Nord-Aurdal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Valdres. 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 town Fagernes. Other urban centres in Nord-Aurdal include the villages of Aurdal, Leira, and Skrautvål. The municipality is served by

Fagernes Airport, Leirin Fagernes Airport, Leirin ( no, Fagernes lufthavn, Leirin; ) is a general aviation airport in Fagernes, in the municipality of Nord-Aurdal, Innlandet county, Norway. It has been an airport for passenger flights, serving Fagernes and the surroundin ...

. In Nord-Aurdal, there is an

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

center called ''Valdres Alpinsenter''. The municipality is the 128th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Nord-Aurdal is the 152nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,354. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 1.2% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The parish of ''Nordre Aurdal'' 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 January ...

law). On 1 January 1894, the new

Etnedal Municipality Etnedal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Valdres. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bruflat. The municipality is the 216th largest by area out of the 356 ...

was established by merging the eastern valley area of ''Nordre Etnedal'' (population: 362) from Nordre Aurdal municipality and the ''Søndre Etnedal'' area (population: 1,331) from the neighboring municipality of Søndre Aurdal. On 1 January 1979, there was a border adjustment in an unpopulated area where part of Etnedal was transferred to Nord-Aurdal and another part of Nord-Aurdal that was transferred to Etnedal. Then on 1 January 1984, the unpopulated northern side of the

Makalaus Makalaus or Makalausfjellet is a mountain on the border of Nord-Aurdal Municipality and Sør-Aurdal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The tall mountain lies about southeast of the town of Fagernes. See also *List of mountains of Norwa ...

mountain was transferred from

Sør-Aurdal Sør-Aurdal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Valdres. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bagn. Other villages in the municipality include Begna, Hedalen, an ...

to Nord-Aurdal.

Name

The municipality (and parish) was named after the valley in which it is located. The Old Norse form of the valley name was ''Aurardalr''. 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 al ...

of an old river name ''Aur'' (now called ''Bøaelva'') and the last element is ''dalr'' which means " valley" or "dale". The old river name is derived from ''aurr'' which means "

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

". Originally the municipality was named ''Nordre Aurdal''. The name was changed from ''Nordre Aurdal'' to ''Nord-Aurdal'' in the early 20th century. Both ''nordre'' and ''nord'' mean "north" (more specifically, "nordre" means "northern"), so the name ''Nord-Aurdal'' means "(the) northern (part of) Aurdal". (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 ...

parish of Aurdal was divided into two in 1805, just over 30 years before the municipality was established in 1838.)

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted by royal decree on 20 December 1985. The arms show three blue flowers of the species ''

Gentiana nivalis ''Gentiana nivalis'', the snow gentian or Alpine gentian, is a species of the genus ''Gentiana''. It grows to a height of 3–15 centimetres. It is the County flowers of the United Kingdom, county flower of Perthshire in the United Kingdom, and ...

'' (or Snow Gentian) on a yellow background. The flowers, which are locally known as "the blue eyes of Christ", grow all over Norway, but they grow abundantly in this area. Three flowers were chosen to represent the three main settlements of the municipality: Aurdal, Fagernes, and Leira. This type of flower only opens in sunlight and heat, so it was chosen to symbolize being open and positive.

Churches

The

has six parishes () within the municipality of Nord-Aurdal. It is part of the

Valdres 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

Nord-Aurdal municipality is located to the north of

Sør-Aurdal Municipality Sør-Aurdal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Valdres. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bagn. Other villages in the municipality include Begna, Hedalen, a ...

, east of

and Gausdal Municipality, and south of Øystre Slidre Municipality and Vestre Slidre Municipality. To the west, it is bordered by

Hemsedal Municipality Hemsedal is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hallingdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the vi ...

and Gol Municipality in Buskerud county. Nord-Aurdal measures about on the north–south axis and on the east–west axis. The municipality lies in the western side of Innlandet county. Although Fagernes is the administrative center of Nord-Aurdal, the village of Aurdal was the historic centre of the centuries-old

parish of Aurdal. Nord-Aurdal is part of the traditional district of Valdres in the central part of southern Norway, situated between the valleys of Gudbrandsdal and Hallingdal. The highest point in Nord-Aurdal is the Duptjernkampen at . About 50% of the land is above . The Tisleifjorden and Aurdalsfjorden are large inland lakes that are located in Nord-Aurdal. The river Begna flows through the municipality as well, with the Strondafjorden being a large lake that the river flows through.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Nord-Aurdal, are 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 services, unemployment 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, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elects a mayor. The municipality falls under 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 municipal council of Nord-Aurdal is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Attractions

