The Vest-Telemark
traditional district of Norway comprises the upper and western areas of the larger region of
Upper Telemark
Upper Telemark ( no, Øvre Telemark) is a Norwegian region comprising the inland of the traditional district Telemark in Vestfold og Telemark county. More than two thirds of the total area of Telemark, or above 10,000 square kilometres, belong t ...
in the county of
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) Vestfold ...
. The region consists of six municipalities:
Fyresdal
Fyresdal is a municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Moland. The municipality of ''Molan ...
,
Tokke
Tokke is a municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dalen. The municipality of Tokke was c ...
,
Vinje
Vinje is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark in the Counties of Norway, county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional regions of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative ...
,
Nissedal
Nissedal is a rural municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional regions of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Treungen. T ...
,
Kviteseid Kviteseid is a municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kviteseid. The parish ...
and
Seljord
Seljord 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 Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Seljord. The pari ...
. Vest-Telemark belongs to the traditional region
Upper Telemark
Upper Telemark ( no, Øvre Telemark) is a Norwegian region comprising the inland of the traditional district Telemark in Vestfold og Telemark county. More than two thirds of the total area of Telemark, or above 10,000 square kilometres, belong t ...
.
The region is known for its folk traditions within music, clothing, handcrafts, food and architecture. The region is also distinctly marked by its dialects of
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 ...
. This form of Norwegian is among those containing the most traces of
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 settlemen ...
language and grammar.
Vest-Telemark had 14,252 inhabitants on 1 April 2009. The area is 7 700 km².
Vest-Telemark is also the home of
slalom (slalåm),
Telemark skiing
Telemark skiing is a skiing technique that combines elements of Alpine and Nordic skiing, using the rear foot to keep balance while pushing on the front foot to create a carving turn on downhill skis with toe-only bindings. Telemark skiing is n ...
and
ski jumping
Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fina ...
(with its characteristic Telemark landing). "The Cradle of Modern Skiing" is found in
Morgedal
Morgedal is a village in the municipality of Kviteseid, Telemark, Norway. The village gas been described as the "cradle of skiing".
Morgedal, Norway is a village whose most famous residents were Sondre Norheim, known to be the father of modern sk ...
.
Municipalities
Famous people from Vest-Telemark
*
Aslaug Vaa
Aslaug Vaa (25 August 1889 – 28 November 1965) was a Norwegian poet and playwright. Her works contain elements from local tradition and landscape mixed with international influence.
Personal life
Aslaug Vaa was born on Nystog in Rauland, ...
, author from
Rauland
Rauland is a former municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1860 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Vinje Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Raulandsgrend (also known ...
in
Vinje
Vinje is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark in the Counties of Norway, county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional regions of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative ...
*
Vidkun Quisling
Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling (, ; 18 July 1887 – 24 October 1945) was a Norwegian military officer, politician and Nazi collaborator who nominally list of heads of government of Norway, headed the government of Norway during t ...
, politician from
Fyresdal
Fyresdal is a municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Moland. The municipality of ''Molan ...
*
Aasmund Olavsson Vinje
Aasmund Olavsson Vinje (6 April 1818 – 30 July 1870) was a Norwegian poet and journalist who is remembered for poetry, travel writing, and his pioneering use of LandsmÃ¥l (now known as Nynorsk).
Background
Vinje was born into a poor but ...
, author from Vinje
*
Tarjei Vesaas
Tarjei Vesaas (20 August 1897 – 15 March 1970) was a Norwegian poet and novelist. Vesaas is widely considered to be one of Norway's greatest writers of the twentieth century and perhaps its most important since World War II.
Biography
Vesaas ...
, author from Vinje
*
Odd Nordstoga
Odd Nordstoga (born 10 December 1972) is a folk singer, musician, actor and editor from Vinje in Telemark, Norway. In 2004, he went from relative obscurity to becoming the country's biggest selling recording artist, with the phenomenal success o ...
, musician from Vinje
*
Sondre Norheim
Sondre Norheim, born Sondre Auverson, (10 June 1825 – 9 March 1897) was a Norwegian skier and pioneer of modern skiing. Sondre Norheim is known as the father of Telemark skiing.
Background
Sondre Auverson was born at Øverbø, a little ...
, father of modern skiing ; from Morgedal .
*
Ivar Peterson Tveiten, politician from
Fyresdal
Fyresdal is a municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Moland. The municipality of ''Molan ...
*
Anne Grimdalen, sculptor from
Skafså in
Tokke
Tokke is a municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dalen. The municipality of Tokke was c ...
*
Eivind Groven
Eivind Groven (8 October 1901 – 8 February 1977) was a Norwegian composer and music-theorist. He was from traditional region of Vest-Telemark and had a background in the folk music of the area.
Biography
Groven was born in the village of LÃ ...
, composer from
LÃ¥rdal
Lårdal is a village in Tokke Municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The village is located on the north shore of the lake Bandak and about south of the village of Høydalsmo and the European route E134 highway. The village is ...
in
Tokke
Tokke is a municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dalen. The municipality of Tokke was c ...
*
Eivind Hovden, guitarist from
Dalen
Dalen (Dutch Low Saxon: ''Daoln'') is a village and a former municipality in the northeastern Netherlands, in the province of Drenthe. Since 1998, Dalen has been part of the municipality of Coevorden.
The village was first mentioned in the 12t ...
in
Tokke
Tokke is a municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dalen. The municipality of Tokke was c ...
*
Dyre Vaa
Dyre Vaa (19 January 1903 – 11 May 1980) was a Norwegian sculptor and painter.
Background
He was born in Kviteseid, Telemark, and later lived and worked in Rauland. He was the son of Tor Aanundsson Vaa (1864–1928) and Anne Marie Roholt ...
, sculptor from
Rauland
Rauland is a former municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1860 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Vinje Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Raulandsgrend (also known ...
in
Vinje
Vinje is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark in the Counties of Norway, county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional regions of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative ...
*
Halldis Moren Vesaas
Halldis Moren Vesaas (18 November 1907 – 8 September 1995) was a Norwegian poet, translator and writer of children's books. She established herself as one of the leading Norwegian writers of her generation.
Biography
She was born on a f ...
, author from
Vinje
Vinje is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark in the Counties of Norway, county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional regions of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative ...
*
Terje Haakonsen Terje may refer to:
* Terje (name), a form of the Scandinavian name Torgeir
*Tria ( hu, Terje), a village in the commune of Derna, Bihor
Derna ( hu, Felsőderna) is a commune in northeastern Bihor County, Crișana, Romania, 50 km from the ...
, master snowboarder
Vinje
Vinje is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark in the Counties of Norway, county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional regions of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative ...
*
Sven Erik Kristiansen
Sven Erik Kristiansen (born 4 February 1969) is a Norwegian musician, best known as the former vocalist in the black metal band Mayhem under the stage name Maniac.
With Mayhem
Kristiansen joined Mayhem in 1986 after the departure of the ban ...
, internationally acclaimed musician
Rauland
Rauland is a former municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1860 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Vinje Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Raulandsgrend (also known ...
in
Vinje
Vinje is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark in the Counties of Norway, county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional regions of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative ...
{{coord, 59.4653, 8.0200, type:landmark_region:NO-38, display=title
Districts of Vestfold og Telemark