is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Innlandet Innlandet is a county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (the municipalities of Jevnaker and Lunner were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken on the same date). The ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. It is located in the traditional district of

Hadeland Hadeland () is a traditional district in the southeastern part of Norway. It is centered on the southern part of the large lake Randsfjorden in Innlandet and Viken counties. The district consists of the municipalities Gran in Innlandet county ...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of

Jaren Jaren is the administrative centre of Gran Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located about to the northwest of the capital city of Oslo. The lake Randsfjorden (Norway's fourth largest lake) lies about west of Jaren. The ...

. Other villages in Gran include Bjoneroa,

Brandbu Brandbu is a village in Gran Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located in Hadeland, along the eastern shore of the large lake Randsfjorden, about to the northwest of the capital city of Oslo. Brandbu and its neighbori ...

, Egge, Gran, and Ringstad. The municipality is the 148th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Gran is the 88th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 13,633. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

is and its population has increased by 1% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Dynna stone left side, Hadeland Folkemuseum, 2008-06-01

The

prestegjeld A ''prestegjeld'' was a geographic and administrative area within the Church of Norway (''Den Norske Kirke'') roughly equivalent to a parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a di ...

of Gran was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1874, an unpopulated area of Gran Municipality was transferred to the neighboring Jevnaker Municipality. On 1 January 1897, the municipality was divided into two. The northern part of the municipality (population: 4,719) became the new municipality of

and the southern part of the municipality (population: 3,897) remained as Gran municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee ( no, Schei-komitéen) was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II. It convened in 1946, and its formal name was (The 1946 Committee on Municip ...

. On 1 January 1962, the Furulund area of Gran on the west side of the lake

Randsfjorden Randsfjorden is Norway's fourth-largest lake with an area of . Its volume is estimated at just over , and its greatest depth is . The lake is located at an elevation of above sea level. It is located in Innlandet and Viken counties in the munic ...

(population: 180) was transferred to the neighboring Jevnaker Municipality. Also on that date, the remaining part of Gran (population: 5,249) was merged with Brandbu Municipality (population: 6,477) to form a new, larger Gran Municipality. On 1 January 1964, the part of Gran located at the south end of the lake

Einavatnet Einavatnet is a lake which lies in Vestre Toten Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The lake lies at an elevation of above sea level. The lake lies in the southern portion of the municipality, about south of the municipal centre, Raufo ...

(population: 12) was transferred to the neighboring

Vestre Toten Municipality Vestre Toten is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Toten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Raufoss. Other villages in the municipality include Bøverbru, Ei ...

Name

The municipality (originally the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

) is named after the old ''Gran'' farm ( non, Grǫn) since the first church was built there. The name is identical with the word which means " spruce tree".

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

was granted on 11 December 1987. The official

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vi ...

is "In Gules, two points ending in a

cross bottony A number of cross symbols were developed for the purpose of the emerging system of heraldry, which appeared in Western Europe in about 1200. This tradition is partly in the use of the Christian cross an emblem from the 11th century, and increasi ...

in Or" ( no, I rødt to gull spisser som ender i kløverbladkors). This means the arms have a red

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

(background) and the

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * ''Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

is two triangles stretching upwards with a bottony cross on the tip of each triangle. The triangles and crosses have a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

of Or which means they are colored yellow most of the time, but if they are made out of metal, then gold is used. The triangles and crosses were meant to represent the

spires The Stanford Physics Information Retrieval System (SPIRES) is a database management system developed by Stanford University. It is used by universities, colleges and research institutions. The first website in North America was created to allow re ...

of the medieval Sister Churches which are located in the municipality. The arms were designed by Kari Ruud Flem from

Jevnaker Jevnaker is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Jevnaker with a population of 4,302. The parish of ''Jævnaker'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see forman ...

Churches

The Church of Norway has four parishes () within the municipality of Gran. It is part of the Hadeland og Land prosti ( deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar.

History

Granavollen is the site of the Sister Churches ( no, Søsterkirkene). These two stone churches are from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

and were constructed side by side. The smaller and older is the ''Mariakirke'', a single

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

church built in the Romanesque style, built sometime before 1150. The neighbouring ''Nikolaikirke'' is a three-aisled

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...

, probably inspired by the construction of the ''St. Halvardskirke'' in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

. It was built sometime between 1150 and 1200. According to local

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

, the churches were built by two sisters. These two detested each other so much they could not share the same church. A more likely explanation however, is that the ''Mariakirke'' was built for the local congregation, while the ''Nikolaikirke'' was the main church for Hadeland parish. The Granavollen stone is located behind the ''Nikolaikirken''. The Old Tingelstad Church (''Tingelstad St.Petri Kirke'') is another medieval stone church. It is a Romanesque stone church, dated to the 12th century and dedicated to

St.Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupati ...

. This church has survived even though it has not been in regular use for some 140 years. This is also the location of Hadeland Folkemuseum with a collection of buildings from the area, farm implements, a grave mound from the

Viking Era The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...

, and a replica of the 11th century Dynna Runestone (''Dynnasteinen''). It also holds an archive of photographs and documents.

Economy

In 2002, the economy of the municipality was in free income per inhabitant, and the net debt per inhabitant was (also municipal economy, not private). Health care spending represents about one-third of the total municipal budget, which is 7.5% higher than the average for Norway. The Norwegian National Road 4 runs through the most populated parts of Gran, bringing lots of transportation traffic.

Geography

Gran is part of the

region. It is bordered to the north by the municipalities of

Søndre Land Søndre Land is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Land. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hov. Other villages in the municipality include Fluberg and Odnes. ...

and

Vestre Toten Vestre Toten is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Toten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Raufoss. Other villages in the municipality include Bøverbru, Eina ...

(in

county), to the east by

Hurdal Hurdal is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is t ...

and

Nannestad Nannestad is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Teigebyen. History Nannestad was established as a municipality o ...

, to the south by

Lunner Lunner is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hadeland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Roa. Lunner was established when it was separated from the municipality of Jevnake ...

and

, and to the west by Ringerike. There are several lakes in Gran including Øyangen,

, and Vestre Bjonevatnet.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Gran, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services,

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...

and other social services,

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. The municipality is governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

representatives, which in turn elect a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Municipal council

The

of Gran is made up of 27 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featur ...

breakdown of the municipal council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Gran (incomplete list): *1837-1839: Carl Jacob Bergh *1856-1861: Amund Larsen Gulden *1864-1867: Amund Larsen Gulden *1945-1946: Olaf Prestsæter ( Bp) *1946-1948: Paul A. Grini ( Bp) *1948-1951: Axel Moger ( Ap) *1952-1954: Lars Skovly ( Ap) *1955-1956: Axel Bråten ( Ap) *1956-1959: Torgrim Dynna ( Bp) *1960-1961: Kristian Torgalsen ( Ap) *1962-1965: Jens Røisli ( Ap) *1966-1970: Alf Skovly ( Ap) *1970-1979: Gunnar Sagbakken ( Ap) *1980-1995: Lars Arne Høydal ( Ap) *1996–2005: Rigmor Aasrud ( Ap) *2005-2007: Roald Braathen ( Ap) *2007-2011: Inger Staxrud ( LL) *2011-2015: Knut Magnar Lehre ( Ap) *2015–2019: Willy Westhagen ( LL) *2019–present: Randi Eek Thorsen ( Ap)

Sister cities

Gran has

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

agreements with the following places:: * - Favrskov,

Region Midtjylland The Central Denmark Region ( da, Region Midtjylland), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish muni ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

* -

Kungsbacka Kungsbacka () (old da, Kongsbakke) is a locality and the seat of Kungsbacka Municipality in Halland County, Sweden, with 19,057 inhabitants in 2010. It is one of the most affluent parts of Sweden, in part due to its simultaneous proximity to the ...

Halland County Halland County ( sv, Hallands län, link=no, ) is a county (''län'') on the western coast of Sweden. It corresponds roughly to the cultural and historical province of Halland. The capital is Halmstad. It borders the counties of Västra Götal ...

, Sweden * -

Lugazi Lugazi is a town in the Buikwe District of the Central Region of Uganda. The town is also called "Kawolo", and the two names are interchangeably used by the local inhabitants. Location The town is on the Kampala-Jinja Highway, approximately ...

Kampala District Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Divisi ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

* -

Mukono Mukono Town is a municipality in Mukono District in the Central Region of Uganda. The town is administered by the Mukono Town Council. The district headquarters are located in this town. Location Mukono Municipality is 21 km east of ...

Mukono District Mukono is one of the districts in the Central Region of Uganda. The town of Mukono is home to the district's main commercial center and district headquarters. Location Mukono District is bordered by Kayunga District to the north, Jinja Distri ...

* -

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet ...

, Pärnu County,

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

* -

Saarijärvi Saarijärvi () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are ...

, Länsi-Suomi,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

Notable people

Cally Monrad Ragnhild Caroline Monrad (31 July 1879, Gran, Oppland – 23 February 1950) was a Norwegian singer, actress and poet. She studied singing in Dresden, stayed in Berlin for a long time, toured with Edvard Grieg, performed for King Oscar II, Haa ...

(1879 in Gran – 1950) a Norwegian singer, actress and poet IMDb Database
retrieved 25 December 2020 * Hans Stenseth (1896 in Gran – 1994) a leading Norwegian flautist * Kristian Horn (1903 in Brandbu – 1981) a Norwegian botanist, academic and humanist * Kirsten Langbo (1909 in Gran – 1996) a children's writer, singer-songwriter and entertainer *

Ulla-Mari Brantenberg Ulla-Mari Brantenberg (born 1947) is a Norwegian glass artist. She was born in Porsgrunn and attended vocational school, graduating in 1965. Bratenberg initially studied ceramics at the Royal Copenhagen factory in Copenhagen and the Norwegian Norw ...

(born 1947) a Norwegian glass artist, lives in Brandbu *

Espen Reinertsen Espen Reinertsen (born 1979 in Gran, Norway) is a Norwegian saxophonist, flutist, composer, and music producer. Biography Reinertsen released his debut solo album in 2015 on the label of Susanna Wallumrød, SusannaSonata. He followed up with t ...

(born 1979 in Gran) a saxophonist, flutist, composer and music producer

Sport

* Sverre Fredheim (1907 in Gan – 1981) an American Olympic skier * Torstein Seiersten (born 1931 in Brandbu) a retired speed skater, competed at the

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...

& 1960 Winter Olympics *

Trond-Arne Bredesen Trond-Arne Bredesen (born 4 February 1967 in Gran) is a Norwegian nordic combined from 1986 to 1991, representing Gran IL in Hadeland. He won four medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships with one gold (3 x 10 km team: 1989), two sil ...

(born 1967 in Gran) a

Nordic combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first ever Winter Olympics in 1924, while the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup ...

skier, competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway *
Official website of Gran

Hadeland Folkemuseum

Raukr Viking Centre
{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Hadeland Municipalities of Innlandet 1838 establishments in Norway