It’s believed that the town has been an important place since the Viking Age, and several finds from the Stone Age have been found in the area. Viking chieftains reached Sweden by boat from Kongsvinger. In the 17th century, the Kongsvinger fortress was constructed by King Christian V of Denmark-Norway to protect the city from attacks from Sweden. The city was redesigned into a grid layout by Johan Caspar de Cicignon, who also designed the street layout for Trondheim. Below the fortress is Øvrebyen, the oldest part of the city and many of the houses were built around the same time the fortress was established.

When Norway entered into a union with Sweden in 1814, Kongsvinger became an important rest stop for travellers between the two countries. The fortress was more or less shut down in 1823. Railway development reached Kongsvinger in 1862 with the construction of the Kongsvinger Line between Lillestrøm and the Swedish border.

Kongsvinger played an important role in the Norwegian resistance against the Nazis by being a gateway to Sweden. Norway’s highest decorated citizen, Gunnar Sønsteby, frequently passed through Kongsvinger in his work to sabotage the Nazis’ installations in Norway. Some of the busiest escape routes for refugees also went through Kongsvinger to Sweden.

Hamar is a fascinating historic town that saw itself as one of the major power centres in Norway throughout the Middle Ages.

Between 500 and 1000AD, the Åker farm was one of the most important power centres in Norway, located just a few km away from today’s town of Hamar. At some point in the 11th century, the centre was moved from Åker to the peninsula on the Lake Mjøsa. It is believed King Harald Hardråde initiated the move because he had a property on the peninsula.

After the Christianisation of Norway in 1030, Hamar began to gain influence as a centre for trade and religion. The “Hamar Kaupangen” or “Hamar Market” was founded as one of the five dioceses in medieval Norway. The first bishop of Hamar was Arnold, Bishop of Gardar, Greenland, and he began to build the (now ruined) Cathedral of the Christ Church. The Hamar Cathedral was constructed of locally quarried limestone in the Romanesque style, though later additions were in the Gothic architecture.

Hamar quickly developed into an important religious and political centre in Norway, organised around the cathedral and the bishop’s manor until the Reformation took place. After the Reformation, Hamar lost its status as the seat of the Diocese after the last Catholic Bishop, Mogens Lauritssøn, was taken prisoner in his castle at Hamar, before being sent to Denmark. The cathedral was still used as a regular church, but fell into disrepair culminating with the Swedish army’s siege and attempted demolition in 1567, during the Northern Seven Years’ War.

In 1587, Hamar’s market activities were moved to Oslo, and by the 17th century Hamar more or less ceased to exist. Parts of the town were used for agriculture, but the ruins of the cathedral and fortress were already known landmarks.

In 1755, the Danish government wanted to establish a trading centre on the shores of Lake Mjøsa. These negotiations took several decades, and on the 8th of June 1815 it was decided to establish Lillehammer rather than rebuild Hamar. However, as steamboats were introduced onto the lake, people developed an interest in medieval Hamar, and from 1841 onwards there was discussion on re-establishing the town. On 26 April 1848, the king signed into law the establishment of Hamar.

Long before there was permanent settlement in Folldal, the area was often visited by trappers hunting reindeer. There are close to 1,000 animal graves in Folldal and the remains of a larger mass trapping facility are dated to the 13^th century. The first farms in Folldal are listed in the early 17^th century and were likely migrants from the Dovre region.

Mining has been important to Folldal for over 300 years. The Folldal Works was founded in 1748, the same year the copper mine opened. At its peak, the mine employed up to 550 people. The ore was transported by horse-drawn carriages to a smelter in Alvdal. The main mine was closed in 1941, though smelting continued until 1968.

During the Nordic Seven Years War, Swedish troops invaded Norway at a number of locations. In 1563, Norwegian troops stopped the Swedish advance at Elverum, which proved to be a strategic point since it lay on both north-south and east-west travel routes. A Norwegian infantry regiment, the Oppland Regiment, was formed in 1657 and Eleverum became a garrison. The neighbourhood east of the river is called Leiret, which means ‘the camp’ when translated. The neighbourhood was built up by soldiers as well as merchants and craftsmen.  

Eventually a fortress was constructed in the neighbourhood Leiret. The fortress was called Christiansfjeld Fortress after King Christian V of Denmark. Although the fortress was manned through the Great Northern War, it was spared major battles and closed in 1742.

Elverum developed as an important market town. After Hamar Cathedral was burned in 1570 and the castle was destroyed by Swedes, Hamar lost its city status and there was no market city between Oslo and Trondheim. Eastern Norway needed an organised market for traded goods, and the Grundset market in Elverum grew to meet the need. It has existed since the 17^th century and got special privileges from the King in 1765.  By 1767, it was described as Norway’s most famous market. The market ended in 1901.

Elverum had the first female politician in Norway, when the teacher and labor democrat Ingeborg Torstejnson was elected to the municipal council.

Elverum was the first town to be destroyed at the beginning of World War II. During the first days of the German invasion in 1940, the king, cabinet, and members of the parliament escaped by moving to Hamar, Elverum and Trysil. The parliament meeting at Elverum gave the cabinet full authority over the government of Norway as long as parliament was not able to convene in ordinary session.