Sauherad is a former

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 the ...

. 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 ...

Midt-Telemark Midt-Telemark is a traditional district of Norway situated in Vestfold og Telemark county. It comprises three municipalities: Bø, Sauherad and Nome. The largest population centres in the region are Bø, Ulefoss, Bjervamoen and Gvarv, of whi ...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Akkerhaugen. The municipality borders

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud, Viken county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production ...

Skien Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the ...

, Nome, Bø, and

Notodden Notodden () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Øst-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Notodden. Notodden was separated from the munic ...

. 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 o ...

of ''Søfde'' (later spelled Saude, then Sauherad) was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The area of Luksefjell was transferred from Sauherad to

Gjerpen Gjerpen is a former township which is now part of the municipality of Skien, in Telemark county, Norway. Location The parish of Gjerpen was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). According to the 1835 census t ...

in 1847.

General information

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old ''Sauar'' 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 settlemen ...

: ''Sauðar''), since the first church was built here. The name is the

plural The plural (sometimes abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the default quantity represented by that noun. This de ...

form of ''sauðr'' which means "

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

" or "issue of

water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

". The meaning of the combination ''Sauherad'' (Old Norse: ''Sauðaherað'') is "the district (''herað'') of Sauðar". Prior to 1918, the name was written ''"Saude"'' or (before 1862) "Søfde".

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 w ...

is from modern times. They were granted in 1989. The arms show a gold-colored apple tree on a blue background. It was designed by Halvor Holtskog.

Transportation

*Railway - Both the

Sørland Line Sørland is a Seaside resort, fishing village and the administrative centre of Værøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the southern side of the island of Værøya. The village is the main population center of the isl ...

and the

Bratsberg Line The Bratsberg Line ( no, Bratsbergbanen) is a railway line between Eidanger and Notodden in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It opened in 1917, connecting the Tinnos Line, the Sørland Line and the Vestfold Line; allowing Norsk Hydro to tran ...

run through Sauherad. The Bratsberg Line runs as part of the Sørland Line between

Hjuksebø Hjuksebø is a village in Sauherad municipality, Norway. It is located between Notodden and Nordagutu, just south of Hjuksevelta. Hjuksebø used to have a train station on the Sørlandet Line. The Hjuksebø train disaster occurred between Hjukse ...

and

Nordagutu Nordagutu is a village in the municipality of Midt-Telemark, Norway. Its population ( SSB 2005) is 367. Nordagutu train station is a part of the Bratsberg Line, and it serves as a junction between the Vestfold Line and Sørlandet Line The Sør ...

. The

Hjukse Bridge Hjuksevelta (also called Hjukse) is a village in the municipality of Sauherad, Norway, located between Nordagutu and Notodden Notodden () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region o ...

at Hjuksebø on the Bratsberg Line is Norway's tallest railway

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

at . Nordagutu Station is the only operating station left in Sauherad. *Roads - Riksvei 36 and 360 goes through Sauherad, and so does ''Fylkesvei'' 44, 151, 551, 553, and 555. In 2008, all roads and streets got names, as one of the last municipalities in Norway.

Notable residents

* Enevold Steenblock Høyum (1775–1830) military officer, rep. at the

Norwegian Constitutional Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly (in Norwegian ''Grunnlovsforsamlingen'', also known as ''Riksforsamlingen'') is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in Norway, that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised th ...

* Targjei Augundsson (1801 – 1872) known as ''

Myllarguten Targjei Augundsson (1801 – 21 November 1872), better known as Myllarguten (meaning ''the Millerboy''), is arguably the most acknowledged Norwegian folk musician to this day, and by far the most legendary. Childhood Targjei was born in Sauher ...

'' (meaning the Millerboy), a fiddle player * Hans Aimar Mow Grønvold (1846–1926) a Norwegian civil servant and music writer *

Lars Fykerud Lars Hansson Fykerud (5 April 1860 – 19 August 1902) was a Norwegian Hardanger fiddler and composer. He was born in Sauherad; the son of folk musician Hans G. Fykerud and Torbjørg Larsdotter. Fykerud played the fiddle in the tradition of K ...

(1860–1902) a Norwegian

Hardanger fiddle A Hardanger fiddle ( no, hardingfele) is a traditional stringed instrument considered to be the national instrument of Norway. In modern designs, this type of fiddle is very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings (rather than ...

r and composer *

Sverre Granlund Corporal Sverre Granlund, DCM (9 November 1918 – 10 February 1943) was a Norwegian commando during the Second World War. Early life and World War II He was born in Sauherad in Telemark, to a father from Øyer and a mother from Høland. He l ...

DCM (1918–1943) a Norwegian commando during WWII * Arne Haukvik (1926–2002),

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and founder of the

Bislett Games The Bislett Games is an annual track and field meeting at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. History The first international athletics meeting at Bisl ...

* Liv Holtskog (1934 in Gvarv - 2014) Norwegian fruit farmer and poet * Johannes Akkerhaugen (born 1939) an archer, competed at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

Sauherad church

Sauherad church (''Sauherad kirke'') dates from the medieval era. The church was built between 1150 and 1250. The edifice is of stone and has 260 seats. The church is built in Romanesque style. On the ridge, in the middle of the gable roof, sits a turret. The church bells are from 1441. The altarpiece from 1663 is of Renaissance style. In 1781 the building was extended westward. In 1830 the church received a new interior. The frescoes in the nave were uncovered and restore during the 1940s and 1950s.

Attractions

Events

* ''Sauheraddagane'' (since 1993) * ''Kartfestivalen'' (Kart Festival, since 2005) * ''Norsk Eplefest'' (Norwegian

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

festival, since 2006)

Buildings

* Blæksås fortress (3-5th century) * Bratningsborg fortress (3-5th century) * Steinborg fortress (3-5th century) * Evju Bygdetun (Museum) * Nes stone church (12th century) * Sauherad stone church (12th century)

Villages

* Akkerhaugen *

Gvarv Gvarv is a village in Sauherad, Telemark, Norway. Gvarv is famous for its apples, sweet cherries and sour cherries (as is the whole Sauherad municipality). Also (unusually for Norway) grapes and wine! The Norwegian painter Erik Werenskiol ...

Holtsås Holtsås is a village in Sauherad municipality, Norway. It is located between Hjuksebø and Nordagutu. Holtsås used to have a train station on the Sørlandet Line. The Hjuksebø train disaster occurred between Hjuksebø and Holtsås on 15 Nove ...

* Hørte *

Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Sauherad: * Karlsborg,

Västra Götaland County Västra Götaland County ( sv, Västra Götalands län) is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden. The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of 1 ...

, Sweden

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway * {{Authority control Midt-Telemark 2020 disestablishments in Norway