Åsen (municipality)

Åsen is a former municipality in the old Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1962. The municipality was located to the southwest part of what is now Levanger municipality in Trøndelag county, roughly bordered in the north by the lakes Hammervatnet and Hoklingen, and by the Åsenfjorden to the west. The administrative centre was the village of Åsen. The municipality of Aasen was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The spelling was later changed to Åsen. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, the town of Levanger (population: 1,669) was merged with the neighboring municipalities of Frol (population: 3,774), Åsen (population: 1,939), and Skogn (population: 4,756) to form a new, larger municipality called Levanger. The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the local fjord, Åsenfjorden (Ásfjǫrðr). The name is identical to the Norwegian word åsen which means "the hill". Prior to the 1917 Norwegian language reform law, the name was spelled with the digraph "Aa" (as Aasen), and after this reform, the letter Å was used instead. While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elected a mayor. The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Åsen was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows: The mayors of Åsen: 1838–1839: Jonas Jonsen Nes 1839-1839: Erik Mikalsen Skjelstad 1840–1843: Peder Ellevsen Berg 1844–1845: Ole Tørrissen Vedul 1846–1847: Peder Steffensen Nonstad 1848–1859: Peder Olsen 1860–1866: Christian Bye 1867–1869: Ole Island 1870–1873: Henrik Reinaas 1874–1879: John Stavnaas 1880–1889: Peder O.