Seljord is a municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional regions of

Upper Telemark Upper Telemark ( no, Øvre Telemark) is a Norwegian region comprising the inland of the traditional district Telemark in Vestfold og Telemark county. More than two thirds of the total area of Telemark, or above 10,000 square kilometres, belong to ...

and Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Seljord. The parish of ''Siljord'' 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 ...

). Seljord is famous for its sea serpent, Selma, who allegedly lives in Lake Seljord (''Seljordsvatnet''). The yearly

Dyrsku'n Dyrsku'n is an annual agricultural show held in Seljord, Norway. It originates from the first exhibition held in 1866. Dyrsku'n was primarily a showcase for the breed Telemark cattle. Today's show has a wider agricultural scope, and attracts about ...

market, held since 1866, attracts 60–80,000 visitors each year. The large fair started as a show of farm animals. Today it includes a huge market with vendors selling a variety of goods including base layer clothing, Bergans outdoors equipment, crafts, and food. Amusement rides are also featured. Seljord Folkehøgskule is located in Seljord. The school offers a variety of courses including outdoor adventure, theater, music, and art.
Seljord Folk High School

General information

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old ''Seljord'' farm ( Old Norse: ''Seljugerði''), since the first church was built there. 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 ''selja'' which means "sallow-tree" or " willow" and the last element is ''gerði'' which means " field". Prior to 1889, the name was written "Silgjord" or "Sillejord".

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 15 September 1989. The arms show the sea serpent Selma in a gold-color on a red background.

Notable residents

* Anne Godlid (1773-1863) 19th century Norwegian storyteller *

Jacob Andreas Wille Jacob Andreas Wille (19 August 1777 – 15 November 1850) was a Norwegian priest and politician. He was born in Seljord to vicar (''sogneprest'') Hans Amundsen Wille and his wife Bolette Nilsdatter Møllerup. He graduated as cand.theol. in 1798. ...

(1777–1850) priest, teacher and Mayor of Seljord * Daniel Bremer Juell (1808-1855) Bishop of Tromsø 1849-1855 *

Jørund Telnes Jørund Telnes (10 January 1845 – 3 February 1892) was a Norwegian farmer, teacher, writer and politician. Today he is most commonly associated with his book ''Soga om Sterke-Nils'' about :no:Sterke-Nils (1722–1800), the legendary strongman f ...

(1845-1892) farmer, teacher, writer and Mayor of Seljord *

Halvor J. Sandsdalen Halvor Johannesson Sandsdalen (12 January 1911 – 9 July 1998) was a Norwegian farmer, journalist, poet, novelist, playwright and children's writer. He was also a proponent for Nynorsk, and a local politician. Personal life Sandsdalen was bo ...

(1911-1998) a writer and folklore collector *

Ingebjørg Kasin Sandsdalen Ingebjørg Kasin Sandsdalen (6 September 1915 – 4 September 2003) was a Norwegian poet and politician for the Christian Democratic Party. She was born in Seljord, and in 1938 she married poet and farmer Halvor J. Sandsdalen (1911–1998). Her d ...

(1915-2003) a Norwegian poet *

Aslaug Høydal Aslaug Høydal (22 December 1916 – 20 July 2007) was a Norwegian schoolteacher, novelist, poet and children's writer. She was born in Seljord Seljord is a municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of ...

(1916-2007) a Norwegian schoolteacher, novelist, poet and children's writer *

Terje Grøstad Terje Grøstad (16 December 1925 – 10 July 2011) was a Norwegian painter. graphic artist and illustrator. Biography He was born in Drammen in Buskerud and lived in Flatdal in Telemark from the 1950s. He attended the Norwegian National Academy of ...

(1925–2011) a Norwegian painter and illustrator, lived in Flatdal * Hallvard Flatland (born 1957) TV personality * Kim Leine (born 1961) a Danish-Norwegian author *

Helga Flatland Helga Flatland ( born 16 September 1984) is a Norwegian novelist and children's writer. Making her literary debut in 2010, she eventually became a full-time writer, and has won prizes such as Tarjei Vesaas' debutantpris, Mads Wiel Nygaard's En ...

(born 1984) novelist and children's writer, brought up in Flatdal

Gallery

File:Seljord kirke, minnestøtte for salmedikteren Landstad.jpg, Memorial to

Magnus Brostrup Landstad Magnus Brostrup Landstad (7 October 1802 – 8 October 1880) was a Norwegian parish priest and provost, hymn writer, and poet who published the first collection of authentic Norwegian traditional ballads in 1853. Biography Landstad was born in ...

File:Manndal chapel (3862071465).jpg, Manndal chapel File:Åmotsdal church (3836952040).jpg, Åmotsdal church File:Seljord lake.JPG, Lake Seljord (Seljordsvatnet) File:Seljord Boathouse.JPG, Flooded boathouse in Seljord

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 ...

* {{authority control Municipalities of Vestfold og Telemark Villages in Vestfold og Telemark