Seljord 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 ...

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 ...

in the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Vestfold og Telemark Vestfold og Telemark (; ) is a county under disestablishment in Norway. The county is the southernmost one of Eastern Norway and consists of two distinct and separate traditional regions: the former counties of Telemark and (most of) Vestfol ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, 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 ...

. 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 ...

s of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Seljord. 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 ...

of ''Siljord'' 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 Janu ...

). Seljord is famous for its

sea serpent A sea serpent or sea dragon is a type of dragon sea monster described in various mythologies, most notably Mesopotamian ( Tiamat), Judaeo-Christian (Leviathan), Greek (Cetus, Echidna, Hydra, Scylla), and Norse ( Jörmungandr). Mythology and f ...

, Selma, who allegedly lives in Lake Seljord (''Seljordsvatnet''). The yearly Dyrsku'n market, held since 1866, attracts 60–80,000 visitors each year. The large fair started as a show of farm animals. Today it includes a huge market with vendors selling a variety of goods including base layer clothing, Bergans outdoors equipment, crafts, and food. Amusement rides are also featured. Seljord Folkehøgskule is located in Seljord. The school offers a variety of courses including outdoor adventure, theater, music, and art.
Seljord Folk High School

General information

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old ''Seljord'' farm (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

: ''Seljugerði''), since the first church was built there. The first element is 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 a ...

of ''selja'' which means "sallow-tree" or "

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

" and the last element is ''gerði'' which means " field". Prior to 1889, the name was written "Silgjord" or "Sillejord".

Coat-of-arms

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 wh ...

is from modern times. They were granted on 15 September 1989. The arms show the

Selma in a gold-color on a red background.

Notable residents

* Anne Godlid (1773-1863) 19th century Norwegian storyteller * Jacob Andreas Wille (1777–1850) priest, teacher and Mayor of Seljord * Daniel Bremer Juell (1808-1855) Bishop of Tromsø 1849-1855 *

Jørund Telnes Jørund Telnes (10 January 1845 – 3 February 1892) was a Norwegian farmer, teacher, writer and politician. Today he is most commonly associated with his book ''Soga om Sterke-Nils'' about :no:Sterke-Nils (1722–1800), the legendary strongman f ...

(1845-1892) farmer, teacher, writer and Mayor of Seljord * Halvor J. Sandsdalen (1911-1998) a writer and folklore collector * Ingebjørg Kasin Sandsdalen (1915-2003) a Norwegian poet *

Aslaug Høydal Aslaug Høydal (22 December 1916 – 20 July 2007) was a Norwegian schoolteacher, novelist, poet and children's writer. She was born in Seljord. Among her novels are ''Dyr last'' from 1963, ''Tårer i sand'' from 1969, and ''Brest i såldet'' from ...

(1916-2007) a Norwegian schoolteacher, novelist, poet and children's writer *

Terje Grøstad Terje Grøstad (16 December 1925 – 10 July 2011) was a Norwegian painter. graphic artist and illustrator. Biography He was born in Drammen in Buskerud and lived in Flatdal in Telemark from the 1950s. He attended the Norwegian National Academy o ...

(1925–2011) a Norwegian painter and illustrator, lived in Flatdal * Hallvard Flatland (born 1957) TV personality *

Kim Leine Kim Leine Rasmussen (28 August 1961 in Seljord, Telemark) is a Danish-Norwegian author who writes about Greenland. In 2013, he was awarded the Nordic Council Literature Prize for the novel ''The Prophets of Eternal Fjord''. Bibliography No ...

(born 1961) a Danish-Norwegian author * Helga Flatland (born 1984) novelist and children's writer, brought up in Flatdal

Gallery

File:Seljord kirke, minnestøtte for salmedikteren Landstad.jpg, Memorial to

Magnus Brostrup Landstad Magnus Brostrup Landstad (7 October 1802 – 8 October 1880) was a Norwegian parish priest and provost, hymn writer, and poet who published the first collection of authentic Norwegian traditional ballads in 1853. Biography Landstad was born in ...

File:Manndal chapel (3862071465).jpg, Manndal chapel File:Åmotsdal church (3836952040).jpg, Åmotsdal church File:Seljord lake.JPG, Lake Seljord (Seljordsvatnet) File:Seljord Boathouse.JPG, Flooded boathouse in Seljord

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 ye ...

* {{authority control Municipalities of Vestfold og Telemark Villages in Vestfold og Telemark