Gudbrandsdalen (; en, Gudbrand Valley) is a
valley
A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...
and
traditional district in the
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
county of
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 ...
(formerly
Oppland
Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The co ...
). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from
Lillehammer
Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...
and the lake of
Mjøsa
Mjøsa is Norway's largest lake, as well as one of the deepest lakes in Norway and in Europe. It is the fourth-deepest lake in Norway. It is located in the southern part of Norway, about north of the city of Oslo. Its main tributary is the rive ...
, extending toward the
Romsdalen
Romsdalen is a valley in the western part of Norway. The long valley runs through Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county and Lesja Municipality in Innlandet county. It is the valley of the Rauma river, from Old Norse word ''Raumsdalr'' w ...
valley. The river
Gudbrandsdalslågen
The Gudbrandsdalslågen (or simply ''Lågen'') is a river which flows through the Gudbrandsdal valley in Innlandet county, Norway. The long river runs through a large valley in Eastern Norway before emptying into Mjøsa, the largest lake in Norw ...
(Lågen) flows through the valley, starting from the lake
Lesjaskogsvatnet
Lesjaskogsvatnet (literally: the Lesjaskog lake) is a lake in Lesja Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The lake lies in the upper Gudbrandsdalen valley, between the villages of Lesjaskog (on the west end) and Lesjaverk (on the east end). T ...
and ending at the lake Mjøsa. The
Otta river
Otta is a river in Innlandet county, Norway. The river flows through the Ottadalen valley which includes the municipalities of Skjåk, Lom, Vågå, and Sel. The watershed of the Otta drains an area of beginning in the Breheimen mountains and e ...
which flows through Otta valley is a major tributary to the main river Lågen. The valleys of the tributary rivers such as
Otta and Gausa (
Gausdal
Gausdal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Segalstad bru. Other villages in Gausdal include Follebu, Forse ...
) are usually regarded as part of Gudbrandsdalen. The total area of the valley is calculated from the areas of the related
municipalities
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 ...
.
Gudbrandsdalen is the main valley in a web of smaller valleys. On the western (right hand) side there are long adjacent valleys: Ottadalen stretches from Otta village, Gausdal some from Lillehammer and
Heidal
Heidal or Heidalen is a valley in Sel Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The U-shaped valley follows the river Sjoa which begins in the nearby Jotunheimen mountains eastward until it joins the Gudbrandsdalslågen river in the main va ...
some from Sjoa.
Gudbrandsdalen runs between the major mountain ranges of Norway including
Jotunheimen
Jotunheimen (; "the home of the Jötunn") is a mountainous area of roughly in southern Norway and is part of the long range known as the Scandinavian Mountains. The 29 highest mountains in Norway are all located in the Jotunheimen mountains, in ...
and
Dovrefjell
Dovrefjell is a mountain range in Central Norway that forms a natural barrier between Eastern Norway and Trøndelag. The mountain range is located in Innlandet, Møre og Romsdal, and Trøndelag counties in Norway. As a result of its central loca ...
–
Rondane
Rondane National Park ( no, Rondane nasjonalpark) is the oldest national park in Norway, having been established on 21 December 1962. The park is located in Innlandet county, in the municipalities of Dovre, Folldal, Sel, Nord-Fron, Sør-Fron, Stor ...
.
Together with the
Glomma
The Glomma, or Glåma, is Norway's longest and most voluminous river. With a total length of , it has a drainage basin that covers fully 13% of Norway's surface area, all in the southern part of the country.
Geography
At its fullest length, the ...
river and the
Østerdalen
Østerdalen () is a valley and traditional district in Innlandet county, in Eastern Norway. This area typically is described as the large Glåma river valley as well as all its tributary valleys. It includes the municipalities Rendalen, Alvdal, F ...
valley, the river Lågen and the Gudbrandsdalen valley form Norway's largest drainage system covering major parts of
Eastern Norway
Eastern Norway ( nb, Østlandet, nn, Austlandet) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Vestfold og Telemark, Viken, Oslo and Innlandet.
Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region o ...
. Gudbrandsdalen is home to
Dovre Line
The Dovre Line ( no, Dovrebanen) is a Norwegian railway line with three slightly different lines which all lead to the historic city of Trondheim.
Definition
*Dovre Line is the current name of the 548 km main line of the Norwegian railway s ...
railway and the
European route E6
European route E6 ( no, Europavei 6, sv, Europaväg 6, or simply E6) is the main north-south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and t ...
highway. The valley is the main land transport corridor through Eastern Norway, from Oslo and central eastern lowlands to Trondheim and
Møre og Romsdal
Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is the ...
