Hol 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 ...
in
Viken
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 ...
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
,
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 ...
.
Administrative history
The area of Hol was separated from the municipality
Ål
Ål 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 ...
in 1877 to become a separate municipality. In 1937 a part of neighboring
Uvdal
Uvdal is a village and former municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is situated in the traditional region of Numedal and is the location of the Uvdal Stave Church.
The municipality was created by a split from Nore on 1 January 1901. The ne ...
with 220 inhabitants moved to Hol municipality. The area was transferred from Uvdal to Hol in 1944. Uvdal was reunited with Nore to form the new municipality of
Nore og Uvdal
Nore og Uvdal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Numedal. The administrative centre of the municipality is ...
.
General information
''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 or m ...
) is named after the old ''Hol'' farm (
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 ...
: ), since the first church was built here. The name is identical with the word , which means 'round (and isolated) hill'.
''Villages and hamlets in Hol municipality''
*
Dagali
Dagali is a small mountain village in Buskerud, Norway.
Summary
Dagali is located in Hol municipality. The village stretches from Pålsbufjorden on the east to the border of the Hardangervidda National Park in the west, a distance of approximate ...
*
Geilo
is a centre in the municipality of Hol in Viken county, Norway. Geilo is primarily a ski resort town, with around 2,500 inhabitants. It is situated in the valley of Hallingdal, 250 km from Oslo and 260 km from Bergen. The Bergen Line ...
*
Hagafoss
Hagafoss is a small village in Hol municipality in Buskerud, Norway.
Hagafoss is located in upper Hallingdal where the road branches off towards Aurland along Norwegian county road 50 (Fv50). The main tourist attraction in the village is Hol Bygd ...
*
Hol (village)
*
Hovet
Hovet (formerly known as Johanneshovs Isstadion or, in English: Johanneshov Stadium) is an arena located in the Johanneshov district of Stockholm (Stockholm Globe City) which is mainly used for ice hockey, concerts and corporate events. It was op ...
*
Kvisla
* Myrland
* Strønde
* Sudndalen
*
Vedalen
''Geography''
Hol is bordered to the north by
Lærdal
Lærdal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the south side of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Lærdalsøyri. The old Filefjell Kong ...
, to the north and east by
Ål
Ål 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 ...
, to the south by
Nore og Uvdal
Nore og Uvdal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Numedal. The administrative centre of the municipality is ...
, and to the west by
Eidfjord
Eidfjord is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality is located in the traditional district of Hardanger. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Eidfjord, where the majority of the municipal populatio ...
,
Ulvik
Ulvik is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality stretches from the Hardangerfjord to the mountains that reach above sea level. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ulvik. The villages of Osa and ...
and
Aurland
Aurland () is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located on the south side of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center is the village of Aurlandsvangen. Other villages include Bakka, ...
. Hol is a mountainous area, where over 90% of the area is at an altitude exceeding 900 meters above sea level. The
Hallingskarvet
Hallingskarvet is a mountain range in southern Norway stretching from Geilo to Finse in Vestland and Viken counties. The highest point is the tall mountain Folarskardnuten in Hol Municipality in Viken county.
In the north, there is a large damm ...
mountain range is the highest point in the municipality, at 1933 meters above sea level. The
Usta or Usteåne River flows northeast from Lake
Ustevatn
Ustevatn is a lake in the municipality of Hol in Viken county, Norway. The main inflow is on the west side of the lake provided by Ustekveikja, which originates from the area around Finse in Hordaland. Norwegian National Road 7 runs along the n ...
traveling down the Ustedalen valley. The
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 ...
River is formed by the confluence of the Usta River and the Holselva River from Lake
Strandavatnet
Strandavatnet is a lake in Hol municipality, Norway. The lake covers an area of , and lies above sea level.'
The lake is a reservoir for the Rud hydroelectric powerstation in Hovet, Buskerud. In 1952/1953 a dam was constructed which lifted the la ...
.
''Lakes''
*
Ustevatn
Ustevatn is a lake in the municipality of Hol in Viken county, Norway. The main inflow is on the west side of the lake provided by Ustekveikja, which originates from the area around Finse in Hordaland. Norwegian National Road 7 runs along the n ...
– in the municipality of Hol
*
Nygardsvatnet
Nygardsvatnet is a lake in the municipality of Hol in Viken county, Norway.
The lake is situated south of the Hallingskarvet mountain range. The lake serves as a reservoir for Usta kraftverk, a hydroelectric plant which was put into operation in ...
