Skjåk 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

Bismo Bismo is the administrative centre of Skjåk municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the river Otta in the Ottadalen valley, about east of Grotli and about west of Fossbergom. The village has a population (202 ...

. Most of the municipal residents live in the

Billingsdalen Billingsdal or Billingsdalen is a river valley in the municipality of Skjåk in Innlandet county, Norway. The valley is the inner part of the larger Ottadalen valley which is the valley through which the river Otta flows. It is considered a later ...

and

Ottadalen Ottadalen ( en, Otta Valley) is a valley in the municipalities of Skjåk, Lom, Vågå, and Sel in Innlandet county, Norway. The valley is one of the side valleys that branch off of the large Gudbrandsdalen valley. It lies on the northern edge o ...

valleys along the river Otta. The local newspaper is named ''

Fjuken ''Fjuken'' is a weekly local newspaper published in Skjåk, Norway. It serves for Skjåk, Lom and Vågå. History and profile ''Fjuken'' was founded in 1989. The founders were initially community members. The paper is published by the company Sk ...

''. The municipality is the 33rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Skjåk is the 271st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,147. 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 5.8% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Skjåk was established on 1 January 1866 when the municipality of Lom was divided and the western part of the municipality (population: 2,691) became the new municipality of Skjåk (historically spelled ''Skiaker''). The eastern part of the municipality (population: 3,299) remained as Lom.

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 ''Skjåk'' farm ( non, Skeiðakr) since the first

Skjåk Church Skjåk Church ( no, Skjåk kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Skjåk Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Skjåk. It is the church for the Skjåk parish which is part of the Nord-Gudbrandsdal ...

was built there. The first element comes from the word which means "a running track for

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

". The last element is which means "

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

" or "

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

". Prior to 1889, the name was written "Skiaker", then from 1889 to 1910 it was spelled "Skiaaker". On 4 June 1910, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to ''Skjaak'', to give the name a more

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

and less

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

spelling due to Norwegian language reforms. On 21 December 1917, a royal resolution enacted the 1917 Norwegian language reforms. Prior to this change, the name was spelled with the digraph " aa", and after this reform, the letter å was used instead (''Skjåk'').

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 on 31 March 1989. The official

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

is ''" Azure, an acanthus

quatrefoil A quatrefoil (anciently caterfoil) is a decorative element consisting of a symmetrical shape which forms the overall outline of four partially overlapping circles of the same diameter. It is found in art, architecture, heraldry and traditional ...

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

"'' ( no, På blå grunn eit sølv firblad). This means the arms have a blue

(background) and the

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * ''Charge!!'', an album by The Aqua ...

is four acanthus leaves connected in the centre. The charge has a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. This design was chosen to symbolize growth and strength. These symbols are found in many historic artifacts from around the area. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

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 two parishes () within the municipality of Skjåk. It is part of the

Nord-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), Viken county) in Norway. The list is divided into several sections ...

(

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 ...

Geography

Skjåk is the westernmost municipality in the

valley. It is bordered to the north by the municipalities of

Fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

, Rauma, and

Lesja Lesja is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is village of Lesja. Other villages in the municipality include Bjorli, Lesjaskog, L ...

, in the east and southeast by Lom, in the south by Luster and in the west by

Stryn Stryn is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Stryn. The municipality is located along the innermost part of t ...

and

Stranda Stranda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Stranda. Stranda consists of three smaller villages and one larger central villag ...

. The municipality lies along the Otta river between the mountainous areas of Breheim and Reinheim.

is the modern population center and the location of the majority of industry and shopping as well as the municipal administration. The community is at the meeting point between

Gudbrandsdalen 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 towar ...

and the mountains between the eastern parts of Norway and the west coast. The municipality lies on a historically significant traffic artery between Stryn and Nordfjord,

Geiranger Geiranger is a small tourist village in Sunnmøre region of Møre og Romsdal county in the western part of Norway. It is in the municipality of Stranda at the head of the Geirangerfjorden, which is a branch of the large Storfjorden. The nearest ...

, and

Sunnmøre Sunnmøre (, en, South- Møre) is the southernmost traditional district of the western Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. Its main city is Ålesund. The region comprises the municipalities ( no, kommuner) of Giske, Hareid, Herøy, Norddal ...

and the more easterly Ottadal municipalities of Lom and

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 Besshei ...

. The

Breheimen National Park Breheimen National Park ( no, Breheimen nasjonalpark) (Lit: Home of The Glaciers) is a national park that was established in 2009. The park is located in the municipalities of Skjåk and Lom in Innlandet county and in Luster in Vestland county ...

and

Reinheimen National Park Reinheimen National Park ( no, Reinheimen nasjonalpark) is a national park in Norway that was established in 2006. The park consists of a continuous protected mountain area. It is located in Møre og Romsdal and Innlandet counties in Norway. The ...

are both located in the municipality. Of the total area, is used for agriculture; for

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

; is covered by water (including the

Breiddalsvatnet Breiddalsvatnet is a lake in Skjåk Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The lake lies just west of the village of Grotli. The Norwegian National Road 15 runs along the north side of the lake. The mountains Helleggi and Krosshø are loca ...

lake); and the rest is mountains and other non-

arable land Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the ...

. Virtually the entire long valley floor is continuously, but sparsely, built up. Skjåk serves as a point of entry to the mountain areas just west;

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

are also 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 ...

activities. The municipality includes a number of large lakes including

Aursjoen Aursjoen is a lake in Skjåk Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The lake sits at an elevation of above sea level. The lake lies about north of the village of Bismo. The mountain Horrungen lies just east of the lake. Reinheimen Nationa ...

, Grønvatnet, Langvatnet, Rauddalsvatn, and

Tordsvatnet Tordsvatnet is a lake in Skjåk Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The lake lies within the Tafjordfjella mountain range inside the Reinheimen National Park. The mountain lake lies about northwest of the village of Bismo. The lake lies i ...

. The

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 ...

mountains run through the municipality and the Holåbreen and Tystigbreen

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

s are located in those mountains.

Climate

Nestled in a deep valley, the populated regions of Skjåk are

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is carrie ...

ed and as a result are actually one of the most arid places in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

with annual precipitation of about per year, but it avoids a

steppe climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''BSk'') by being too cold (mean annual temperature of ), thus having a low

evapotranspiration Evapotranspiration (ET) is the combined processes by which water moves from the earth’s surface into the atmosphere. It covers both water evaporation (movement of water to the air directly from soil, canopies, and water bodies) and transpi ...

rate, and having precipitation too spread out (about 55% in summer). This gives Skjåk a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

(Köppen ''Dfc''), thanks to low overall precipitation levels in summer. In addition, one side of the valley, ''solsida'' ("the sunny side"), has a southern exposure, whereas ''baksida'' (the "back side") gets very little sun.

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

has been enabled by elaborate

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

systems for hundreds of years, so the area is green and productive rather than desert-like.

History

Skjåk has historical roots back to 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 ...

and has a rich cultural heritage. An ancient route of travel between east and west went from Skjåk up through the Raudal valley and down through the Sunndal valley to

on an arm of the

Nordfjord Nordfjord ( en, Northern fjord—in contrast to Sunnfjord) is a traditional district of Norway. Geography The region is located in the northern part of Vestland county in Western Norway. It centers on the Nordfjorden and it comprises the muni ...

. For example, in 1197, according to King Sverre's

saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...

, Bishop Nikolaus is reported to have sent a group of

bagler The Bagli Party or Bagler (Old Norse: ''Baglarr'', Norwegian Bokmål: ''Bagler'', Norwegian Nynorsk: ''Baglar'') was a faction or party during the Norwegian Civil Wars. The Bagler faction was made up principally of the Norwegian aristocracy, clerg ...

s from Oppdal over the mountains to Stryn on Nordfjord, via Raudal.

Government

Skjåk Municipality is 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,

welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

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 and utilities. 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 ...

directly elected Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are cho ...

representatives. The

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 ...

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office (direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the old ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of 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 Skjåk is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political

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 ...

Mayors

The

mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 ...

( nn, ordførar) of Skjåk: * 1866–1875: Otto Ottesen * 1876–1877: Ola Lund * 1878–1881: Jon J. Kjeka * 1882–1883: Kristian A. Hjeltar * 1884–1885: Ola O. Hyrve * 1886–1889: Ola Lund * 1890–1891: Ola O. Skjåk * 1892–1893: Kristian A. Hjeltar * 1894–1897: Lars Ånstad * 1898–1901: Ola O. Skjåk * 1902–1904: Lars Ånstad * 1905–1907: Rasmus Haugen * 1908–1910: Ola O. Ånstad * 1911–1913: Erik Kvale * 1914–1916: Kolbein Skaare * 1917–1919: Johannes Kjeken * 1920–1922: Kolbein Skaare * 1923–1925: Olav Øygard * 1926–1928: Ola F. Gjeilo * 1929–1931: Olav Øygard * 1932–1934: Ola F. Gjeilo * 1935–1941: Ole O. Langleite ( Ap) * 1941–1945: Gudbrand Skjaak ( NS) * 1945–1951: Ole O. Langleite ( Ap) * 1952–1955: Trygve Bakke ( Bp) * 1956–1959: Ole Langleite ( Ap) * 1960–1971: Trygve Bakke ( Sp) * 1972–1983: Hans Krogstad ( Sp) * 1984–1987: Åge Willy Rønningen ( Ap) * 1988–1995: Margit Grimstad Lien ( Sp) * 1996–2003: Hans Krogstad ( Sp) * 2003–2007: Ola Stensgård ( Sp) * 2007–2015: Rolv Kristen Øygard ( Sp) * 2015–2019: Elias Sperstad ( Sp) * 2019–present: Edel Kveen ( Sp)

Notable people

* Skjåk-Ola, (Norwegian Wiki) (1744 in Skjåk - 1803), a wood carver whose real name was ''Ola Rasmussen Skjåk'' *

Tore Ørjasæter Tore Ørjasæter (3 March 1886 – 29 February 1968) was a Norwegian educator and poet.

Biography

� ...

(1886 in Skjåk – 1968), an educator, literature critic, author, and poet * Jan-Magnus Bruheim (1914 in Skjåk – 1988), a Norwegian poet and children's writer * Magnhild Bruheim, (Norwegian Wiki) (born 1951 in Skjåk), an author and journalist *

Rune Øygard Rune Øygard (born 27 April 1959) is a former Norwegian politician representing the Norwegian Labour Party, who served as mayor of Vågå from 1995 to 2012 when he was granted leave following his indictment for child sexual abuse in a much publici ...

(born 1959 in Skjåk), a former politician and convicted

paedophile Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...

Trond Bersu Trond Bersu (born 4 January 1984 in Skjåk, Norway) is a Norwegian drummer and producer. Career During his music studies on the Jazz program at the Trondheim musikkonservatorium Bersu started the band PELbO together with fellow students Ine ...

(born 1984 in Skjåk), a Norwegian drummer and producer

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 ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Skjaak Municipalities of Innlandet 1866 establishments in Norway