.
The valley is divided into three parts: Norddalen (Northern valley; the
municipalities
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 ...
of
Lesja
Lesja is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is village of Lesja. Other villages in the municipality include Bjorli, Lesjaskog, L ...
,
Dovre
Dovre is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dovre. Other villages in Dovre include Dombås and Hjerkinn. The ...
,
Skjåk
Skjåk is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bismo. Most of the municipal residents live in the Billingsdalen an ...
,
Lom,
Vågå
Vågå () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vågåmo. Other village areas in Vågå include Lalm and Besshei ...
and
Sel
Sel is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Otta. The municipality also includes several notable villages including ...
), Midtdalen (middle valley; the municipalities of
Nord-Fron
Nord-Fron is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Vinstra. Other population centers in Nord-Fron include the village ...
,
Sør-Fron
Sør-Fron is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hundorp. Other villages in the municipality include Gålå, Ha ...
and
Ringebu
is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vålebru (the village is also known as ''Ringebu'').
The municipality i ...
), and Sørdalen (Southern valley; the municipalities of
Øyer
Øyer is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tingberg. The two largest villages in the municipality are Granrudmoe ...
,
Gausdal
Gausdal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Segalstad bru. Other villages in Gausdal include Follebu, Forse ...
and
Lillehammer
Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...
). The municipalities within the valley fall under the
Vestre Innlandet District Court.
Until 2016, the valley was also a police district. The Gudbrandsdalen district covers about 60% of the former
Oppland
Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The co ...
county.
The main character in
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...
's play
Peer Gynt
''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five- act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen published in 1876. Written in Norwegian, it is one of the most widely performed Norwegian plays. Ibsen believed ''Per Gynt'', the Norwegian fairy tale on wh ...
was inspired by a real or legendary person living in the valley in the 18th or 17th century. Ibsen travelled through the valley in 1862 and collected local stories, legends and poems. Ibsen also made drawings from his trip, including "Elstad in Gudbrandsdalen".
Etymology
![Olav den helliges saga - Olav tinget Hundorp - H](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Olav_den_helliges_saga_-_Olav_tinget_Hundorp_-_H._Egedius.jpg)
The name ''Gudbrandsdalen'' means 'the valley/dale of Gudbrand'. ''Gudbrand'' (
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
''Guðbrandr'') is an old male name compounded of ''guð'', 'god' and ''brandr'', 'sword'. The name may be derived from a chief (''
hersir
A Hersir was a local Viking military commander of a ''hundred'' (a county subdivision) of about 100 men and owed allegiance to a jarl or king. They were also aspiring landowners, and, like the middle class in many feudal societies, supported the k ...
'') called Gudbrand. According to
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...
the district was also referred to as ''i Dalom'' ("in the valleys") because of the many valleys.
[''Gudbrandsdalen.'' Oslo: Gyldendal, 1974. .] Dale-Gudbrand
Dale-Gudbrand is a historical Norwegian person that appears in the '' Separate Saga of St. Olaf'' in Snorri Sturluson's ''Heimskringla''. He is said to have lived at the farm in Hundorp in the Gudbrand Valley around the year 1000, and to have ...
settled in
Hundorp
Hundorp is the administrative centre of Sør-Fron Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located in the Gudbrandsdal valley along the north shore of the Gudbrandsdalslågen river, about west of the village of Ringebu. The Europ ...
,
Sør-Fron
Sør-Fron is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hundorp. Other villages in the municipality include Gålå, Ha ...
.
At the time of
Halfdan the Black
Halfdan the Black (Old Norse: ''Halfdanr Svarti''; fl. c. 9th century) was a king of Vestfold. He belonged to the House of Yngling and was the father of Harald Fairhair, the first king of a unified Norway.
In sagas
According to ''Heimskringla'' ...
there was a "chief Gudbrand north in Gubrandsdalen" (''Gudbrand herse nord i Dalom''). Later
Eric Bloodaxe
Eric Haraldsson ( non, Eiríkr Haraldsson , no, Eirik Haraldsson; died 954), nicknamed Bloodaxe ( non, blóðøx , no, Blodøks) and Brother-Slayer ( la, fratrum interfector), was a 10th-century Norwegian king. He ruled as King of Norway from ...
had an opponent called Dale-Gudbrand. According to the sage
Olaf II of Norway
Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title ''Rex Perpet ...
met one Dale-Gudbrand, supposedly the last Dale-Gudbrand, in 1021. Historians believe there was a regional centre at Hundorp during the Viking era and that the name Gudbrand was used for many generations by the ruling family. Burial mounds (
tumulus
A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...
) at
Hundorp
Hundorp is the administrative centre of Sør-Fron Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located in the Gudbrandsdal valley along the north shore of the Gudbrandsdalslågen river, about west of the village of Ringebu. The Europ ...
suggest that powerful men are buried there.
Geography
The Gudbrandsdalen valley includes the most arid area in Norway. At
Skjåk
Skjåk is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bismo. Most of the municipal residents live in the Billingsdalen an ...
the average annual precipitation is only . The valley sits in the
rain shadow
A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side.
Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is carrie ...
of the mountains west (including
Jotunheimen
Jotunheimen (; "the home of the Jötunn") is a mountainous area of roughly in southern Norway and is part of the long range known as the Scandinavian Mountains. The 29 highest mountains in Norway are all located in the Jotunheimen mountains, in ...
), north, and east of the valley.
The valley is less incised than the valleys of western Norway.
Farming is mostly confined to the relatively narrow areas along the rivers. Gudbrandsdalen and adjacent valleys are surrounded by wide uplands and mountain plateaus traditional used as ''
seter
Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower vall ...
'' or summer farms.
![Lesja med kirken](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Lesja_med_kirken.JPG)
In July 1789 the
Storofsen flood disaster occurred and Gudbrandsdalslågen overflooded. This is the largest flood recorded in Norway and the valley was particularly affected. 61 people perished. About 3000 houses were totally damaged and some thousand livestock drowned. All bridges disappeared.
Lågen rose up to above its normal level and covered most of the valley floor.
A number of farmers abandoned their damaged farms and settled in
Målselv
Målselv ( sme, Málatvuomi suohkan) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Moen. The main commercial centre of the municipality is the Bardufoss area (including And ...
,
Troms
Troms (; se, Romsa; fkv, Tromssa; fi, Tromssa) is a former county in northern Norway. On 1 January 2020 it was merged with the neighboring Finnmark county to create the new Troms og Finnmark county. This merger is expected to be reversed by t ...
county.
The second largest flood occurred in the summer of 1995 and again the valley floor was largely covered by water. After Storofsen the valley floor upstream from
Sel Church
Sel Church ( no, Sel kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Sel Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Selsverket. It is the church for the Sel parish which is part of the Nord-Gudbrandsdal pro ...
changed into bogs and shallow lakes because stone and gravel changed the flow of Lågen. From around 1910 drainage efforts left some of dry farmland on what is still known as the
Sel
Sel is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Otta. The municipality also includes several notable villages including ...
bogs. The toxic
cicuta virosa
''Cicuta virosa'', the cowbane or northern water hemlock, is a poisonous species of ''Cicuta'', native to northern and central Europe, northern Asia and northwestern North America.
Description
It is a perennial herbaceous plant which grows up ...
thrived on those bogs before they were drained and are known in Norwegian as ''selsnepe'' (literally Sel
turnip
The turnip or white turnip (''Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. The word ''turnip'' is a compound of ''turn'' as in turned/rounded on a lathe and ' ...
). The valley floor in
Lesja
Lesja is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is village of Lesja. Other villages in the municipality include Bjorli, Lesjaskog, L ...
(between Dombås and Lora) were originally covered by a shallow lake. Drainage efforts from 1860 abolished the lake and left some of farmland.
The central part of the valley is covered by the
Losna lake, some deep.
Geology
The valley of Gudbrandsdalen is of considerable antiquity considering the overall development of the relief of Norway. The valley runs across the height axis of the southern
Scandinavian Mountains
The Scandinavian Mountains or the Scandes is a mountain range that runs through the Scandinavian Peninsula. The western sides of the mountains drop precipitously into the North Sea and Norwegian Sea, forming the fjords of Norway, whereas to the ...
—a characteristic that could be indicating that the valley formed before the
tectonic uplift of Norway.
The valley is one of several valleys of
southern Norway
Southern Norway ( no, Sørlandet; lit. "The Southland") is the geographical region (''landsdel'') along the Skagerrak coast of southern Norway. The region is an informal description since it does not have any governmental function. It roughl ...
that existed already as part of the ancient
Paleic relief but had at the time gentler slopes.
Gudbrandsdalen formed and developed originally as a valley of fluvial origin. Only millions of year later was the valley re-shaped by
glaciers during the Quaternary period.
As the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet
melted and retreated during the end of the
last ice age a large but ephemeral
ice-dammed lake
In geology, a proglacial lake is a lake formed either by the damming action of a moraine during the retreat of a melting glacier, a glacial ice dam, or by meltwater trapped against an ice sheet due to isostatic depression of the crust around the ...
formed in the valley.
History
The valley was shaped by the
recent ice age and rivers from the present glacial areas in
Jotunheimen
Jotunheimen (; "the home of the Jötunn") is a mountainous area of roughly in southern Norway and is part of the long range known as the Scandinavian Mountains. The 29 highest mountains in Norway are all located in the Jotunheimen mountains, in ...
and
Dovre
Dovre is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dovre. Other villages in Dovre include Dombås and Hjerkinn. The ...
. Bones and teeth from
mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, ...
s and
musk ox
Musk (Persian: مشک, ''Mushk'') is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial sub ...
en, living in the area at that time, are found in the valley. Several traces of hunters from the
Stone Age
The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
are found in the valley (and in the mountain areas around). There is a
rock carving
A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...
of
moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...
in the northern part of
Lillehammer
Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...
. Gudbrandsdalen has always hosted the main road between Trondheim and the central eastern lowlands. In
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
known as ''þjóðvegr'' (''tjodvei''), "people's road" or "everybody's road".
Legendary history
Raum the Old
Raum the Old (Old Norse: ''Raumr inn gamli'') is a legendary king in Norway in the '' Hversu Noregr byggdist'' and in Thorsteins saga Víkingssonar. He was said to have been ugly, as was his daughter, Bryngerd, who was married to King Álf. Indeed ...
was the father of Dale-Gudbrand, and he settled in
Hundorp
Hundorp is the administrative centre of Sør-Fron Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located in the Gudbrandsdal valley along the north shore of the Gudbrandsdalslågen river, about west of the village of Ringebu. The Europ ...
. The Gudbrand Valley is mentioned extensively in the ''
Heimskringla
''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derived ...
'' (Chronicle of the Kings of Norway) by
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...
. The account of
King Olaf's (A.D. 1015–1021) conversion of Dale-Gudbrand to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
is popularly recognized. According to the saga Gudbrand built a church there "in the valleys", possibly at Haave farm near Hundorp where archaeological evidence indicates what may have been the first church in the valley.
In 1206, the heir to the
Norwegian throne
The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingdoms ...
,
Håkon Håkonsson
Haakon IV Haakonsson ( – 16 December 1263; Old Norse: ''Hákon Hákonarson'' ; Norwegian: ''Håkon Håkonsson''), sometimes called Haakon the Old in contrast to his namesake son, was King of Norway from 1217 to 1263. His reign lasted for 46 y ...
, was saved by
birkebeiner
The Birkebein Party or Birkebeinar (; no, Birkebeinarane (nynorsk) or (bokmål)) was the name for a rebellious party in Norway, formed in 1174 around the pretender to the Norwegian throne, Eystein Meyla. The name has its origins in propagand ...
s with a ski-run from
Lillehammer
Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...
to
Rena.
Until the
Black Plague
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
settlement expanded and new farms were established at outskirts. Farms with names ''-gard'', ''-rud'', ''-hus'', and ''-li'' are mostly from this expansion period. During the
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...
about 40 churches existed, most built in wood except for instances masonry churches in Easter Gausdal and
Follebu
Follebu is a village in Gausdal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the river Gausa, about to the southeast of the village of Segalstad bru. The town of Lillehammer lies about to the southeast of Follebu.
F ...
. Hamar episcopal see was established in 1152 and its jurisdiction included Gudbrandsdalen.
Garmo Stave Church
Garmo Stave Church () is a stave church situated at the Maihaugen museum at Lillehammer in Innlandet, Norway. Garmo Stave Church at Maihaugen is one of the most visited stave churches in Norway.
Description
Garmo Stave Church originally cam ...
and
Ringebu Stave Church
Ringebu Stave Church ( no, Ringebu stavkyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Ringebu Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Ringebu in the Gudbrandsdalen valley. It is the church for the Ringebu ...
are examples of ancient wooden churches.
