Rendal is a former municipality in the old Hedmark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1880 when it was divided into Ytre Rendal Municipality and ÃÂvre Rendal Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Bergset where ÃÂvre Rendal Church is located.
The parish of Rendal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). This municipality was quite large, spanning from the ÃÂsterdalen valley to the border with Sweden. During the 1870s, discussions began on dividing the large municipality. On 1 January 1880, Rendal Municipality was split in two to create the new ÃÂvre Rendal Municipality (population: 1,868) in the north and Ytre Rendal Municipality (population: 1,661) in the south.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, a new Rendalen Municipality was established, but it did not have quite the same boundaries as the old Rendal municipality.
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Rendalen valley () which is located in the municipality. The first element is which means "reindeer". The last element is which means "valley" or "dale". The river Rena runs through the valley and it is not known if the valley was named after the river or if the river was named after the valley. A nearby mountain Renafjellet also has a similar name.
The Church of Norway had two parishes () within Rendal Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Rendal prestegjeld and the Nord-ÃÂsterdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar.
Rendal Municipality was located in the upper ÃÂsterdalen valley. Tynset Municipality was to the northwest, Tolga Municipality was to the northeast, Särna Municipality in Sweden was to the east, Trysil Municipality was to the southeast, Aamot Municipality was to the south, and Storelvedalen Municipality was to the west. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Sølen.
During its existence, Rendal Municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.
The mayor () of Rendal Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position: