Rollag 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 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 ...

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 ...

. It is part of the

traditional region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic, linguistic or political basis, regardless of latterday borders. They are used as delimitations for studying and analysing social ...

Numedal Numedal () is a valley and a traditional district in Eastern Norway located within the county of Buskerud. It traditionally includes the municipalities Flesberg, Nore og Uvdal and Rollag. Administratively, it now also includes Kongsberg. Geog ...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rollag, although the most populated area in the municipality is

Veggli Veggli is a village in the municipality of Rollag, in the county of Buskerud, Norway. Veggli is located about 66 kilometers north of Kongsberg. It is located in the traditional district and valley of Numedal. It is situated on the Numedalsl ...

. Rollag is bordered in the north by Nore og Uvdal, in the east by

Sigdal Sigdal is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Prestfoss. The municipality of Sigdal was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The area of Krødsherad was sepa ...

, in the south by

Flesberg Flesberg is a municipality in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Numedal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lampeland. The economy of ...

, and in the west by

Tinn Tinn is a municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional regions of Upper Telemark and Øst-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Rjukan. The parish of ''T ...

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 ...

General information

History

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 ''Rollag'' 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 ...

: ''Roll(u)lag''), since the first church was built here. The first element is probably (the

genitive case In grammar, the genitive case (abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can al ...

of) a river name ''Rolla'' (now called the ''Troelva'' river) and the last element is ''lag'' which means "fishing place". The municipality of Rollag was established 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 ...

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 ...

was separated from Rollag in 1858. 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 ...

is from modern times. They were granted in 1993. The arms show two gold-colored lines on a red background. The lines represent an old warning

cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...

made of timber.

Geography

The municipality lies in the heart of the

and

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 ...

, the westernmost valley in southeastern Norway. The river ''

Numedalslågen Numedalslågen is a river located in the counties of Vestfold and Telemark and Viken in southeastern Norway. It is one of the longest rivers in Norway. Location Numedalslågen stretches for over through the counties of Vestfold and Telemark and ...

'' flows through Rollag and into the

Ytre Oslofjord Ytre Oslofjord (Norwegian literally "Outer Oslo Fjord") is that part of Oslofjord which is south of the threshold of Drøbaksund (literally Drøbak Sound), the strait where the fjord narrows between Drøbak and Hurum, Norway. Ytre Oslofjord stret ...

Larvik Larvik () is a List of cities in Norway, town and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. The municipality ...

. In the northwest of the Rollag lie the Vegglifjell mountains, which are an entryway into the

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 municipality's highest point is Storegrønut at located in the Vegglifjell mountains. Rollag stavkirke TRS 2

Rollag stave church

Rollag stave church Rollag Stave Church ( no, Rollag stavkyrkje) is a stave church in the municipality of Rollag in Viken county, Norway. The church is located a few kilometres north of the centre of the village of Rollag. History Rollag Stave Church was probably o ...

(''Rollag stavkirke'') was built around 1150–1200. It is located a few kilometres north of the centre of Rollag. It was extended and windows were added in 1652. A new

Apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

was added in 1666. The

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

was constructed in 1697–1698. A gallery was added in 1702. The

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

was built in 1739. A

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

pulpit was added in 1763.

Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Rollag: *

Jokioinen Jokioinen ( sv, Jockis) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Tavastia Proper regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population de ...

Southern Finland Southern Finland ( fi, Etelä-Suomen lääni, sv, Södra Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Western Finland and Eastern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Finland and Russia. History O ...

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 ...

Notable people

Niels Andreas Vibe Niels Andreas Vibe (12 July 1759 – 9 September 1814) was a Norwegian military officer and civil and royal servant. He served as County Governor of ''Nordre Bergenhus Amt'' from 1802 to 1811, as General War Commissioner of Norway from 1811 to 181 ...

(1759 in Rollag – 1814) a Norwegian military officer, civil and royal servant *

Ole Knudsen Nattestad Ole Knudsen Nattestad (1807–1886) was a Norwegian-American leader and pioneer immigrant settler. Together with his brother Ansten Nattestad, he played a key role in promoting immigration from Norway and for directing immigrants to southern Wiscons ...

(1807 in Veggli – 1886) a Norwegian-American pioneer immigrant settler * Christian Sparre (1859–1940) a Commanding Admiral and politician; brought up in Rollag * Herbrand Lofthus (1889 in Veggli 1972) a lightweight Greco-Roman wrestler, competed at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

* Kittill Kristoffersen Berg (1903 in Rollag – 1983) a labourer, log driver, farmer and politician * Halvor Kongsjorden (1911 in Veggli – 1990) a sport shooter, Olympic competitor in 1948 and a Norwegian resistance member *

Ragnar Tveiten Ragnar Tveiten (born 27 November 1938) is a former Norwegian biathlete The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose d ...

(born 1938 in Veggli) a former Norwegian biathlete

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 ...

*
Culture in Rollag on the map
from

Kulturnett.no The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality ( no, Det kongelige kultur- og likestillingsdepartement; short name ''Kultur- og likestillingsdepartementet'') is responsible for cultural policy, regulations and other matters related to the ...

Another map of Rollag
{{Authority control Municipalities of Buskerud Municipalities of Viken (county) Villages in Buskerud Populated places on the Numedalslågen