HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jotunheimen (; "the home of the
Jötunn A (also jotun; in the normalised scholarly spelling of Old Norse, ; ; plural / ) or, in Old English, (plural ) is a type of supernatural being in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, they are often contrasted with gods ( Æsir and Vani ...
") is a mountainous area of roughly in southern
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 ...
and is part of the long range known as the Scandinavian Mountains. The 29 highest
mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...
s in Norway are all located in the Jotunheimen mountains, including the tall mountain
Galdhøpiggen Galdhøpiggen () is the highest mountain in Norway, Scandinavia, and Northern Europe. The tall mountain is located in Lom Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is in the Jotunheimen mountains within Jotunheimen National Park. The moun ...
(the highest point in Norway). The Jotunheimen mountains straddle the border between
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 ...
and
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 ...
counties (historically part of the old
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 c ...
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 ...
counties).


Tourism

Jotunheimen is very popular with hikers and climbers, and the
Norwegian Mountain Touring Association The Norwegian Trekking Association ( no, Den norske turistforening, DNT) is a Norwegian association which maintains mountain trails and cabins in Norway. The association was founded on 21 January 1868 with the scope "to help and develop tourism i ...
maintains a number of mountain lodges in the area, as well as marked trails that run between the lodges and others that run up to some of the peaks. The area has more than 50 marked trails, ranging from shorter hikes to multi day trails. The image from Gjende shows a cliff trailing down into the lake. At its base there is a popular guest house called Memurubu. The picture is taken from Gjendesheim, a starting point for hiking into the mountain range. There is a very popular trail along Besseggen that follows the edge of the mountainous range to the right, which it is named after. There is a National Tourist Route, the Sognefjell Road, from Skjolden to Lom and another road, the RV 51, from Gol to
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 Besshe ...
through the special area of Valdresflya.


Etymology

Originally there was no common name for this large mountainous area. However, in 1820, the Norwegian geologist and mountaineer, Baltazar Mathias Keilhau proposed the name ''Jotunfjeldene'' "the mountains of the Jotnar" (inspired by the German name
Riesengebirge The Giant Mountains, Krkonoše or Karkonosze (Czech: , Polish: , german: Riesengebirge) are a mountain range located in the north of the Czech Republic and the south-west of Poland, part of the Sudetes mountain system (part of the Bohemian Massif ...
). This was later changed to ''Jotunheimen'' by the poet
Aasmund Olavsson Vinje Aasmund Olavsson Vinje (6 April 1818 – 30 July 1870) was a Norwegian poet and journalist who is remembered for poetry, travel writing, and his pioneering use of Landsmål (now known as Nynorsk). Background Vinje was born into a poor but ...
in 1862 – this name/form was directly inspired by the name
Jötunheimr The terms Jötunheimr (in Old Norse orthography: Jǫtunheimr ; often anglicised as Jotunheim) or Jötunheimar refer to either a land or multiple lands in Nordic mythology inhabited by the jötnar. are typically, but not exclusively, presente ...
in Norse mythology.


Geology

Jotunheimen is a residual mountain, which is a mass of rock that has remained in place as the surrounding relief has been eroded. The tops of
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 ...
and Jotunheimen and other parts of southern Norway are the few remnants of a formerly flat surface that existed in Norway prior to uplift. This surface is now largely eroded and warped. The said erosion formed a series of steps and it is from the highest of these steps that Jotunheimen rise.


Jotunheimen National Park

Jotunheimen contains Jotunheimen National Park, which was established in 1980 and covers an area of . The Hurrungane mountain range is also inside the national park with the sharpest peaks in Jotunheimen. Adjacent to the national park border is Utladalen Nature Reserve which covers the Utladalen valley and the mountain Falketind, amongst others. According to the anthropologist Shoshi Parks, “Three national parks converge in this region of
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 ...
, but Jotunheimen is by far the most spectacular, with 250 peaks over high, including two of the highest in northern Europe – (Galdhøpiggen and Glittertind),”


Human presence

The Jotunheimen shoe was discovered in August 2006. Archaeologists estimate that the leather shoe was made between 1800 and 1100 BC, making it the oldest article of clothing discovered in Scandinavia. It was discovered along with several arrows and a wooden spade, leading archaeologists to conclude that they had unearthed an important hunting ground. In February 2020, Secrets of the Ice Program researchers discovered a 1,500-year-old Viking arrowhead dating back to the Germanic Iron age and locked in a glacier in southern
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 ...
caused by the climate change in the Jotunheimen Mountains. The arrowhead made of iron was revealed with its cracked wooden shaft and a feather, is long and weighs just .


Traffic

Despite the large area of Jotunheimen, there are few roads for car traffic. Between Jotunheimen and
Breheimen Breheimen is a mountain range in the Innlandet and Vestland counties in Norway. The area lies west of the Jotunheimen mountain range. The mountain range lies to the northwest of the Sognefjellsvegen road, north of the Sognefjorden, south of the ...
, the plateau is crossed by the
Norwegian County Road 55 County Road 55 ( no, Fylkesvei 55) is a highway which runs between the municipalities of Lom and Høyanger in Norway. The section across Sognefjellet, known as Sognefjellsvegen, is designated a National Tourist Route. Also a short section at ...
. To the west, the road continues further from Skjolden via
Sogndalsfjøra Sogndalsfjøra is a village in the municipality of Sogndal in Vestland county, Norway. It is located where the river Sogndalselvi runs out in the Sogndalsfjorden, a branch of the large Sognefjorden. The village is located about northwest of the v ...
, Balestrand and
Høyanger Høyanger () is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center is the village of Høyanger. Other villages in Høyanger municipality include Austreim, Bjordal, Kyrkjeb� ...
to the European route E39. In the east, the road leads to Lom. A few small dirt roads lead to different parts of the edge of Jotunheimen National Park, although the area of the national park itself is practically roadless. A small exception, however, is a blind road in the Veodalen to Glitterheim, whose head is inside the national park area near the
Glittertind Glittertind or Glittertinden is a mountain in Lom Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The tall mountain is the second highest mountain in Norway. It is located in the Jotunheimen mountains within Jotunheimen National Park. The mountai ...
.


See also

* Bjørn G. Andersen *
Eidsbugarden Eidsbugarden is a tourist center which lies at the western end of Lake Bygdin in the Jotunheimen mountain range on the outskirts of Jotunheim National Park in Oppland, Norway. Eidsbugarden lies to the southeast in Jotunheim. A memorial was raised ...
*
Jens Esmark Jens Esmark (31 January 1763 – 26 January 1839) was a Danish-Norwegian professor of mineralogy who contributed to many of the initial discoveries and conceptual analyses of glaciers, specifically the concept that glaciers had covered larger ...
* Jotunheimvegen * Prinsehytta *
Tourism in Norway As of 2019, Norway ranks 22nd in the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report. Tourism in Norway contributed to 4.2% of the gross domestic product as reported in 2018. Every seven in a hundred people throughout the countr ...
* Vestre Hestlægerhøe


References


External links


Jotunheimen website

Tilltopps - Hiking in Jotunheimen.



UT: Hiking trails in Jotunheimen

Jotunheimen Travel: Multi-day tours in Jotunheimen

Sognefjell Road

Jotunheimen in pictures

The Jotunheimen Mountains - the official travel guide to Norway
{{Authority control Mountain ranges of Norway Landforms of Innlandet Landforms of Vestland