Hamar () is a town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the traditional region of Hedmarken. The town is located on the shores of Mjøsa, Norway's largest lake. Historically, it was the principal city of the former Hedmark county, now part of the larger Innlandet county.
The town of Hamar lies in the southwestern part of Hamar Municipality. The town has a population (2024) of 30,030 and a population density of . The urban area of the town actually extends over the municipal borders into both Ringsaker Municipality and Stange Municipality. About and 2,438 residents within the town are actually located in Ringsaker Municipality and another and 332 residents of the town are located within Stange Municipality.
General information Name The municipality (originally the town) is named after the old farm (). The medieval market was first built on this farm, and that market eventually became a kjøpstad which in turn became a self-governing municipality. The name is identical with the word hamarr which means "rocky hill".
Coat of arms The coat of arms was granted on 2 June 1896. The arms show a Black Grouse sitting in the top of a pine tree on a white background. An older version of the arms had been used for a long time. The old version was first described in the anonymous Hamar Chronicle, written in 1553.
History
Between 500 and 1000 AD, the Åker farm was one of the most important power centres in Norway, located just a few kilometres away from today's town of Hamar. Three coins found in Ringerike in 1895 have been dated to the time of Harald Hardråde and are inscribed .
Middle Ages At some point, presumably after 1030 but clearly before 1152, the centre was moved from Åker to the peninsula near Rosenlundvika (today Domkirkeodden) in what is now the town of Hamar. There are some indications that Harald Hardråde initiated this move because he had property at the new site.
Much of the information about medieval Hamar is derived from the Hamar Chronicle, dated to about 1550. The town is said to have reached its apex in the early 14th century, dominated by the Hamar Cathedral, the bishop's manor, and a fortress, plus the surrounding urbanization. The town was known for its fragrant apple orchards, but there were also merchants, craftsmen, and fishermen in the town.
After the Christianization of Norway in 1030, Hamar began to gain influence as a centre for trade and religion. In 1152, the episcopal representative Nikolaus Breakspear founded Hamar Kaupangen as one of five dioceses in medieval Norway. This diocese included all of Hedemarkens Amt and Christians Amt, which were both separated from the Diocese of Oslo in 1152. The first bishop of Hamar was Arnold, Bishop of Gardar, Greenland (1124–1152). He began to build the (now ruined) Cathedral of Christ Church, which was completed about the time of Bishop Paul (1232–1252). Bishop Thorfinn (1278–1282) was exiled and died at Ter Doest abbey in Flanders, and was later canonised. Bishop Jörund (1285–1286) was transferred to Trondheim. A provincial council was held in 1380. Hamar remained an important religious and political centre in Norway, organized around the cathedral and the bishop's manor until the Reformation that took place in 1536–1537. At this time, Hamar lost its status as the seat of the Diocese after the last Catholic bishop, Mogens Lauritssøn (1513–1537), was taken prisoner in his castle at Hamar by Truid Ulfstand, a Danish noble, and then sent to Antvorskov in Denmark, where he was mildly treated until he died in 1542. At Hamar's peak, there was a Cathedral chapter with ten canons, a school, a Dominican Priory of St. Olaf, and a monastery of the Canons Regular of St. Anthony of Vienna.
Hamar, like most of Norway, was severely diminished by the Black Plague in 1349, and by all accounts continued this decline until the Reformation, after which it disappeared.
The Reformation in Norway took less than ten years to complete, from 1526 to 1536. During this time, the fortress in Hamar was made into the residence of the sheriff and renamed Hamarhus fortress. The cathedral was still used as a regular church, but it fell into disrepair, culminating with the Swedish army's siege and attempted demolition in 1567, during the Northern Seven Years' War. The old bishop's manor was also devastated during this siege.
Reformation and decline By 1587, merchants in Christiania had succeeded in moving all of Hamar's market activities to Christiania such that Hamar lost its status as a market town (kjøpstad). Though some regional and seasonal trade persisted into the 17th century, Hamar as a town ceased to exist by then. In its place, the area was used for agriculture under the Storhamar farm, though the ruins of the cathedral, fortress, and lesser buildings became landmarks for centuries since then.
The King made Hamarhus a feudal seat until 1649, when Frederick III transferred the property known as Hammer to Hannibal Sehested, making it private property. In 1716, the estate was sold to Jens Grønbech (1666–1734). With this, a series of construction projects started, and the farm became known as Storhamar, passing through several owners until Norwegian nobility was abolished in 1831, when Erik Anker took over the farm.
The founding of modern Hamar
As early as 1755, the Danish government in Copenhagen expressed an interest in establishing a trading center on the shores of the lake Mjøsa. Elverum was considered a frontier town with frequent unrest, and there was even talk of encouraging the dissenting Hans Nielsen Hauge to settle in the area. Bishop Fredrik Julius Bech, one of the most prominent officials of his time, proposed establishing a town at or near Storhamar, at the foot of Furuberget.
