Welcome to Hedmark!
Hedmark is a landlocked inland county in East Norway. This is an area with big rivers, long valleys, wide lakes, fertile flatlands and deep forests. The landscape is generally mellow and unlike Norway's wild western edge. There are big mountains and high plateaus in the north. Hedmark is Norway's most important agricultural and forestry district.
Hedmark was a county in Norway before 1 January 2020, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar.
Hedmark and Oppland counties were merged into Innlandet county on 1 January 2020, when Norway's former 19 counties became 10 bigger counties Glåmdalen (south of Elverum) and Odal in the very south. Hedmark and Oppland were the only Norwegian counties with no coastline. Hedmark also hosted some events of the 1994 Winter Olympic Games.
Hamar, Kongsvinger, Elverum, and Tynset were cities in the county. Hedmark was one of the less urbanized areas in Norway, about half of the inhabitants lived on rural land. The population was mainly concentrated in the rich agricultural district adjoining Mjøsa to the southeast. The county's extensive forests supplied much of Norway's timber, at one time, logs were floated down the Glomma to the coast but are now transported by truck and train.
The Hedmark municipality of Engerdal had the distinction of marking the current southernmost border in Norway of Sápmi, the traditional region of the Sami people.
The county was divided into three traditional districts. Those were Hedmarken, Østerdalen, and Solør (with Odalen and Vinger).
Hedmark was originally a part of the large Akershus amt, but in 1757 Oplandenes amt was separated from it. Some years later, in 1781, this was divided into Kristians amt (now Oppland) and Hedemarkens amt. Until 1919, the county was called Hedemarkens amt.