Oppland is a former county 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 ...

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 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

Hedmark Hedmark () was a county in Norway before 1 January 2020, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar. Hedmark and Oppland counties were merg ...

. The county administration was located in the town of Lillehammer.

Merger

On 1 January 2020, the neighboring counties of Oppland and

were merged to form the new Innlandet county. Both Oppland and Hedmark were the only landlocked counties of

, and the new Innlandet county is the only landlocked county in Norway. The two counties had historically been one county that was divided in 1781. Historically, the region was commonly known as " Opplandene". In 1781, the government split the area into two: Hedemarkens amt and Kristians amt (later renamed

and Oppland. In 2017, the government approved the merger of the two counties. There were several names debated, but the government settled on '' Innlandet''.

Geography

Oppland extended from the lakes

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 riv ...

and Randsfjorden to the mountains Dovrefjell, Jotunheimen and Rondane. Gråhøe is a mountain on the border between the municipalities of Sel and Dovre in Oppland. The county was conventionally divided into traditional districts. These are the Gudbrandsdalen, Valdres, Toten, Hadeland and Land. Oppland included the towns Lillehammer, Gjøvik, Otta, and Fagernes, and Norway's two highest mountains, Glittertind and Galdhøpiggen, Valdres and the

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 ...

being popular attractions. The Gudbrand Valley surrounds the river Gudbrandsdalslågen, and includes the area extending from Jotunheimen down to Bagn at Begna River. It is a well known place for

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ...

and winter sports. The main population centres in this area were Beitostølen and Fagernes. Eight of the ten highest mountains in Norway are located in the western part of Oppland.

Etymology

Norse Norse is a demonym for Norsemen, a medieval North Germanic ethnolinguistic group ancestral to modern Scandinavians, defined as speakers of Old Norse from about the 9th to the 13th centuries. Norse may also refer to: Culture and religion * Nor ...

times the inner parts of Norway were called '' Upplǫnd'' which means 'the upper countries'. The first element is ''upp'' which means 'upper'. The last element is ''lǫnd'' which is the plural form of 'land'. In 1757 the inner parts of the great Akershus

amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

were separated, and given the name ''Oplandenes Amt''. This was divided in 1781 into ''Christians Amt'' (named after the king Christian VII) and '' Hedemarkens Amt''. The name/form was changed to ''Kristians Amt'' in 1877 after an official spelling reform that changed ch to k (see also Kristiania,

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, f ...

and Kristiansund). In 1919, the name ''Kristians Amt'' was changed (back) to ''Opland fylke'', and the spelling ''Oppland'' was approved in 1950.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted in 1989, and it showed two '' Pulsatilla vernalis''.

Municipalities

Oppland County (Christians Amt) Formannskapsdistrikt Original spellings of counties and municipalities in parentheses. had a total of 26 municipalities:

Districts

* Begnadalen *

Espedalen Espedalen is a valley in the Sør-Fron and Gausdal municipalities of Innlandet county, Norway. The long valley is a continuation of the Gausdalen valley, which itself is a side valley that branches off of the main Gudbrandsdal valley in Eastern ...

* Gudbrandsdalen * Hadeland * Heidal * Hunndalen * Land * Toten * Valdres * Vestoppland

Cities

* Gjøvik * Lillehammer * Fagernes * Otta * Vinstra

Parishes

* Aulstad * Aurdal * Austsinni * Bagn * Balke * Begndal * Biri * Brandbu (Nes) * Bruflat * Bøverdal * Dovre * Eina * Etnedal * Fluberg * Follebu (Folleboe) * Fåberg * Fåvang (Fodevang) * Garmo * Gausdal * Gjøvik * Gran * Hedal * Hegge * Heidal * Hoff * Hunn * Hurum * Høre * Jevnaker * Kolbu * Kvam * Kvikne (Quiekne) * Land * Lesja (Læssø) * Lesjaskog * Lillehammer * Lom * Lomen (Røn, Røen) * Lunner * Mesna * Nes (Brandbu) * Nord-Aurdal * Nord-Fron * Nordberg * Nordre Etnedal * Nordre Land * Nordsinni (Hogner) * Nykirke * Reinli * Ringebu * Rogne * Røn (Røen) * Saksumdal * Sel * Sister * Skiåker * Skjåk * Skrautvål * Slidredomen * Snertingdal * St. Mary * St. Thomas * Strand * Svatsum * Svenes * Sødorp (Søthorp) * Søndre Land * Sør-Aurdal * Sør-Fron *