In 1812, negotiations started in earnest when the regional governor of Christians Amt proposed establishing a market on Mjøsa. A four-person commission was named on 26 July 1814, with the mandate of determining a suitable site for a new town along the shore. On 8 June 1815, the commission recommended establishing such a town at Lillehammer, then also a farm, part of the prestegjeld of Faaberg.
Acting on objections to this recommendation, the Department of the Interior asked two professors, Ludvig Stoud Platou and Gregers Fougner Lundh, to survey the area and develop an alternative recommendation. It appears that Lundh, in particular, put great effort into this assignment, and in 1824 he presented to the Storting a lengthy report that included maps and plans for the new town.
Lundh's premise was that the national economic interest reigned supreme, so he based his recommendation on the proposed town's ability to quickly achieve self-sustaining growth. He proposed that the name of the new town be called Carlshammer and proposed it be built along the shore just north of Storhamar and eastward. His plans were detailed, calling for streets that were wide, rectangular blocks with 12 buildings in each, separating each of them. He also proposed tax relief for 20 years for the town's first residents, that the state relinquish property taxes in favor of the town, and that the town be given monopoly rights to certain trade. He even proposed that certain types of foreigners be allowed to settle in the town to promote trade, in particular, the Quakers.
His recommendation was accepted in principle by the government, but the parliamentary committee equivocated on the location. It left the determination of the actual site to the king so as not to slow down things further. Another commission was named in June 1825, consisting of Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg, Professor Lundh, and other prominent Norwegians. After surveying the entire lake, it submitted another report that considered eleven different locations, including sites near today's Eidsvoll, Minnesund, Tangen (in Stange), Åker, Storhamar, Brumunddal, Nes, Moelven, Lillehammer, Gjøvik, and Toten. Each was presented with pros and cons. The commission itself was split between Lillehammer and Storhamar. The parliament finally decided on Lillehammer, relegating Hamar once more, it seemed, to be a sleepy agricultural area.
As steamboats were introduced on the lake, the urban elite developed an interest in the medieval Hamar, and in 1841, editorials appeared advocating the re-establishment of a town at Storhamar. By then, the limitations of Lillehammer's location had also become apparent, in particular those of its shallow harbor. After a few more years of discussions and negotiations, both regionally and nationally, Member of Parliament Frederik Stang put on the table once more the possibility of a town in or near Storhamar. The governor at the time, Frederik Hartvig Johan Heidmann, presented a thorough deliberation of possible specific locations and ended up proposing the current site, at Gammelhusbukten.
On 26 April 1848, the king signed into law the establishment of Hamar as a kjøpstad on the grounds of the farms of Storhamar and Holset, along the shores of the lake Mjøsa. The law stated that the town would be founded on the date its borders are settled, which turned out to be 21 March 1849. Hamar was given a trading zone up to from its border. The new town was separated from Vang Municipality and established as Hamar Municipality under the formannskapsdistrikt law that was passed in 1838.
Building a city
The area of the new town and municipality covered an area measuring "400 mål", which is the equivalent of today's . An army engineer, Røyem, drafted the initial plan. There would be three thoroughfares, at Strandgata, Torggata, and Grønnegate (the latter the name of a medieval road), and a grid system of streets between them. The orientation of the town was toward the shore. Røyem set aside space for three parks and a public square, and also room for a church just outside the town border.
There were critics of the plan, pointing out that the terrain was hilly and not suitable for the proposed rigid grid. Some adjustments were made, but the plan was largely accepted and is evident in today's Hamar. There were also lingering concerns about the town's vulnerability to flooding.
Construction began as soon as the law passed, in the spring of 1849. The first buildings were much like sheds, but there was great enthusiasm, and by the end of 1849, ten buildings were insured in the new town. None of these are standing today; the last two were adjacent buildings on Skappelsgate. By 1850, there were 31 insured houses; in 1852, there were 42; and in 1853, 56. Building slowed down for a few years and then picked up again in 1858, and by the end of 1860, there were a hundred insured houses in the town. The shore-side properties were obliged to grow gardens, setting the stage for a leafy urban landscape.
Roads quickly became a challenge – in some places, it was necessary to ford creeks in the middle of town. The road inspector found himself under considerable stress, and it took until 1869 to settle on street names. Highways in and out of the city also caused considerable debate, especially regarding how to finance them.
The first passenger terminal in Hamar was in fact a crag in the lake, from which travelers were rowed into the city. In 1850, another pier was built with a two-storey terminal building. All this was complicated by the significant seasonal variations in water levels. In 1857, a canal was built around a basin that would allow freight ships to access a large warehouse. Although the canal and basin still were not deep enough to accommodate passenger steamships, the area became one of the busiest areas in the town and the point around which the harbor was further developed.
The Diocese of Hamar was established in 1864, and the Hamar Cathedral was consecrated in 1866 and remains a central point in the city.