Hamar Municipality (; ) is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Hedmarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hamar. Other settlements in Hamar include Hjellum, Slemsrud, Ridabu, Ingeberg, and Ilseng.
The municipality is the 250th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Hamar Municipality is the 31st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 33,441. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 11.4% over the previous 10-year period.
Among the municipality's responsibilities of local government, it also runs nine primary and three lower secondary schools, with a combined 3,115 pupils. The municipality also owns the power company Hamar Energi, and the sports venues Briskeby Arena, Vikingskipet, and Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre.
In 1848, the village of Hamar was granted kjøpstad status for a land area of about . This newly designated "town" (population: 1,025) was separated from Vang Municipality and Hamar was established as a separate municipality in 1849. On 1 January 1878, Hamar Municipality was enlarged by annexing about of land and 138 people from Vang Municipality to Hamar Municipality. In 1946, a large area in Vang Municipality that surrounded the town of Hamar (population: 4,087) was transferred out of Vang Municipality and into Hamar Municipality. The next year in 1947, part of the neighboring Furnes Municipality (population: 821) was transferred into Hamar Municipality. On 1 January 1965, a part of Ringsaker Municipality (population: 100) was transferred into Hamar Municipality.
On 1 January 1992, Vang Municipality (population: 9,103) was merged with Hamar Municipality (population: 16,351) and parts of the Stensby, Hanstad, Viker, and Stammerud areas of Ringsaker Municipality (population: 224) to form a new, larger Hamar Municipality.
Historically, the municipality was part of the old Hedmark county. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became a part of the newly-formed Innlandet county (after Hedmark and Oppland counties were merged).
The municipality (originally the town) is named after the old Hamar farm (). The medieval market was first built on this farm and that market eventually became a kjøpstad, the town of Hamar. This town later became a self-governing municipality. The name is identical with the word which means "stone" or "rocky hill".
The coat of arms was first granted on 2 June 1896 and re-granted on 9 July 1993. The official blazon is "Argent, a grouse sable displayed standing on a pine tree issuant from the base" (). This means the arms have a field (background) 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 charge is a black grouse sitting at the top of a pine tree. 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. Since then, it has been generally kept the same, although it has had some minor revisions over the years. The arms were designed by Andreas Bloch (1896 version) and by Per Solheim (1963 version) and Arvid Steen (1993 version). The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.
The Church of Norway has two parishes () within Hamar Municipality. It is part of the Hamar domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar.
The municipality of Hamar lies along the eastern shore of the large lake Mjøsa. The rivers Flakstadelva, LagerÃÂ¥a, and Svartelva run through the municipality. The municipality lies to the east of Ringsaker Municipality, to the south of àmot Municipality, to the west of Løten Municipality, and to the north of Stange Municipality. The highest point in the municipality was the point on the side of Kroksjøhøgda (the mountain itself is located in neighboring Ringsaker Municipality, and this point on the side of the mountain lies along the municipal border).
Hamar has a humid continental climate (Dfb) with fairly dry and cold winters, and comfortably warm summers. The Hamar II weather station, at an elevation of , started recording in 1968. The all-time high was recorded in July 2018, which was the warmest month on record with average daily high and mean . The all-time low is from in December 2010, which was a very cold month with mean and average daily low . A previous weather station (Hamar I, at an elevation of 139 m) recorded the coldest month on record with mean in January 1917. In August 1975, the weather station "Staur ForsøksgÃÂ¥rd" in nearby Stange recorded .
Hamar Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Hedmarken og ÃÂsterdal District Court and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.
The municipal council of Hamar Municipality is made up of 39 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
The mayor () of Hamar 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:
The town of Hamar is an important railway junction between two different railway lines going to Trondheim. The Rørosbanen railway line (the older line) leaves Hamar and heads northeast towards Røros. The main Dovrebanen railway line also heads north, but further west of the other line. Both lines stop at Hamar Station. The Norwegian Railway Museum (Norsk Jernbanemuseum) is also in Hamar. Hamar Airport, Stafsberg serves general aviation out of Hamar. The European route E6 highway and the Norwegian National Road 3 both cross through the municipality.