– in the municipality of Hol
*
Strandavatnet
Strandavatnet is a lake in Hol municipality, Norway. The lake covers an area of , and lies above sea level.'
The lake is a reservoir for the Rud hydroelectric powerstation in Hovet, Buskerud. In 1952/1953 a dam was constructed which lifted the la ...
– in the municipality of Hol
*
Ørteren
Ørteren is a lake in the municipality of Hol in Viken county, Norway.
Location
Ørteren is located in Hardangervidda. Norwegian National Road 7 runs along the east side of the Lake.
Power Plant
Ørteren is regulated for Ørteren Kraftverk, a ...
– in the municipality of Hol
*
Nyhellervatnet
Nyhellervatnet is a lake on the border of the municipalities of Hol (in Viken county) and Aurland (in Vestland county), Norway. The lake sits at an elevation of above sea level. The lake is located about southeast of the village of Aurlandsv ...
– on the border between Hol and
Aurland
Aurland () is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located on the south side of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center is the village of Aurlandsvangen. Other villages include Bakka, ...
,
Vestland
Vestland is a county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the city of Bergen, where t ...
county
*
Pålsbufjorden
Pålsbufjorden is a lake in the municipalities of Hol and Nore og Uvdal, both in Buskerud County, Norway. The water table lies 749 meters above sea level. The area of the lake is . The Pålsbu kraftverk hydro-electric plant was built to extract ...
– in the municipalities of Hol and Nore og Uvdal
*
Øvre Hein – in the municipalities of Hol and Nore og Uvdal
*
Djupsvatnet
Stolsvatnet is a regulated lake in the municipalities of Ål and Hol in Viken county, Norway. Stolsvatnet was formed in the late 1940s by the damming of the upper parts of three rivers, (Stolsvatn, Olsendvatn, Holselva) which created a continuous ...
– in the municipalities of Hol and Ål
*
Flakavatnet
Flakavatnet is an alpine lake on the border of Vestland and Viken counties in Norway. The lake lies in the municipalities of Ulvik (in Vestland) and Hol (in Viken) and the lake lies entirely within the Hallingskarvet National Park. The village ...
– in the municipalities of Hol and Ulvik,
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 ...
county
''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 w ...
of Hol is from modern times; the arms were granted on 5 July 1991. They show three silver
anvil
An anvil is a metalworking tool consisting of a large block of metal (usually forged or cast steel), with a flattened top surface, upon which another object is struck (or "worked").
Anvils are as massive as practical, because the higher th ...
s on a blue background and were designed by Trond Andersson. The three anvils are stacked one above the other, with the top one being largest and the bottom one smallest. The anvil was chosen to symbolize the former
smithies in the municipality, which were famous for the production of
axe
An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many for ...
s,
blade
A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on. Historic ...
s, and
knives
A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...
.
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 ...
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
was already practiced in the area in the
Viking Age
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 ...
.
(See also coat-of-arms of
Trøgstad
Trøgstad is a municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skjønhaug. The municipality is divided into the parishes of Skjønhaug, Havnås and Båstad. The parish of ''Trygstad'' was ...
)
Hol Old Church
Hol Old Church () is presumed to date from the 13th century, but the exact dating is unknown. The church is the oldest parish in Hol and is first mentioned in a letter from 1328 as a small
stave church
A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts a ...
with covered side porches (). The church has been expanded several times, in the 16th century, in 1697 and in 1798–99. It was rebuilt in 1888 and 1938. It is believed that the floor of the church was made using columns from the old stave church. The pulpit and baptismal font are from the Renaissance period (1697) and the altarpiece from 1703. The pulpit is placed above the altar.
Notable residents
![P9140112-Exposure lag kvalitet](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/P9140112-Exposure_lag_kvalitet.jpg)
*
Knut Henriksen Dybsjord (1809–1866), mayor and temperance movement activist
*
Pål Olson Grøt
Pål Olson Grøt (1813–1906) was a Norwegian rosemaling painter who belonged to the most important group of rosemaling painters in Hol. He was born in Hol in 1813 and lived until he moved to the village of Hovet, Buskerud, in 1852. He died there ...
(1813–1906),
Rosemåling
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 ...
painter
*
Olav Sletto
Olav Sletto (21 June 1886 – 24 October 1963 ) was a Norwegian novelist and educator. He was born in Hol, and was the father of Eva Sletto. He made his literary debut in 1908, with the story ''Dei gamle''. Among his historical novels is the t ...
(1886–1963), novelist and educator
*
Knut Bry
Knut Johannes Bry (born 3 October 1946) is a Norwegian fine-art photographer and film director.