Tingelstad Tingelstad is a village in Gran Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located about to the southwest of the village of Brandbu and about east of the large lake Randsfjorden. Tingelstad is the location of the Hadeland Folkem ...

* Torpa * Tretten (Trøtten) * Ulnes * Vang * Vardal * Venabygd * Vestre Gausdal * Vestre Slidre * Vestre Toten * Volbu * Vågå * Østre Gausdal * Østre Slidre * Østre Toten * Østsinni (Gårder) * Øye (Øie) * Øyer * Åmot * Ås

Villages

* Aurdal * Bagn * Begna * Beitostølen * Bismo * Biri *

Bjoneroa Bjoneroa is a village in Gran Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the western shore of Norway's fourth largest lake, Randsfjorden. The village lies in the far northwestern part of Gran, just along the municip ...

* Bjorli * Bjølstad *

Bjørgo Bjørgo is a Norwegian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Narve Bjørgo (born 1936), Norwegian historian * Tore Bjørgo (born 1958), Norwegian criminologist *Trygve Bjørgo Trygve Bjørgo (5 January 1916 – 2 March 1997) was a No ...

* Brandbu *

Brekkom Brekkom is a village in Ringebu Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located in the Gudbrandsdal valley, on a mountainside about above the village of Fåvang which sits on the shore of the river Gudbrandsdalslågen The Gud ...

* Bruflat * Bybrua *

Bøverbru Bøverbru is a village in Vestre Toten Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located about to the southeast of the village of Reinsvoll and about to the northwest of the village of Kolbu in neighboring Østre Toten Muni ...

Dale Dale or dales may refer to: Locations * Dale (landform), an open valley * Dale (place name element) Geography ;Australia * The Dales (Christmas Island), in the Indian Ocean ;Canada * Dale, Ontario ;Ethiopia *Dale (woreda), district ;Norway *D ...

* Dokka * Dombås * Dovre * Egge * Eina * Fagernes *

Fluberg Fluberg is a village in Søndre Land Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located near the north end of the Randsfjorden, about north of the village of Hov and about to the southeast of the village of Dokka. The villa ...

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. ...

* Forset * Fåberg * Fåvang * Grotli * Grua * Harestua * Harpefoss * Hjerkinn * Hov *

Høvringen Høvringen is a village in Sel Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located in the northern part of the municipality, high up in the mountains along the Gudbrandsdalen valley. The village area sits at an elevation of about a ...

* Jaren * Jevnaker * Kapp * Kolbu * Kvam * Lalm * Leira * Lena * Lensbygda * Lesjaskog * Lesjaverk * Lora * Moane * Nordlia * Odnes * Raufoss * Reinsvoll * Ringstad * Røn * Sandbumoen *

Segalstad bru Segalstad bru () is the administrative centre of Gausdal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located at the crossroad between Østre Gausdal and Vestre Gausdal. The village sits along the north side of the river Jøra, a ...

* Skogbygda * Skrautvål * Skreia *

Skåbu Skåbu is a village in Nord-Fron Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the river Vinstra, about southwest of the town of Vinstra. Skåbu has about 600 inhabitants. Skåbu Church is located in the village. Skåb ...

* Sletta * Slidre *

Snertingdal Snertingdal is a former municipality in the old Oppland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1910 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Gjøvik Municipality in the traditional district of Vestoppland. The administrativ ...

* Svingvoll * Tretten * Tyinkrysset * Vang i Valdres * Vinstra *

Vågåmo Vågåmo is the administrative centre of Vågå Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the Otta River, at the eastern end of the lake Vågåvatn in the Ottadalen valley. The Norwegian National Road 15 passes throug ...