-hole golf course, trotting track, motocross facility,
small airport, the National Center for gliders in Norway, cottage
village, and more.
Elverum Handball became league champions
in men's handball in the seasons 2012/13, 2016/17, 2017/18 and
2019/20. The team was trained for many years by the current national
team manager Christian Berge.