Bry chose photography as a profession in 1975, when he was 29 years old. He has won a number of photographic awards, among them Photographer of th ...
(born 1946 in Hovet), fine-art photographer and film director
*
Terje Isungset
Terje Isungset (born May 4, 1964) is a Norwegian drummer. From his background in jazz and traditional Scandinavian music, he has designed musical instruments from non-traditional materials, including ice.
Career
Isungset was raised in Geil ...
(born 1964), musician, percussionist and composer
Sport
*
Margit Hvammen
Margit Hvammen (26 September 1932 – 10 May 2010) was a Norwegian alpine skier.
Career
Hvammen competed at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, where she placed 7th in the downhill, 18th in giant slalom, and 18th in slalom. She represented the club ...
(1932 in Geilo – 2010) alpine skier
*
Aud Hvammen
Aud Hvammen (born 31 May 1943) is a Norwegian alpine skier. She was born in Geilo, and is the sister of Margit Hvammen. She is married to Peder Lunde, and mother of Jeanette Lunde. She participated at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble
l ...
(born 1943 in Geilo), alpine skier
*
Anne Brusletto
Anne Brusletto (born 24 January 1951) is a Norwegian alpine skier. She was born in Geilo. She participated at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo
( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is th ...
(born 1951 in Geilo), alpine skier
*
Martin Hole
Martin Hole (born 28 July 1959) is a Norwegian cross-country skier. He was born in Geilo, and represented the club Geilo IL. He competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.
He also won two Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer ...
(born 1959), former cross country runner
*
Ådne Søndrål
Ådne Søndrål (born 10 May 1971) is a former Norwegian speed skater.
Søndrål, representing Hol IL, was one of the best 1500 m skaters through most of the 1990s. He placed 2nd in the 1992 Winter Olympics and 4th in the 1994 Olympics. He ...
(born 1971), former speed skater and gold medallist at the
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...
*
Håvard Bøkko
Håvard Bøkko (; born 2 February 1987) is a Norwegian former speed skater, and the premier skater from his country since 2008, with 32 national championships and thirteen international medals. He had junior results similar to those of Sven Krame ...
(born 1987 in Hovet), speed skater
*
Roger S. Kleivdal (born 1988), snowboarder
*
Christoffer Fagerli Rukke
Christoffer Fagerli Rukke (; born 17 April 1988) is a Norwegian speed skating, speed-skater who competes for the club Hol IL. He represented Norway at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Before the 2012–13 season, Rukke has started 78 indiv ...
(born 1988), speed skater
*
Hege Bøkko
Hege Bøkko (; born 5 September 1991) is a Norwegian long-track speedskater, and the younger sister of Håvard Bøkko.
Personal life
Hege was born in Hønefoss in Buskerud county, Norway in 1991, but she has been living in Hovet, Buskerud her w ...
(born 1991 in Hovet), speed skater
*
Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen
Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen (born 12 May 1992) is a Norwegian biathlete.
Early life
Christiansen was born in Geilo, a centre in the municipality of Hol, to Randi Sjåstad and her husband Georg William Christiansen. His younger sister, Tiril Sjå ...
(born 1992 in Geilo), biathlete
*
Tiril Sjåstad Christiansen
Tiril Sjåstad Christiansen (born 7 April 1995) is a Norwegian freestyle skier. She hails from Geilo and represents Geilo IL. She won her first Winter X Games medal in the Women's Slopestyle at the Winter X Games XVII in Aspen, Colorado. She won ...
(born 1995 in Geilo), freestyle skier
Gallery
File:2001 07 04 Aurlandsdalen Geiteryggvannet.jpg, Lake Geiteryggen
File:Farm in Hol.jpg, Traditionally built farm in Hol
File:Flakavatn, S. Norway Oct 19, 2005.jpg, Lake Flakavatn
File:Geilo i mai.jpg, Geilo
File:2001 07 03 06AurlandsdalenGeiteryggen.jpg, Geiteryggen
File:Skurdalen kirke.jpg, Skurdalen Church (''Skurdalskyrkja'')
File:2001 07 04 Over Rossdøla under Bolhovd.jpg, Rossdøla River
Attractions
*
Hallingskarvet National Park
Hallingskarvet National Park ( no, Hallingskarvet nasjonalpark) is a national park in central Norway that was established by the government on 22 December 2006. The park is located in the municipalities of Hol (Viken county), Ulvik and Aurland ( ...
