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 ...

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 ...

county,

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 is located in the traditional district of

Gudbrandsdal Gudbrandsdalen (; en, Gudbrand Valley) is a valley and Districts of Norway, traditional district in the Norway, Norwegian county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer (town), Lille ...

. The

administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

of the municipality is the village of

Vålebru Ringebu or Vålebru is the administrative centre of Ringebu Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located in the Gudbrandsdal valley, along the Gudbrandsdalslågen river. The European route E6 highway and the Dovrebanen railw ...

(the village is also known as ''Ringebu''). The municipality is the 85th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Ringebu is the 195th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 4,385. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

is and its population has decreased by 3.9% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The

prestegjeld A ''prestegjeld'' was a geographic and administrative area within the Church of Norway (''Den Norske Kirke'') roughly equivalent to a parish. This traditional designation was in use for centuries to divide the kingdom into ecclesiastical areas tha ...

of Ringebu was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January ...

law). In 1864, the northern part of Ringebu (population: 386) was separated to become the new municipality of

Sollia Sollia is a village in Stor-Elvdal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located just up the hill from the Setninga river, about northwest of the town of Koppang and about north of the village of Ringebu. Sollia Church is lo ...

. (In 1890, Sollia switched from

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 to

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 merged i ...

county.) On 1 January 1899, an unpopulated part of Ringebu (in Oppland county) was transferred to the neighboring municipality of

(in Hedmark county).

Name

The municipality (and parish) was named after the old ''Ringebu'' farm ( non, Ringabú or ) since this was the site of the old

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 ...

. The first element is probably derived from ' which means "ring" (but in what context is unknown). The last element is ''bú'' which means "rural district".

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

was granted in 1992. The arms show three orange

flame A flame (from Latin ''flamma'') is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction taking place in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density they ...

s on a red background. This represents the municipality's three valleys and three

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 ...

es: Ringebu,

Fåvang Fåvang is a village in Ringebu Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located in the Gudbrandsdal valley, along the Gudbrandsdalslågen river, about north of the town of Lillehammer. The European route E6 highway runs through ...

, and Venabygd. Fire was chosen to represent the need for heat and light by all people.

Churches

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 ...

has three parishes () within the municipality of Ringebu. It is part of the

Sør-Gudbrandsdal prosti The list of churches in Hamar is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Hamar which includes all of Innlandet county (plus two municipalities in Viken county) in Norway. The list is divided into several sections, one for each d ...

(

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

) in the

Diocese of Hamar The Diocese of Hamar ( no, Hamar Bispedømme) is a diocese within the Church of Norway. The Diocese of Hamar includes all of the churches in Innlandet county plus the churches in Lunner in Viken county. Administratively, the diocese is divided ...

History

The stave church at Ringebu was built around the year 1220 and it is one of fewer than 30 surviving

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 ...

es in Norway and is one of the largest. About north of the church lies the old

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 ...

farm which is the legendary home of

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 ...

. Dale-Gudbrand is mentioned 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 ...

'' ( en, The 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.

Geography

Ringebu is bordered to the west by

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, Harpe ...

municipality, to the southwest by

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 ...

municipality, to the southeast by

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 ...

municipality, and to the east and north by

Stor-Elvdal Stor-Elvdal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Koppang. Other villages in the municipality include Atna, Even ...

municipality. The administrative center of Ringebu municipality is the village of

which is located at an elevation of above sea level in the valley along 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 ...

, but 50% of the area within the municipal borders lies at an elevation greater than above sea level. From Ringebu, two

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...

es provide road access into the Østerdal valley to the northeast; one of these is closed during the winter. Because these mountain areas reliably provide good snow conditions, the area is a popular

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

destination. The

Kvitfjell Kvitfjell ( no, White mountain) is a ski resort in Norway, located in the municipality of Ringebu. Developed for the Alpine skiing at the 1994 Winter Olympics, 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, it is one of the most modern resorts in the world ...

ski area in Ringebu was expanded to serve as a downhill venue for 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 ...

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Ringebu, are responsible for

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wiktionary:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physical and menta ...

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), w ...

and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. The municipality is governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a populatio ...

representatives, which in turn elects a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

. The municipality falls under the

Vestre Innlandet District Court Vestre Innlandet District Court ( no, Vestre Innlandet tingrett) is a district court (Norway), district court located in Innlandet county, Norway. This court is based at four different courthouses which are located in Gjøvik (town), Gjøvik, Fag ...

and the

Eidsivating Court of Appeal The Eidsivating Court of Appeal ( no, Eidsivating lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Hamar. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Innlandet and eastern Viken. These ...

Municipal council

The

of Ringebu is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayors

The mayors of Ringebu: *1838–1853: Vilhelm Fegth *1854–1871: Nils Iversen Elstad *1872–1873: Nils Johannessen Jevne *1874–1877: John Kristiansen Mæhlum *1878–1881: Ole Chr. Elstad *1882–1883: Nils Iversen Elstad *1884–1893: Ole Chr. Elstad ( H) *1894–1897: Simen Kolstad ( V) *1898-1899: Ole Chr. Elstad ( H) *1899–1910: Simen Kolstad ( AD) *1911–1913: Jon Nordrum ( H) *1914–1925: Simen Kolstad ( AD) *1926–1928: Einar Vestad ( Sp) *1929–1934: Johan Hustveit ( AD) *1935–1937: Einar Vestad ( Sp) *1938–1941: Johan Hustveit ( AD) *1942–1945: Sigurd Mytting ( NS) *1945–1959: Asbjørn Haug ( Ap) *1960–1967: Ole Ringen ( V) *1968–1985: Birger Sæther ( Ap) *1985–1995: Erik S. Winther ( Ap) *1996–2007: Anders A. Fretheim ( Sp) *2007–2011: Arnhild Baukhol ( Ap) *2011–2015: Erik Odlo ( Sp) *2015–present: Arne Fossmo ( Ap)

Sister cities

Ringebu has

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

agreements with the following places: * -

Filipstad Filipstad is a locality and the seat of Filipstad Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden, with 10,644 inhabitants in 2019. Filipstad was granted city privileges in 1611 by Charles IX of Sweden, who named it after his son Duke Carl Philip (1601&n ...

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 ...

Notable people

* Frederik Petersen (1759 in Ringebu – 1825) a Norwegian painter of portraits * Jehans Nordbu (1768 in Ringebu — ca.1860) a Norwegian-American immigrant to the USA and an early settler in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Hans Engen Hans Kristian Engen (22 August 1912 – 6 April 1966) was a Norwegian journalist, diplomat and politician for the Labour Party. He was born in Ringebu. During the German occupation of Norway from 1940 to 1945, he was a coordinator of the coopera ...

(1912 in Ringebu – 1966) a Norwegian journalist, diplomat and politician, Norwegian ambassador to the United States from 1963 to 1966 * Emil Nyeng (born 1991) a Norwegian cross-country skier

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

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 ...

* * *
Frya Leir Motel
{{use dmy dates, date=June 2022 Municipalities of Innlandet 1838 establishments in Norway