Fåvang Stave Church
Fåvang Stave Church ( no, Fåvang stavkyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Ringebu Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located just south of the village of Fåvang. It is the main church for the Fåvang parish which i ...
and
Vågå Church
Vågå Church ( no, Vågåkyrkja) is a historic stave church. It is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Vågå Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Vågåmo. It is the church for the Vågå parish which ...
include parts from older churches. The Black Plague reduced the population in Gudbrandsdal by 50 to 70% during 1349 to 1350. Saksum, Brekkom, Skåbo, Venabygd and other districts were left largely deserted for centuries. Inhabitants from marginal areas presumably relocated to the main valley and other areas with vacant land. A large number of clergy also perished during the plague and churches fell into disrepair. During the 1600s the population again reached the same level as in 1300. During the 1500s the area had about 6000 inhabitants. No census was taken before 1665 and population figures are based on estimates.
This resulted in a temporary improvement for the lower classes as
crofters
A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable, and usually, but not always, with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer, especially in rural area ...
became scarce and the poor were able to rent the better farms.
Older history
During the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
in 1537, the
Church of Norway
The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...
was subordinated to the ''lendmenn'' or sheriffs. Church property was appropriated by the Crown and the King became the biggest landowner in the valley. The
Battle of Kringen
Battle of Kringen ( no, Slaget ved Kringen) involved an ambush by Norwegian peasant militia of Scottish mercenary soldiers who were on their way to enlist in the Swedish army for the Kalmar War.
The battle has since become a part of folklore ...
took place in 1612, near
Otta, Norway
is a town in Sel Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The town is also the administrative centre of the municipality. The town is located at the confluence of the Gudbrandsdalslågen and Otta rivers. The European route E6 highway runs thro ...
, and the local "Gudbrandsdøls" defeated a
Scottish mercenary army. The legends of this battle live on to this day, including the story of how the peasant girl ''
Prillar-Guri'' lured the Scots into an ambush by playing the traditional ram's horn. The 1665 census indicates a population of 13,000.
![Dombås 1940 4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Domb%C3%A5s_1940_4.PNG)
In 1670 to 1725, most of the royal property was sold off to pay for war debts, first to established property holders, but increasingly to peasant proprietors. A freeholders' era began and a new "upper class" of landholders was formed. ''Storofsa'' happened in 1789, and is the greatest flood recorded in the Gudbrand Valley; several farms were devastated, and many people died.
Modern history
In 1827, the town of
Lillehammer
Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...
is established. The paddle steamer
Skibladner
PS ''Skibladner'' is the only paddle steamer operating in Norway, it sails on lake Mjøsa.
''Skibladner'' is a sidewheel design, and her maiden voyage was on 2 August 1856, making her the world's oldest paddle steamer still in timetabled servic ...
on
Mjøsa
Mjøsa is Norway's largest lake, as well as one of the deepest lakes in Norway and in Europe. It is the fourth-deepest lake in Norway. It is located in the southern part of Norway, about north of the city of Oslo. Its main tributary is the rive ...
and
Hovedbanen
In telecommunications, trunking is a technology for providing network access to multiple clients simultaneously by sharing a set of circuits, carriers, channels, or frequencies, instead of providing individual circuits or channels for each clie ...
(the first railroad in Norway) connected the valley to the capital city,
Christiania, in 1856. The
Hamar-Selbanen railway was completed to
Tretten
Tretten is a village in Øyer Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located on the Losna lake, which is part of the Gudbrandsdalslågen river. Tretten is located in the Gudbrandsdal valley, along the Gudbrandsdalslågen river ...
in 1894. Hamar-Selbanen changed its name to the
Dovre Line
The Dovre Line ( no, Dovrebanen) is a Norwegian railway line with three slightly different lines which all lead to the historic city of Trondheim.
Definition
*Dovre Line is the current name of the 548 km main line of the Norwegian railway s ...
in 1921, and the new main railway between
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 of ...
and
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
, was completed through the valley. The outdoor museum of
Maihaugen
Maihaugen (''De Sandvigske Samlinger på Maihaugen, Lillehammer'') is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Lillehammer, Norway. Maihaugen, with close to 200 buildings, is one of Northern Europe's largest open-air museums and is one of th ...
, exhibiting historical architecture from all parts of the valley, opened at Lillehammer in 1904.
From around 1865 the population declined substantially because of emigration to North America. Until 1946 the majority of inhabitants worked in farming.
There was severe fighting in the valley at
Tretten
Tretten is a village in Øyer Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located on the Losna lake, which is part of the Gudbrandsdalslågen river. Tretten is located in the Gudbrandsdal valley, along the Gudbrandsdalslågen river ...
and
Kvam
Kvam is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality is located along the Hardangerfjorden in the traditional district of Hardanger. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Norheimsund. Other larger settle ...
, as well as in
Dombås
is a village or small town in Dovre Municipality in northern Innlandet county, Norway. The village serves as the commercial centre for the upper Gudbrandsdalen valley. It lies at an important junction of roads with the European route E6 highway ...
, during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The
Battle of Dombås
The Battle of Dombås was fought between Norwegian Army infantry forces and German ''Fallschirmjäger'' paratroops in mid-April 1940. As part of their conquest of Norway south of Trondheim, and as a countermeasure against reported Allied landin ...
was an attempt to stop the
German advance. British troops engaged German troops in land battles for the first time in World War 2 after many months of
Phoney War
The Phoney War (french: Drôle de guerre; german: Sitzkrieg) was an eight-month period at the start of World War II, during which there was only one limited military land operation on the Western Front, when French troops invaded Germ ...
.
[Dirk Levsen: Mikrogeschichte als Besatzungsgeschichte. Der deutsche Feldzug durch das Guldbrandsdal und das Romsdal im Frühjahr 1940. Historiographie und museale Präsentation. In Robert Bohn, (Hrsg.): ''Die deutsche Herrschaft in den "germanischen" Ländern 1940–1945'' (= Historische Mitteilungen der Ranke-Gesellschaft, Beiheft 26). Steiner, Stuttgart 1997 . S. 113f.]
Lillehammer was the site of the
Lillehammer affair
The Lillehammer affair (Hebrew: פרשת לילהאמר, ''Parshat Lillehammer'', Norwegian: ''Lillehammer-saken'') was the killing by Mossad agents of Ahmed Bouchikhi, a Moroccan waiter and brother of the renowned musician Chico Bouchikhi, in ...
in 1973, wherein operatives of the
Israeli Mossad shot and killed a Moroccan waiter they mistakenly thought was
Ali Hassan Salameh
Ali Hassan Salameh ( ar, علي حسن سلامة, ; 1 April 1941 – 22 January 1979) was a Palestinian militant who was the chief of operations (code name Abu Hassan) for Black September and founder of Force 17. He was assassinated by Mossad ...
, who was involved in the Munich Massacre.
The
1994 Winter Olympics
The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...
were celebrated at
Lillehammer
Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...
.
The
2016 Youth Olympics were celebrated at Lillehammer.
Urban areas
*
Lillehammer
Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...
*
Valebru
*
Otta
Mountain areas close to the valley
*
Jotunheimen
Jotunheimen (; "the home of the Jötunn") is a mountainous area of roughly in southern Norway and is part of the long range known as the Scandinavian Mountains. The 29 highest mountains in Norway are all located in the Jotunheimen mountains, in ...
*
Rondane
Rondane National Park ( no, Rondane nasjonalpark) is the oldest national park in Norway, having been established on 21 December 1962. The park is located in Innlandet county, in the municipalities of Dovre, Folldal, Sel, Nord-Fron, Sør-Fron, Stor ...
*
Dovrefjell
Dovrefjell is a mountain range in Central Norway that forms a natural barrier between Eastern Norway and Trøndelag. The mountain range is located in Innlandet, Møre og Romsdal, and Trøndelag counties in Norway. As a result of its central loca ...
*
Reinheimen/
Tafjordfjella
Tafjordfjella or Tafjordfjellene ( en, The Tafjord mountains) is a mountain range in Møre og Romsdal and Innlandet counties, Norway. It is located in the municipalities of Fjord, Stranda, Rauma, and Skjåk. The area takes its name from the villa ...
*
Langsua
See also
*
Gudbrandsdalsost
*
Gudbrandsdalsbunad
*
Dølahest (
Dole Gudbrandsdal)
*
Dølafe
The Dølafe is a rare breed of cattle.
The breed originates from the Gudbrand Valley, Østerdalen and Hedmarken in Norway. These areas offered good conditions for livestock with easy access to rich mountain pastures. Most Dølafe cattle today cam ...
References
External links
Information about the Gudbrand Valley
{{Oppland
Districts of Oppland
Districts of Innlandet
Petty kingdoms of Norway
Valleys of Innlandet