Vestre Toten is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Toten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Raufoss. Other villages in the municipality include Bøverbru, Eina, and Reinsvoll.

The municipality is the 288th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Vestre Toten Municipality is the 90th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of . The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 4.7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Vestre Toten was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1875, there was a border adjustment between Østre Toten Municipality and Vestre Toten Municipality. On 1 January 1908, the municipality was divided into three parts: Kolbu Municipality (population: 2,412) in the southeast, Eina Municipality (population: 1,173) in the southwest, and Vestre Toten Municipality (population: 4,027) in the north.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the following areas were merged to form a new, larger Vestre Toten Municipality:

Name

The municipality is named Vestre Toten after the district of Toten (). The name is identical with the word which has an uncertain meaning, but it might be from the word which means "the pleasant district" or "something one likes". The parish of Toten was divided into two parts (eastern and western) in 1825 and the first word, was added to signify that this was the "western" part, thus the name was Vestre Toten which means "(the) western (part of) Toten".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 3 May 1991. The official blazon is "Vert, two knives argent in bend sinister points to base dexter" (). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is two knives that are lined up diagonally (specifically a special locally-produced knife known as a Toten knife). The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The green color in the field symbolizes the local forests and agriculture and the knife was chosen since the area has a long tradition of wood carving and knife making. The arms were designed by Inge Rotevatn. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has three parishes () within Vestre Toten Municipality. It is part of the Toten prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+ style="font-size:medium"|Churches in Vestre Toten Municipality

!Parish ()!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built

|-

|rowspan="1"|Eina||Eina Church||Eina||1890

|-

|rowspan="1"|Raufoss||Raufoss Church||Raufoss||1939

|-

|rowspan="1"|Ås||Ås Church||Bøverbru||1921

|}

Geography

thumb|left|Einavatnet lake and farmland

Vestre Toten Municipality is located along the large lake Mjøsa. The municipality is bordered by Østre Toten Municipality to the east, Gjøvik Municipality to the north, Søndre Land Municipality to the west, and Gran Municipality to the southwest.

The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Lauvhøgda.

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!Ancestry!!Number

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| ||67

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| ||61

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| ||58

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| ||52

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| ||49

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| ||37

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According to the sagas, Halfdan Hvitbeinn (Whiteleg) was the first Yngling in Norway. He conquered Romerike, part of Hedmark, part of Vestfold, and Toten. He was killed in Toten around the year 740.

In 1021, according to saga, King Olaf (reigned 1015–1028) converted Toten to Christianity. Also, King Håkon IV (reigned 1217–1263) came to Toten around the year 1226 to settle local unrest. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Vestoppland og Valdres District Court and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Vestre Toten Municipality is made up of 31 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayor () of Vestre Toten Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:

  • 1838–1843: Peder Tollefsen Hallingstad
  • 1844–1845: Johannes Johannessen Westrum
  • 1846–1847: Hans Lemmich Juell
  • 1848–1853: Wilhelm Christian Magelssen
  • 1854–1855: Christian Eilert Heyerdahl
  • 1856–1857: Johannes Johannessen Westrum
  • 1858–1865: Christian Grønland
  • 1866–1871: Lars Christiansen Blilie
  • 1872–1885: Ole Christian Præstesæter
  • 1886–1890: Peder Olsen Hohle
  • 1890–1891: L. A. Grefsrud
  • 1892–1893: Anton Jørgensen Røstøen
  • 1894–1895: Ole Christian Præstesæter
  • 1896–1901: Anton Jørgensen Røstøen
  • 1902–1907: Mathias Blilie (LL)
  • 1908–1916: Olav Larsson Gjørvad (AD)
  • 1917–1922: Peder Markus Hansen Nauf (AD)
  • 1923–1940: Severin Olsen (Ap)
  • 1940–1942: Hans Henrik Petersen (NS)
  • 1942–1945: Ole Thorsrud (NS)
  • 1945–1945: Severin Olsen (Ap)
  • 1946–1951: Helge Sunde (Ap)
  • 1952–1955: Hans J. Kjelsberg (Ap)
  • 1956–1979: Sigurd Østlien (Ap)
  • 1980–1995: Svein Erik Strandlie (Ap)
  • 1995–2011: Stein Knutsen (Ap)
  • 2011–2019: Leif Waarum (Ap)
  • 2019–2023: Stian Olafsen (Ap)
  • 2023–present: Tonje Bergum Jahr (Ap)

Economy

Farming and industry are important. Raufoss Aluminum is a major employer in the community. The Gjøvikbanen railway line passes through the community.

Notable people

thumb|140px|Ronni Le Tekrø & TNT, 2012

  • Frøis Frøisland (1883 in Raufoss – 1930), a Norwegian newspaper correspondent and editor
  • Karsten Gaarder (1902 in Vestre Toten – 1980), a Justice of the Supreme Court of Norway
  • Halfdan Hegtun (1918–2012), a radio personality, comedian, writer, and former politician
  • Aud Blegen Svindland (1928 in Vestre Toten – 2019), a physician and women's rights activist
  • Ronni Le Tekrø (born 1963), a guitarist with hard rock band TNT who lives in Raufoss
  • Bente Nordby (born 1974 in Raufoss), a former Norwegian football goalkeeper with 172 caps for Norway women

References

  • Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway