Flå is a municipality in Buskerud 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 municipality lies at the most southeasterly point in the valley and traditional region of Hallingdal.

General information

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was ''Flóða sokn'' (''sokn'' means parish). This is the plural

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 ''flœð'' meaning " flood" (probably because flooding has been a problem for many farms in the river valley). Prior to 1921, the name was written ''"Flaa"''.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 1 March 1985. The arms show a black

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

on a gray/silver background. This was chosen because there used to be many bears in the Vassfaret area. Prior to 1985, the municipality used a logo with a bear walking through the area.

History

Ancient routes went to

Vestlandet Western Norway ( nb, Vestlandet, Vest-Norge; nn, Vest-Noreg) is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrative ...

through Valdres and Hallingdal and down Røldal to

Odda Odda () is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1913 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Ullensvang Municipality in Vestland county. It was located in southeastern Hordaland c ...

. Reflecting this route, Hallingdal and its neighboring valley of Valdres in Oppland to the north were originally populated by migrants from Vestlandet and spoke a western dialect. In recognition of this, Cardinal Nicholas Breakespear, who was in Scandinavia as

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

in 1153, included Hallingdal in the

diocese of Stavanger The Diocese of Stavanger ( no, Stavanger bispedømme) is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers all of Rogaland county in western Norway. The cathedral city is Stavanger, where the Stavanger Cathedral is located. The bishop is Anne Li ...

Geography

Flå is the southernmost municipality within Hallingdal and forms the gateway to Hallingdal from the south. Flå is bordered in the north by

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 ...

, in the east by Ringerike, in the south by Krødsherad and Sigdal, in the west by Nore og Uvdal, and in the northwest by Nes. Travelers from the south pass through the 65 m long tunnel Hallingporten on Norwegian National Road 7 (''Riksvei 7'') just located north of Gulsvik. Vassfaret is a forested mountain valley bordering Flå. The Norefjell mountain range also includes parts of Flå as well as Nes, Ringerike and

municipalities. Lake Krøderen (''Krøderfjord'') stretches about 41 km north from the village of Krøderen and reaches to Gulsvik. The

Hallingdalselva Hallingdalselva ( en, Hallingdal River) is a river which flows through the valley and traditional district of Hallingdal in Buskerud County, Norway. Within the valley, the river is often referred to as the Great River (''Storåne''). Hallingdal ...

river flows into the lake from the north. The area includes the Vassfaret and Vidalen Conservation area which includes Festningen Nature Reserve and Bukollen Nature Reserve as well as the Inner Vassfaret Conservation area which includes Bringen Nature Reserve. .

Notable people

* Kolbjørn Buøen (1895–1975) a Norwegian actor *

Fredrik Gulsvik Fredrik Gulsvik (born 29 August 1989) is a Norwegian former footballer. He played in Tippeligaen with Odd Grenland and Sandefjord, in addition to Mjøndalen before he decided to retire at the age of 22. Club career Gulsvik was born in Flå an ...

(born 1989) a Norwegian former footballer with over 100 club caps

Attractions

Bjørneparken is located on Vikberget in Flå. The park is a sanctuary featuring various animals including bears, elk, deer, wolf, and lynx.

Protected areas

* Bringen Nature Reserve, established 28 June 1985 * Bukollen Nature Reserve, established 28 June 1985 * Festningen Nature Reserve, established 28 June 1985 * Flenten Nature Reserve, established 24 September 1993 * Stavnselva Nature Reserve, established 13 December 2002

Gallery

File:Vidalen.JPG , Vidalen File:Bukollen.JPG, Bukollen File:Flaa Stavn.JPG, Stavnselva File:Krøderen1.jpg, Lake Krøderen File:Flå kirke 2012.jpg, Flå Church File:Hallingporten.jpg, Hallingporten road tunnel File:2012-07 Bjørneparken 03.jpg, Bjørneparken

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 ...

*
Culture in Flå on the map
from

Kulturnett.no The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality ( no, Det kongelige kultur- og likestillingsdepartement; short name ''Kultur- og likestillingsdepartementet'') is responsible for cultural policy, regulations and other matters related to the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fla Hallingdal Municipalities of Buskerud