seen from Gjøvik Historically, the
village of Gjøvik was part of
Vardal Municipality. On 1 January 1861, the village was granted
kjøpstad (town) status. At that time, the village was separated from Vardal Municipality to form a separate municipality given its new status as a town. Initially, the new town and municipality of Gjøvik had 626 residents. On 1 July 1921, a part of
Vardal Municipality located just outside the town of Gjøvik (population: 723) was
annexed into the town. Again, on 1 January 1955, another part of
Vardal Municipality (population: 1,372) was transferred to the town. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the
Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the following areas were merged to form a new, larger Gjøvik Municipality with 23,608 residents:
Etymology The municipality (originally the town) is named after the old
Gjøvik farm (). The first element is which means "deep". The last element is which means "small bay" or "
inlet".
Coat of arms The original
coat of arms was granted in 1922 and it was in use until 2 September 1960 when a new coat of arms was put into use. The diagonal division of the shield shows green and white to symbolise the dark forests around the (light) city. The vertical wavy
pale symbolises the
Hunnselva river that runs into the lake
Mjøsa (the largest lake in Norway). At the same time the pale also symbolizes a
linden tree (which has no known symbolism). The linden tree has yellow leaves over the green background and red leaves over the white background. The arms included the statement (meaning "force and will") on the lower part of the
shield. The base of the design was meant to look like both water (the lake) and also a so-called "
potpourri" vase, the most significant design of the
glassworks factory that was the founding industry of the town. Photo of the old arms. The current
coat of arms was granted on 2 September 1960 to replace an older coat of arms. The official
blazon is
"Azure, a swan naiant argent" (). This means the arms have a blue
field (background) and the
charge is a swimming swan (
Cygnus cygnus). The swan 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 swan is a symbol for the
side-wheel steamer Skiblander, often called the "white swan of
Mjøsa", which is usually docked in the town harbor. The arms were designed by Finn Krafft. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.
Churches The
Church of Norway has seven parishes () within Gjøvik Municipality. It is part of the
Toten prosti (
deanery) in the
Diocese of Hamar.
Gjøvik Church is the main church for the municipality. It was designed by architect
Jacob Wilhelm Nordan. The wooden structure was built between 1881 and 1882. Both the church buildings and fixtures are designed in
Gothic Revival architecture. The exterior of the church has contrasting colors on wall surfaces and bearing structures. The altarpiece was painted by artist,
Asta Nørregaard. The churchyard has a monument dedicated to the memory of Lutheran missionary,
Paul Olaf Bodding. The church was restored during 1927, 1960, 2004-2005 and in 2009. ==Geography==