Vinger is a traditional district in

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 ...

. The district encompasses the lands that make up

Kongsvinger Kongsvinger () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger. Other settlements in the municipality include Aust ...

and

Eidskog Eidskog is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vinger. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skotterud. Other villages in the municipality include Magnor, Matrand, ...

municipalities. It is generally located to the south and east of the town of Kongsvinger and the river

Glomma The Glomma, or Glåma, is Norway's longest and most voluminous river. With a total length of , it has a drainage basin that covers fully 13% of Norway's surface area, all in the southern part of the country. Geography At its fullest length, the ...

. The main church for the region historically was

Vinger Church Vinger Church ( no, Vinger kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Kongsvinger Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the town of Kongsvinger. It is the church for the Vinger parish which is part of the Solør, V ...

. The area was once part of

Vinger Municipality Vinger is a former municipality in the old Hedmark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until 1964 when it became part of Kongsvinger Municipality. The municipality was located in the Vinger region in the southern part of the c ...

and it is also included in the

Solør, Vinger og Odal 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 ...

which is a

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 ...

within 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 ...

. This area was also once part of the jurisdictional area of the

Vinger og Odal District Court Vinger is a traditional district in Innlandet county, Norway. The district encompasses the lands that make up Kongsvinger and Eidskog municipalities. It is generally located to the south and east of the town of Kongsvinger and the river Glomm ...

History

Vinger was mentioned as far back as the 1260s when it was written about in the book ''

Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar ''Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar'' ("The Saga of Haakon Haakonarson") or ''Hákonar saga gamla'' ("The Saga of Old Haakon") is an Old Norse Kings' Saga, telling the story of the life and reign of King Haakon Haakonarson of Norway. Content and style ...

''. The book says that the king fought against the Ribbungene at the river

and the old Hov Church. Finally, the Ribbungene were chased away towards the lake Vingersjøen and onwards towards

. During 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 ...

, there was a lot of traffic in the area with several main roads passing through Vinger. The road from

Vingulmark Vingulmark (Old Norse ''Vingulmörk'') is the old name for the area in Norway which today makes up the counties of Østfold, western parts of Akershus (excluding Romerike), and eastern parts of Buskerud (Hurum and Røyken municipalities), and inclu ...

to Sweden was called Eskoleia, and it went from

Sør-Odal Sør-Odal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Odalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skarnes. Other villages in Sør-Odal include Disenå and Sander. The ...

through Vinger and on to

Värmland Värmland () also known as Wermeland, is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are ''Va ...

. After the

Christianization of Norway The Christianization of Scandinavia, as well as other Nordic countries and the Baltic countries, took place between the 8th and the 12th centuries. The realms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden established their own Archdioceses, responsible directly ...

, many pilgrims made a pilgrimage through Vinger on their way north through the

Østerdalen Østerdalen () is a valley and traditional district in Innlandet county, in Eastern Norway. This area typically is described as the large Glåma river valley as well as all its tributary valleys. It includes the municipalities Rendalen, Alvdal, F ...

valley to the

Nidaros Cathedral Nidaros Cathedral ( no, Nidarosdomen / Nidaros Domkirke) is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county. It is built over the burial site of Olav II of Norway, King Olav II (c. 995–1030, reigned 1015–102 ...

. When the fortress on Tråstadberget was built in 1682, it got its name from the area. The new fortress was named ''Königs Winger'' or ''Kongens Vinger'' (later it was spelled

. Eventually, the village on the south side of the fortress got the same name and it became the town of Kongsvinger. In 1838, municipal governments were established in Norway, and all of the Vinger region was included in the new

. On 7 February 1855, the town of Kongsvinger was separated from Vinger as its own municipality. Later, in 1864, the southern part of Vinger was separated to become

Eidskog Municipality Eidskog is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vinger. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skotterud. Other villages in the municipality include Magnor, Matrand, ...

Etymology

The whole region was historically called ''Vinger'' ( non, Vingr). This name could be related to the river

which flows through the region. One could compare this to the English word swing (for the missing ''s'' see

Indo-European s-mobile In Indo-European studies, the term s-''mobile'' ( ; the word is a Latin neuter adjective) designates the phenomenon where a PIE root appears to begin with an ' which is sometimes but not always present. It is therefore represented in the reflex o ...

). The river

passes through the center of the district where the south-flowing river takes a sharp northwestward turn. This can be compared to the similar Lithuanian word ''vìngis'' which means "bend", "bow", or "turn".

Climate

Vinger has 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 ...

(Dfc). September averages , falling just short of being the 4th month over which would meet the requirements to move the area to the

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(Dfb) category.

References

{{reflist Kongsvinger Eidskog Districts of Innlandet

History

Etymology

Climate

See also

References