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Hallingdal ( en, Halling 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 ...
as well as a traditional district located in the traditional and electoral district
Buskerud Buskerud () is a former county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardan ...
in
Viken county Viken may refer to: *Viken, Scandinavia, a historical region *Viken (county), a Norwegian county established in 2020 *Viken, Sweden, a bimunicipal locality in Skåne County, Sweden *Viken (lake), a lake in Sweden, part of the part of the Göta cana ...
in
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 t ...
. It consists of six municipalities:
Flå Flå is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Flå. The municipality of Flå was established when it was separated from the municipality of Nes on 1 January 1905. The municipali ...
,
Nes The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...
, Gol,
Hemsedal Hemsedal is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hallingdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Trøym. Hemsedal lies on the Norwegian National Road 52 (Rv 52). Hemsedal ...
,
Ã…l Ã…l is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hallingdal. The administ ...
and
Hol Hol is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. Administrative history The area of Hol was separated from the municipality Ã…l in 1877 to become a separate municipality. In 1937 a part of neighboring Uvdal with 220 inhabitants moved to Hol municip ...
. Hallingdal is one of the major valleys of eastern Norway, on an area of 5,830 square kilometers. Hallingdal lies in the northern part of the county of Buskerud. The valley stretches from
Gulsvik Gulsvik is a village in the municipality of Flå in Buskerud, Norway. It is located in Hallingdal at the north end of Lake Krøderen. The center of the village lies at Gulsvik Rail Station. Bergensbanen railway terminated at Gulsvik Station fr ...
by Lake Krøderen to the border with
Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Municipal ...
and
Sogn og Fjordane Sogn og Fjordane (; English: "Sogn and Fjordane") was, up to 1 January 2020, a county in western Norway, when it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland, the cou ...
. Central to the geography is relatively flat mountain area which lies above sea level. The valley is V-shaped and is drained by the Hallingdal River which originates in the western parts of
Hardangervidda Hardangervidda ( en, Hardanger Plateau) is a mountain plateau (Norwegian: ''vidde'') in central southern Norway, covering parts of Vestland, Vestfold og Telemark, and Viken counties. It is the largest plateau of its kind in Europe, with a cold ye ...
and flows eastwards later southwards through Hallingdal.


Etymology

The
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 ...
form of the name was ''Haddingjadalr''. The first recorded case beginning with ''Hall-'' is from 1443. The first element seems to be the genitive case of the name of the people ''
Haddingjar The Haddingjar (Old Norse: ) refers on the one hand to Germanic heroic legends about two brothers by this name, and on the other hand to possibly related legends based on the Hasdingi, the royal dynasty of the Vandals. The accounts vary greatly. ...
'' or of the male name ''Haddingi''. In
Flateyjarbók ''Flateyjarbók'' (; "Book of Flatey") is an important medieval Icelandic manuscript. It is also known as GkS 1005 fol. and by the Latin name ''Codex Flateyensis''. It was commissioned by Jón Hákonarson and produced by the priests and scribes ...
, a man named ''Haddingr'' is mentioned as the king of Hallingdal. Compare with the first element in ''Gudbrandsdalen'' '
Gudbrand Valley Gudbrandsdalen (; en, Gudbrand Valley) is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer and the lake of Mjøsa, extending toward ...
'. In both cases the name is probably derived from the word ''haddr'', meaning 'woman's hair' and the name can consequently be interpreted as meaning 'the long haired ones'. The last element is ''dalr'' which means 'valley, dale'.


History

From early on, Hallingdal prospered from trading with
iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
, produced from local marshlands, and developed trading routes throughout the
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
. In later centuries, Hallingdal farmers traded cattle over the mountains from west to east. As the soil in the valley could be barren, trading was necessary. Ancient routes went to
western Norway Western Norway ( nb, Vestlandet, Vest-Norge; nn, Vest-Noreg) is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrativ ...
(''Vestlandet'') through
Valdres Valdres () is a traditional district in central, southern Norway, situated between the districts of Gudbrandsdalen and Hallingdal. The region of Valdres consists of the six municipalities of Nord-Aurdal, Sør-Aurdal, Øystre Slidre, Vestre Slidre ...
and Hallingdal and down
Røldal Røldal is a village in the municipality of Ullensvang in Vestland county, Norway. The village lies in the Røldal valley along the Storelva river on the north end of the lake Røldalsvatnet. Røldal is located about southeast of the town of O ...
to
Odda Odda () is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1913 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Ullensvang Municipality in Vestland county. It was located in southeastern Hordaland c ...
. Reflecting this route, Hallingdal and its neighboring valley of Valdres were originally populated by migrants from Vestlandet and spoke a western
dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...
. The actual migration routes are hard to map, and the migrants may have intermixed with local hunters from the mountains around the valley. In recognition of this, Cardinal Nicholas Breakespear, (later Pope Adrian IV) who was in
Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
as
papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...
in 1153, included these two valleys in the
Diocese of Stavanger The Diocese of Stavanger ( no, Stavanger bispedømme) is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers all of Rogaland county in western Norway. The cathedral city is Stavanger, where the Stavanger Cathedral is located. The bishop is Anne Li ...
.


Administration

The municipalities within Hallingdal include
Flå Flå is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Flå. The municipality of Flå was established when it was separated from the municipality of Nes on 1 January 1905. The municipali ...
,
Nes The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...
, Gol,
Hemsedal Hemsedal is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hallingdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Trøym. Hemsedal lies on the Norwegian National Road 52 (Rv 52). Hemsedal ...
,
Ã…l Ã…l is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hallingdal. The administ ...
and
Hol Hol is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. Administrative history The area of Hol was separated from the municipality Ã…l in 1877 to become a separate municipality. In 1937 a part of neighboring Uvdal with 220 inhabitants moved to Hol municip ...
which cooperate through the Hallingdal Regional Council (''Regionrådet for Hallingdal''). The area is within the jurisdiction area of the Hallingdal District Court (''Hallingdal tingrett'').


Local culture


Art

Hallingdal has developed its own style of
rosemaling Rose-painting, , or is a Scandinavian decorative folk painting that flourished from the 1700s to the mid-19th century, particularly in Norway. In Sweden, rose-painting began to be called , c. 1901, for the region where it had been most popular ...
with a distinct symmetric style, different from those of
Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...
and
Valdres Valdres () is a traditional district in central, southern Norway, situated between the districts of Gudbrandsdalen and Hallingdal. The region of Valdres consists of the six municipalities of Nord-Aurdal, Sør-Aurdal, Øystre Slidre, Vestre Slidre ...
. The valley also fostered a number of known painters during the 18th and 19th century. The parents of Norwegian romanticist painter
Hans Gude Hans Fredrik Gude (March 13, 1825August 17, 1903) was a Norwegian romanticist painter and is considered along with Johan Christian Dahl to be one of Norway's foremost landscape painters. He has been called a mainstay of Norwegian National Roma ...
lived in Hallingdal until 1852, and Gude painted many of his works there.


Music

The music of Hallingdal is traditionally dominated by the
hardanger fiddle A Hardanger fiddle ( no, hardingfele) is a traditional stringed instrument considered to be the national instrument of Norway. In modern designs, this type of fiddle is very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings (rather than fo ...
, which was taken into use from c. 1750. The dance tunes of the valley have a distinct pattern, following three different lines of tradition, one in the south, at
Nes The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...
, and two in the area of
Ã…l Ã…l is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hallingdal. The administ ...
. The tunes from Ã…l are recognized by a distinct rolling on the fiddle-bow, and the tunes are fairly old. From early on, Hallingdal also developed a tradition for
langeleik The ''langeleik'', also called langleik, is a Norwegian stringed folklore musical instrument, a droned zither. Description The langeleik has only one melody string and up to 8 drone strings. Under the melody string there are seven frets per oct ...
, partly replaced by the fiddle. The folk music tradition is held alive even today in the valley. After the opening of the
Bergen Line The Bergen Line or the Bergen Railway ( no, Bergensbanen or nn, Bergensbana), is a long scenic standard gauge railway line between Bergen and Hønefoss, Norway. The name is often applied for the entire route from Bergen via Drammen to Oslo, ...
Railway between Oslo and Bergen, the
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
came into more frequent use. Many fiddle tunes were adapted to the new instrument – usually a diatonic button accordion. Hallingdal is the most common area where the old fiddle music were adapted like this in local tradition. The Halling is the name of an old folk dance that is traditionally used in Norway. Each dancer is alone, in contrast to the more common couple's dances. The climax of the dance is known as thrown Halling, where the goal is to kick down a hat from a stick. The dance is often called ''Lausdans'' meaning "loose dance" in Hallingdal and Valdres, but is known as the Halling in most other valleys.


Dialect

The Halling dialect is the distinctive regional dialect of Hallingdal. It has many features in common with Valdresmålet, the regional dialect common to neighboring
Valdres Valdres () is a traditional district in central, southern Norway, situated between the districts of Gudbrandsdalen and Hallingdal. The region of Valdres consists of the six municipalities of Nord-Aurdal, Sør-Aurdal, Øystre Slidre, Vestre Slidre ...
. Differences exist within the dialect, generally between the lower and upper parts of the valley. Here, as elsewhere, regional dialects are under strong pressure to change due to outside forces such as mass media and increased mobility in society.


See also

*
Hallingdalselva Hallingdalselva ( en, Hallingdal River) is a river which flows through the valley and traditional district of Hallingdal in Buskerud County, Norway. Within the valley, the river is often referred to as the Great River (''Storåne''). Hallingdal ...
*
Hallingdal Museum Hallingdal Museum Nesbyen (formerly Hallingdal Folkemuseum) is an open-air museum at Nesbyen within Nes in Viken county, Norway. Hallingdal Folk Museum was founded in 1899. It is one of the oldest open-air museums in Norway. The museum has 30 h ...
*
Hallingmål-Valdris Hallingmål-Valdris (also known by the individual names ''Halling'', ''Hallingdøl'', or ''Valdresmål'') is a group of Norwegian dialects traditionally spoken in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional districts Hallingdal, Buskerud and ...


References


External links

{{Wikivoyage
Hallingdal Regional Council website

Rosemaling in the Hallingdal Style
Districts of Viken Valleys of Viken Old roads of Norway