Øystre Slidre is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Innlandet Innlandet is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (Jevnaker Municipality and Lunner Municipality were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken ( ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It is located in the traditional district of

Valdres Valdres () is a traditional district in central, southern Norway, situated between the districts of Gudbrandsdalen and Hallingdal. The region of Valdres consists of the six municipalities of Nord-Aurdal, Sør-Aurdal, Øystre Slidre, Vestre S ...

. The

administrative centre An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

of the municipality is the village of Heggenes. Other villages in the municipality include Hegge, Rogne, Volbu, Moane,

Skammestein Skammestein is a village in Øystre Slidre Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located on a hillside overlooking the east shore of the lake Hedalsfjorden. The village of Beitostølen lies about to the northwest and the vill ...

, Beito, and

Beitostølen Beitostølen is a village in Øystre Slidre Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located at an elevation of about above mean sea level on the southern edge of the Valdresflye mountain plateau. The villages of Skammestein an ...

. The municipality is the 120th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Øystre Slidre is the 221st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,291. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

is and its population has increased by 2.9% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Øystre Slidre was established in 1849 when the old municipality of

Slidre Slidre is the administrative centre of Vestre Slidre Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the Slidrefjorden in the Valdres district. The village is located along the European route E16 highway, about northwes ...

(created in 1838) was divided into ''Øystre Slidre'' (population: 2,406) and ''

Vestre Slidre Vestre Slidre 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 Slidre. Other villages in Vestre Slidre include Lomen and Røn. ...

'' (population: 3,130). On 1 January 1882, a small area of

Vang Municipality Vang 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 Vang i Valdres. Other villages in Vang include Hænsgardane, Nystuen, � ...

(population: 31) was transferred to the neighboring Øystre Slidre Municipality. On 1 January 1899, a small unpopulated area of Øystre Slidre was transferred to Vestre Slidre. On 1 January 2021, the Skjelgrenda area of

was transferred to Øystre Slidre.

Name

The municipality (originally the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

) is named after the old ''

'' farm () since the old

Slidredomen Vestre Slidre Church ( or ) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Vestre Slidre Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located on a hill in the village of Slidre at the northern end of Slidrefjord. It is the church for the Slidre ...

church was built there. The name is probably derived from the word which means " sheath" (which is probably referring to a long depression near the church). In 1849, the municipality (and parish) was divided into two separate municipalities. The word (meaning "eastern") was added to the beginning of the name. Thus, the meaning of the name ''Østre Slidre'' is "(the) eastern (part of) Slidre". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled ''Østre Slidre''. On 11 September 1925, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to ''Øystre Slidre'', switching to a local dialect spelling for the same word.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted on 17 March 1989. The official

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

is ''" Plumetty

azure Azure may refer to: Color * Azure (color), a hue of blue ** Azure (heraldry) ** Shades of azure, shades and variations Arts and media * ''Azure'' (Art Farmer and Fritz Pauer album), 1987 * Azure (Gary Peacock and Marilyn Crispell album), 2013 * ...

and

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

"'' (). This means the arms have a

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

(background) that is covered with a plumetty pattern with alternating

tinctures A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolution (chemistry), dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Ge ...

of blue and

(which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used). The arms are designed to look like

tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, Rock (geology), stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, wal ...

s made of

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

. This recognizes that the slate industry was a formerly important industry in the area. Slate roofing was very common in

. The arms were designed by Odd Karlberg. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

has four parishes () within the municipality of Gausdal. 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 in Norway. It includes all of the parishes in Innlandet county plus the parishes in Lunner Municipality in Akershus county. The diocese is based at th ...

(

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the 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 residence of ...

) in the

Diocese of Hamar The Diocese of Hamar () 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 Municipality in Akershus county. Administratively, the diocese is divided into 1 ...

History

("The boat pass") is a narrow pass along the mountain Bitihorn where in medieval times people from Øystre Slidre dragged their boats through, therefore the name. A bit further into the mountain there is a big lake called Vinstre with a lot of fine

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

. As a result of a dispute between people from

and people from

Gudbrandsdalen Gudbrandsdalen (; ) is a valley and Districts of Norway, traditional district in the Norway, Norwegian county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer (town), Lillehammer and the lake ...

, they could not leave their boats behind. Therefore, they had to resort to dragging their boats through Båtskaret. According to local

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

, the dispute began in medieval times with a young bride being married to an old man and a knight stealing his way over the mountains to rescue her. Hegge Stave Church was originally constructed around the year 1216 in the village of Hegge. It has been extensively rebuilt and is mostly post-

reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. It contains a fine altarpiece (

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...

) carved by Eistein Kjørn from

Heidal Heidal or Heidalen is a valley in Sel Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The U-shaped valley follows the river Sjoa which begins in the nearby Jotunheimen mountains eastward until it joins the Gudbrandsdalslågen river in the main val ...

between 1781 and 1782.