The

Valdres Folkemuseum The Valdres Folkemuseum is a folk museum located at Storøya outside Fagernes in Nord-Aurdal in Innlandet county, Norway. Overview Valdres Folk Museum was founded in 1901. It is located in the traditional rural district of Valdres. The museum ...

is located just outside Fagernes and has large collections of old houses, textiles, and music instruments.
Valdres Folkemuseum, Nord-Aurdal.JPG, Valdres Folkemuseum Valdres Folkemuseum2, Nord-Aurdal.JPG, Valdres Museum Skattebustugu.jpg, Skattebustugu

Notable residents

* Knut Hamsun (1859–1952), a Norwegian author, awarded the

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

in 1920 *

J. C. M. Hanson James Christian Meinich Hanson (March 13, 1864 – November 8, 1943) was a Norwegian born, American librarian. Background Jens Christian Meinich Hanson, now known as J. C. M. Hanson, was born on March 13, 1864, in Oppland, Norway, in the Nordre ...

(1864–1943), an American librarian and author *

Kaare Strøm Kaare Strøm may refer to: * Kaare Strøm (limnologist) (1902–1967), Norwegian limnologist *Kaare Strøm (athlete) (1915–1982), Norwegian triple and long jumper *Kaare Strøm (political scientist) Kaare Strøm (born 10 April 1953) is a Norwegi ...

(1902–1967), a Norwegian limnologist *

Olav Meisdalshagen Olav Meisdalshagen (17 March 1903 – 21 November 1959) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party best known for serving as the Norwegian Minister of Finance from December 1947 to November 1951 and as the Norwegian Minister of Agriculture ...

(1903–1959), a Norwegian politician who was Minister of Finance from 1947-1951 and Minister of Agriculture from 1955-1956 *

Asbjørn Granheim Asbjørn Granheim (born 1 January 1906 in Nord-Aurdal, died 27 January 1977) was a Norwegian politician for the Centre Party. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Oppland in 1969, but and was not re-elected in 1973. He had previously s ...

(1906-1977), a Norwegian politician who was mayor of Nord-Aurdal from 1945-1971 *

Inger Helene Nybråten Inger Helene Nybråten (born 8 December 1960 in Fagernes, Oppland) is a Norwegian former cross-country skier who competed in the 1980s and 1990s. She won three relay medals at the Winter Olympics with a gold (1984) and two silvers (1992, 1994). ...

(born 1960), a former Norwegian

cross-country skier Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

, gold medalist at the

1984 Winter Olympics The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian and Slovene: ''XIV. Zimske olimpijske igre''; Cyrillic: XIV Зимске олимпијске игре; mk, XIV Зимски олимписки игр ...

and twice silver medallist at the

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

Eldbjørg Hemsing Eldbjørg Hemsing (born 16 February 1990 in Nord-Aurdal, Norway) is a Norwegian violinist who has been since the age of 11, with her solo debut with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. She premiered several works by Tan Dun. She lives in Berlin. ...

(born 1990), a Norwegian classical violinist *

Guro Kleven Hagen Guro Kleven Hagen (born 11 May 1994) is a Norwegian violinist raised in Fagernes. She is the First concertmaster at the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet orchestra since January 2018. Biography In 2012 Kleven Hagen attended studies with Prof ...

(born 1994), a violinist, the 1st concertmaster at the

Norwegian National Opera and Ballet The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet ( no, Den Norske Opera & Ballett, links=no) is a Norwegian opera company and ballet company. The first fully professional company each for opera and ballet in Norway and the only such professional organisati ...

* Sylfest Glimsdal (born 1966), a former Norwegian biathlete who competed at three

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Nord-Aurdal has sister city agreements with the following places: * - Kouvola, Etelä-Suomi, Finland * - Lidköping, Västra Götaland County,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

* -

Skanderborg Skanderborg is a town in Skanderborg municipality, Denmark. It is situated on the north and north eastern brinks of Skanderborg Lake and there are several smaller ponds and bodies of water within the city itself, like Lillesø, Sortesø, Døj S� ...

, Region Midtjylland, Denmark

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 ...

Valdresen
- The local newspaper in Nord-Aurdal.
Valdres Alpinsenter
{{use dmy dates, date=September 2022 Municipalities of Innlandet Valdres 1838 establishments in Norway