– national park in the municipalities of Hol (Buskerud), Ulvik (Hordaland) and Aurland (Sogn og Fjordane)
*
Hol Bygdemuseum Hol Bygdamuseum is an open-air museum located at the village of Hagafoss in Hol in Viken (county), Viken county, Norway.
Hol Bygdamuseum is a subsidiary of Hallingdal Museum, the regional folk museum for Buskerud. The museum is located in the trad ...
– located along the road from
Ål
Ål 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 ...
to
Geilo
is a centre in the municipality of Hol in Viken county, Norway. Geilo is primarily a ski resort town, with around 2,500 inhabitants. It is situated in the valley of Hallingdal, 250 km from Oslo and 260 km from Bergen. The Bergen Line ...
in the small village of
Hagafoss
Hagafoss is a small village in Hol municipality in Buskerud, Norway.
Hagafoss is located in upper Hallingdal where the road branches off towards Aurland along Norwegian county road 50 (Fv50). The main tourist attraction in the village is Hol Bygd ...
. The museum is built as an old farm () with buildings of the local type. There are a total of 17 buildings, of which two, and , have decorative wall paintings on the walls.
*
Dagali Museum
Dagali Museum is a small local museum in Dagali, within the Hol municipality in Viken county, Norway. The museum is a subsidiary of the Hallingdal Museum.
Gunnar Steensen (1870-1970) initiated the collection of historic buildings now comprising th ...
– museum with ten buildings located in the middle of
Dagali
Dagali is a small mountain village in Buskerud, Norway.
Summary
Dagali is located in Hol municipality. The village stretches from Pålsbufjorden on the east to the border of the Hardangervidda National Park in the west, a distance of approximate ...
, on the edge 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 ...
. The buildings came from Dagali,
Skurdalen,
Tunhovd, and
Uvdal
Uvdal is a village and former municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is situated in the traditional region of Numedal and is the location of the Uvdal Stave Church.
The municipality was created by a split from Nore on 1 January 1901. The ne ...
; the oldest dates to the 18th century.
* Dagali Skisenter –
alpine resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...
in Dagali, also offering sled-racing, with one of Norway's longest sled-racing hills.
*
Dr Holms Hotel
Dr. Holms Hotel is a resort hotel in the ski resort town of Geilo in Viken county, Norway.
Originally known as Dr. Holms Høifjeldshotel, the hotel was established in 1909, at the same time as the opening of the Bergen Line between Oslo and Berg ...
– resort hotel in the ski resort town of Geilo
Sister cities
The following cities are
twinned with Hol:
* –
Halinga Parish
Halinga was a municipality located in Pärnu County, one of the 15 counties of Estonia.
Settlements
;Borough:
Pärnu-Jaagupi
;Villages:
Aasa, Altküla, Anelema, Arase, Eametsa, Eense, Eerma, Enge, Ertsma, Halinga, Helenurme, Kablim ...
,
Pärnu County
Pärnu County ( et, Pärnu maakond or ''Pärnumaa''; german: Kreis Pernau) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in the south-western part of the country, on the coast of Gulf of Riga, and borders Lääne and Rapla counties to the nor ...
,
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 ...
* –
Mäntyharju
Mäntyharju (, literally 'Pine Ridge') is a municipality of Finland.
It is located in the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of
() and covers an area of of
which
is water. The coastline is almost . The population density ...
,
Itä-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 ...
* –
Säffle
Säffle () is a locality and the seat of Säffle Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden with 9,150 inhabitants in 2016.
In 1951 the town of Säffle was officially awarded City status, the last place for this to occur in Sweden. This was abolished ...
,
Värmland County
Värmland County (''Värmlands län'') is a county or '' län'' in west central Sweden. It borders the Swedish counties of Dalarna, Örebro and Västra Götaland, as well as the Norwegian counties of Viken and Innlandet to the west. Prince Carl P ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
See also
*
1980 Winter Paralympics
The 1980 Winter Paralympic Games ( no, Paralympiske vinterleker 1980; nn, Paralympiske vinterleikane 1980), the second Winter Paralympics, were held from 1 to 7 February 1980 in Geilo, Norway. Eighteen countries took part with 299 athletes. A d ...
*
Blåbergi
*
Ljøtebotnberget
External links
Municipal fact sheetfrom
Statistics Norway
Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876.
Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every yea ...
*
Dagali Opplevelser– offering a great deal of activities in and around Dagali
Dagali Skisenter– The alpine resort in Dagali
Map hiking and DNT cabins
References
{{Authority control
Hallingdal
Municipalities of Buskerud
Municipalities of Viken (county)