Geography

Øystre Slidre shares borders with the municipalities of

Nord-Aurdal Nord-Aurdal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Valdres. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town Fagernes ...

and

in the south, Vang in the west,

Gausdal Gausdal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Segelstad bru. Other villages in Gausdal include Follebu, Forse ...

Sør-Fron Sør-Fron is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hundorp. Other villages in the municipality include Gålå, Ha ...

, and

Nord-Fron Nord-Fron is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Vi ...

to the east, and up to the Valdresflya plateau at the border of

Vågå Vågå () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of ...

in the north. Øystre Slidre is part of the traditional district of

in central, southern Norway, situated between the valleys of

Gudbrandsdal Gudbrandsdalen (; ) is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer and the lake of Mjøsa, extending toward the Romsdalen vall ...

and

Hallingdal Hallingdal () is a valley as well as a traditional district located in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud county in Norway. It consists of six municipalities: Flå, Nes, Gol, Hemsedal, Ål and Hol. Hallingdal is one of the ma ...

. Øystre Slidre measures about on a north–south axis and on an east–west axis. The highest point is Øystre Rasletind at a height of above sea level. About 73% of the land is over in elevation. More than 10% of the land is over above sea level. Some of the notable mountains in the municipality include Gråhøi, Kalvemellen, Kvernhøi, Rabalsmellen, Raslet, Rundemellen,

Skaget Skaget is a mountain in Øystre Slidre Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The mountain is located in the Langsua National Park, about east of the village of Beitostølen. See also *List of mountains of Norway by height There are 29 ...

, and Skarvemellen. The lowest points lie at above sea level.

Lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

s and

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

s cover of the area. The largest lakes are Vinstre, Yddin, Vangsjøen, Javnin, Olevatn, Nedre Heimdalsvatn, Øyangen, and Sandvatnet/Kaldfjorden/Øyvatnet.

Government

Øystre Slidre Municipality is responsible for

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

services,

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

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. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

zoning In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for ...

economic development In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...

, and municipal

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s and utilities. The municipality is governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

of directly elected representatives. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the

Vestre Innlandet District Court Vestre Innlandet District Court () was a district court located in Innlandet county, Norway. This court was based at four different courthouses which are located in Gjøvik, Fagernes, Lillehammer, and Vågåmo. The court is subordinate to the Eid ...

and the

Eidsivating Court of Appeal The Eidsivating Court of Appeal () is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Hamar, with jurisdiction over the Eidsivating judicial district (), comprising the counties of Innlandet, Østfold, a ...

Municipal council

The

of Øystre Slidre is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

Mayors

The

mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

() of Øystre Slidre (incomplete list): *1945-1947: Gullik K. Hovi ( V) *1948-1955: Haldor Hegge ( V) *1956-1959: Knut Bjørnstad ( Sp) *1960-1963: Haldor Hegge ( V) *1964-1975: Knut Bjørnstad ( Sp) *1976-1979: Nils T. Windingstad ( Sp) *1980-1991: Knut Bergo ( V) *1992–1997: Terje Stenseng ( Sp) *1997–1999: Ola Fjelltun ( Sp) *1999–2003: Ove Skaret ( Ap) *2003-2011: Gro Lundby ( Ap) *2011-2019: Kjell Berge Melbybråten ( Ap) *2019-2023: Odd Erik Holden ( Sp) *2023-present: Bjarne Budal ( Ap)

Economy

Because of the rugged landscape, farming is only possible on a small scale, but this is still one of the main sources of income. There are only about of agricultural land in the municipality. About 85% of farmers in the municipality use the high mountain pastures in the summer time. The winter sports resort of

, host to World Cup events in

biathlon The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not ti ...

and

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

, is located here. It is the biggest

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

area in the municipality, and provides a large fraction of the municipality's income.

Notable people

* Olav Beito (1901–1989), a linguist and academic * Ole Haldorsen Bjelbøle (1879–??), a farmer and politician * Torger Hovi (1905–1980), a politician and deputy mayor of Øystre Slidre from 1959–1961 *

Torleiv Bolstad Torleiv Bolstad (25 October 1915 – 10 February 1979) was a Norwegian musician and Hardanger fiddle player. He won the Norwegian Landskappleiken (National Fiddle Contest) four times, in 1947, 1957, 1970 and 1971. Biography Bolstad was born in Ø ...

(1915–1979), a Norwegian musician and

Hardanger fiddle A hardanger fiddle () is a traditional stringed instrument considered 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 four as on a standard v ...

player

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, 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 year on its web site. All rele ...

Official website

Beitostølen Resort
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oystre Slidre Municipalities of Innlandet Valdres 1849 establishments in Norway