Sigdal 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 go ...

Viken Viken may refer to: *Viken, Scandinavia, a historical region *Viken (county), a Norwegian county established in 2020 *Viken, Sweden, a bimunicipal locality in Skåne County, Sweden *Viken (lake), a lake in Sweden, part of the part of the Göta cana ...

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 ...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of

Prestfoss Prestfoss is the administrative center of Sigdal municipality in Buskerud, Norway. Highway Fv287 passes through Prestfoss. Both Fv132 and Fv133 start from here. Summary The population of Pressfoss as of 2005 was 465. Prestfoss is located 1.5 ho ...

. The municipality of Sigdal was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The area of

Krødsherad Krødsherad (''Krødsherad kommune'') is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Noresund. The municipality of Krødsherad was established when it was separated from the municipali ...

was separated from Sigdal on 1 January 1901. The municipality has common borders with the municipalities of

Flå Flå is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Flå. The municipality of Flå was established when it was separated from the municipality of Nes on 1 January 1905. The municipal ...

, Krødsherad, Modum,

Øvre Eiker Øvre Eiker is a municipality in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Eiker. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hokksund. The old municipal ...

Flesberg Flesberg is a municipality in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Numedal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lampeland. The economy of ...

Rollag Rollag is a municipality in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Numedal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rollag, although the most pop ...

, and

Nore og Uvdal Nore og Uvdal is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Numedal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rødberg. The area of ''Nore'' was separated from the municipality of R ...

Name

The

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 ...

form of the name was ''Sigmardalr'' or ''Sigmudalr''. The first element is the genitive case of a river name ''Sigm(a)'' (now called the

Simoa Simoa is the name of a river which flows through the municipalities of Sigdal and Modum in Buskerud County, Norway. Location The Simoa river runs from Lake Soneren through the municipality of Sigdal in a south-easterly course until it flows into ...

) and the last element is ''dalr'' which means "

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

" or "dale". The Simoa river runs through Sigdal, flowing in a south-easterly course until it flows into

Drammenselva Drammenselva ( en, Drammen River) is a river in Buskerud county, southeastern Norway. Location Drammenselva is one of the largest rivers in Norway, with a drainage basin of about and a discharge of per second. Drammen River's total length is ma ...

Åmot Åmot is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rena. Other villages in the municipality include Åsta, Osneset, an ...

in Modum. The meaning of the river name is unknown, but is maybe derived from ''síga'' which means to "ooze" or "slide".

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 on 18 November 1983. The arms show a heraldic image of the mountain that dominates the view around the village, the Andersnatten. The profile of the mountain is yellow with a blue-colored sky above.

Geography and population

Most of the citizens live in the village of

Eggedal Eggedal is a valley and parish in Viken county , Norway. It consisting of the northwestern half of the municipality of Sigdal. Location Eggedal is located between Numedalsfjellene in the west and Norefjell in the east, stretching northwards from ...

or the administrative centre of Prestfoss. Sigdal is densely populated, dominated by

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

s and valleys. About 72% of the area is covered with

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

, 20% is mountain areas, and 4% of the area is cultivated.

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

, and the kitchen-producing enterprise of ''Sigdal Kjøkken'' are still important industries.

Local Attractions

*Folk Music Center (''Folkemusikksenteret'') is a cultural heritage museum offering a good image of the building style and traditions of the district. The Folk Music Center is principally responsible for collecting, storing and promoting local folk music and dance. *Sigdal-Eggedal Museum is a regional museum for Krødsherad, Modum and Sigdal. This museum dedicated to the region's culture and history is arranged particularly authentically. *Vatnås Church (''Vatnås kirke'') is a historic church dating from 1660. *Lauvlia is the former home of

Theodor Kittelsen Theodor Severin Kittelsen (27 April 1857 – 21 January 1914) was a Norwegian artist. He is one of the most popular artists in Norway. Kittelsen became famous for his nature paintings, as well as for his illustrations of fairy tales and legend ...

, one of the most popular artists in Norway, who settled near Prestfoss during 1899. Today Lauvlia is a private museum featuring an exhibition of Kittelsen’s original work * Andersnatten is a well-known mountain and landmark. The mountain has inspired painters visiting or living in Sigdal, notably

and

Christian Skredsvig Christian Skredsvig (12 March 1854 – 19 January 1924) was a Norwegian painter and writer. He employed an artistic style reflecting naturalism. He is especially well known for his picturesque and lyrical depictions of the landscape. Biogr ...

. It is recognized by mountain climbers as a tough challenge. Trillemarka langseterfjell

Protected areas in Sigdal Municipality

* Heimseteråsen nature reserve, established on 13 December 2002, 2,515 acres * Solevatn nature reserve, established 20 June 1986, 538 acres * Trillemarka nature reserve, established on 13 December 2002, 43,285 acres

Notable residents

Portrett av Christian Skredsvig (1854-1924) (9454985153)

(1854 - 1924) Norwegian artist and painter *

(1857 - 1914) Norwegian artist and painter * Erik Ramstad (1860 - 1951) Norwegian-American founder of

Minot, North Dakota Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 2 ...

* Eileif Kolsrud (1873 – 1953) a Norwegian educator and politician, Mayor of Kristiansund * Gulbrand Hagen (1864 - 1919) Norwegian-American newspaper editor and writer * Olaf Solumsmoen (1896 - 1972) a Norwegian newspaper editor and politician * Olaf Knudson (1915 – 1996) politician, deputy mayor of Sigdal in 1950's * Erling Kroken (1928-2007) a Norwegian ski jumper * Dag Aabye (born 1941) an endurance runner in British Columbia, ''"Father of Freeride Skiing"'' *

Anne-Lise Berntsen Anne-Lise Berntsen (28 August 1943 – 3 November 2012) was a Norwegian soprano. The daughter of Harald Berntsen (1901–1974) and Arnhild Rossetnes (1916–1991), she was born in Drammen, and grew up in Eggedal Eggedal is a valley and parish ...

(1943-2012) a Norwegian soprano *

Grete Kummen Grete Kummen (born 21 April 1952) is a Norwegian cross-country skier, born in Sigdal. She represented the club IL Heming. She competed in 5 km, 10 km and the relay at the 1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially ...

(born 1952) a cross-country skier, competed at the

1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (german: XII. Olympische Winterspiele, french: XIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 ( bar, Innschbruck 1976, label= Austro-Bavarian), was a ...

Josefine Frida Pettersen Josefine Frida Pettersen (born 18 May 1996) is a Norwegian actress. She is best known for the role of Noora in the TV series '' Skam''. Pettersen is from Sigdal. She made her television debut in the TVNorge TVNorge (literally "TVNorway"; or ...

(born 1996) actress, played ''Noora Amalie Sætre'' in

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...

drama series Skam

Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Sigdal: *

Äänekoski Äänekoski () is a town in Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region, about north of Jyväskylä. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities ...

Central Finland Central Finland ( fi, Keski-Suomi; sv, Mellersta Finland) is a region ( / ) in Finland. It borders the regions of Päijät-Häme, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, North Savo, and South Savo. The city o ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

Hveragerði Hveragerði (, "hot-spring yard") is a town and municipality in the south of Iceland, 45 km east of Reykjavík on Iceland's main ringroad, Route 1 (Iceland), Route 1. The river Varmá runs through the town. Overview The surrounding area ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

Örnsköldsvik Örnsköldsvik (, ) is a locality and the seat of Örnsköldsvik Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden, with 32,953 inhabitants in 2017. Its natural harbour and archipelago is in the Gulf of Bothnia and the northern boundaries of the Hig ...

Västernorrland County Västernorrland County ( sv, Västernorrlands län) is a county ('' län'') in the north of Sweden. It is bordered by the counties of Gävleborg, Jämtland, Västerbotten and the Gulf of Bothnia. The name ''Västernorrland'' means "Western ...

, Sweden

Gallery

Image:Holmen kirke Sigdal.jpg, Holmen Church File:Haglebunatten 1.gif, Haglebunatten File:Solumsmoen kapell.jpg, Solumsmoen Chapel File:Haglebuvatna.jpg, Haglebuvatna

References

Other sources

*Mørch, Andreas & Thormod Skatvedt ''Sigdal og Eggedal'' (Sigdal og Eggedal, 1914) *Mørch, Andreas ''Frå gamle dagar. Folkeminne frå Sigdal og Eggedal'' ( Norsk Folkeminnelag: 1932)

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway *
Kunstnerdalen, Valley of ArtistsSigdal & Eggedal Tourist ServiceSigdalslagSigdal Kommune official webpage

Krødsherad, Sigdal and Modum

Information and news from Sigdal and Eggedal
{{Buskerud Municipalities of Buskerud Municipalities of Viken (county) Ringerike (traditional district) la:Ål