Meråker is a municipality in the county of Nord-Trøndelag, Norway, noted for its characteristic dialect. To the north it borders on Verdal, to the west on Stjørdal and to the south on Selbu and Tydal. To the east it borders on Sweden.

The administrative centre of Meråker is about 20 km from Storlien in Sweden and 46 km from the center of Stjørdal. The municipality markets itself as a recreational area. The main areas of employment are in industry and agriculture.

Meråker was chartered as a municipality on 1 January 1874 when Øvre Stjørdal municipality was divided into two: Hegra municipality and Meråker. Meråker originally had a population of 1,861 residents.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the farm Meråker ("Mørakre" around 1430), since the first church was built there. The meaning of the first element is uncertain (maybe merr f 'mare', or mýrr f 'bog, march'), the last element is akr m 'field, acre'.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from 1990, and shows a mining wagon. Also see the coat-of-arms of Evje og Hornnes.

Meråker Smelter

In 1898 a carbide factory was opened at Kopperå, later this factor was rebuilt as a silicon smelter. The smelter was in operation until June 2006. Its main product was microsilica which is used as an additive to cement.

Notable Meråker Residents

• Helge Ingstad (1899–2001), author, archeologist
• Magnar Lundemo (1938–1987), cross country skier
• Frode Estil (1972), cross country skier
• Petter Northug
• Tor Arne Hetland

Eksternal links (in Norwegian)

• Meråker Municipality Websitee
• Meråker Tourism Website
• Industrial Museum at Kopperå
• Map of Cultural Sites in Meråker
• Meråker Elementary School
• Lauvlimoen Biathlon team