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is a village or small town in
Dovre Municipality Dovre 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 Dovre. Other villages in Dovre include Dombås and Hjerkinn. The ...
in northern
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 ...
. The village serves as the commercial centre for the upper
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 ...
valley. It lies at an important junction of roads with the
European route E6 European route E6 (, , or simply E6) is the main north–south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the countr ...
highway heading north and south connecting the cities of
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
and
Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...
and the
European route E136 European route E136 is a European highway located entirely in Møre og Romsdal and Innlandet counties in Norway. The highway begins in the town of Ålesund (town), Ålesund in Møre og Romsdal county on the west coast of Norway, and it goes east ...
highway heading west to
Åndalsnes is a town in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Åndalsnes is also the administrative center of Rauma Municipality. It is located along the Isfjorden, at the mouth of the river Rauma, at the north end of the Romsdalen valle ...
. The
Dovrebanen The Dovre Line () is a Norwegian railway line with three slightly different lines which all lead to the historic city of Trondheim. Definition *Dovre Line is the main line between Eidsvoll Station and Trondheim Station, used by Jernbaneverke ...
and
Raumabanen The Rauma Line () is a long railway between the town of Åndalsnes (in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county), and the village of Dombås (in Dovre Municipality in Innlandet county), in Norway. Running down the Romsdalen valley, the line ...
railway lines meet in the village at Dombås Station as well.
Dombås Church Dombås Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Dovre Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Dombås. It is one of the two churches for the Dombås parish which is part of the Nord-Gudbrandsdal p ...
is located in the village. The village has a population (2021) of 1164 and a
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 ...
of .


History


19th century

A description of the village area from 1895:


Twentieth century

The
Dovre Line The Dovre Line () is a Norwegian railway line with three slightly different lines which all lead to the historic city of Trondheim (city), Trondheim. Definition *Dovre Line is the main line between Eidsvoll Station and Trondheim Station, used b ...
was extended to Dombås in 1913 and Dombås Station built. The line was extended onwards to
Støren is the administrative centre of Midtre Gauldal Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located in the Gauldalen valley at the confluence of the rivers Gaula and ''Sokna''. Støren is located on the European route E06 highw ...
in 1921. Three years later, the
Rauma Line The Rauma Line () is a long railway between the town of Åndalsnes (in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county), and the village of Dombås (in Dovre Municipality in Innlandet county), in Norway. Running down the Romsdalen valley, the line ...
opened connecting Dombås to
Åndalsnes is a town in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Åndalsnes is also the administrative center of Rauma Municipality. It is located along the Isfjorden, at the mouth of the river Rauma, at the north end of the Romsdalen valle ...
.
Dombås Church Dombås Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Dovre Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Dombås. It is one of the two churches for the Dombås parish which is part of the Nord-Gudbrandsdal p ...
was completed in 1939.


World War II

In 1940, during the Norwegian Campaign, the Germans recognized this rail, roadway and telegraph junction was strategically significant. From 13 April on the Germans started receiving messages of imminent allied action in Norway through the port of Åndalsnes. To counter this, the German High Command ordered a takeover of Dombås. The result was that a company of
fallschirmjäger The () were the airborne forces branch of the Luftwaffe before and during World War II. They were the first paratroopers to be committed in large-scale airborne operations. They were commanded by Kurt Student, the Luftwaffe's second-in-comman ...
s from 1st battalion of the 1st Regiment, 7th Flieger Division was dropped at Dombås on 14 April, intending to cut the rail line. The German company had the misfortune to jump straight onto the second battalion of Infantry Regiment no. 11 ( Møre) that was bivouacked at Dombås on their way to the front north of Oslo. In the second opposed paratrooper attack in history (the first being the one made against
Sola Air Station Sola Air Station () is a base for the Royal Norwegian Air Force. It is located in Sola municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. Rescue Helicopter Service is stationed at Sola along with Helicopter Squadron 330. Also located at Sola is Stavang ...
on 9 April) only seven out of fifteen
Junkers Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. First introduced during 1930 as a civilian airliner, it was adapted int ...
s made it back to their base at Fornebu airport the rest were lost to Norwegian Colt M/29
anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...
machine gun fire, dispersing the paratroopers. Most of the surviving paratroopers were taken prisoner soon after landing. Only a single group of sixty-three Germans, under the company commander
Oberleutnant (English: First Lieutenant) is a senior lieutenant Officer (armed forces), officer rank in the German (language), German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. In Austria, ''Oberle ...
Herbert Schmidt managed to avoid capture and sealed off the
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 ...
valley holed up in two strategically placed farms. Only on 19 April did the isolated group of Germans surrender, having been surrounded by far superior Norwegian forces for five days. On 16 April the Norwegians brought two
mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...
and several Colt M/29
heavy machine gun A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require mounting onto a weapons platform to be operably stable or ...
s to bear on Schmidt's men and from 18 April a 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun bombarded the German positions from Dombås Railway Station. On 19 April the paratroopers could no longer stand the bombardment and sent forward the captured Norwegian Major Kjøs to convey their surrender message. All in all 150 fallschirmjägers ended up in Norwegian captivity, being kept in a
prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...
near
Kristiansund Kristiansund (, ; historically spelled Christianssund and earlier named Fosna) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality on the western coast of Norway in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal counties of Norway, county. The admin ...
until released when resistance collapsed in South Norway in early May. On 21 April 1940, a German Luftwaffe bombing attack on the village's railway areas resulted in the first American military casualty of World War II. Captain Robert M. Losey, an aeronautical meteorologist serving as an air attaché to American embassies in the Nordic countries, was killed while observing the bombing near the entrance to a rail tunnel where he and others had sought safety. A monument to Captain Losey now stands in Dombås. Five Norwegians were killed by the same bomb as Losey, and another 18 wounded. Also in April 1940, after evacuating Oslo after the German invasion of Norway,
King Haakon VII Haakon VII (; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was King of Norway from 18 November 1905 until his death in 1957. The future Haakon VII was born in Copenhagen as Prince Carl of Denmark. He was the second son of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess ...
first travelled with his government to
Elverum Elverum () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Elverum ( ...
, but after that city and Nybergsund was bombed by the
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
the decision was made to move to Gudbrandsdal where the Army High Command had relocated. The King's entourage at first got lost and ended up at Drevsø on the Swedish border where they were turned back by Swedish border guards. The King then went first to
Hjerkinn Hjerkinn is a village in Dovre Municipality in Innlandet county in Norway. The village is located in the Dovrefjell mountains, about northeast of the village of Dombås and about northwest of the village of Folldal. It is one of the driest pl ...
and then to Otta. On his way to Otta the King passed through Dombås on 13 April 1940, only five hours before the German paratrooper attack took place. On 14 April the King and the Crown Prince remained at Otta, transmitting radio messages to their people. As the German attack came the
Fallschirmjäger The () were the airborne forces branch of the Luftwaffe before and during World War II. They were the first paratroopers to be committed in large-scale airborne operations. They were commanded by Kurt Student, the Luftwaffe's second-in-comman ...
were landing dispersed over a huge area and the royal family decided to spend the night at
Dovre Dovre 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 Dovre (villag ...
, only half an hour from the nearest Germans. Although the Fallschirmjägers never got any nearer the King, who was protected by the local Dovreskogen gun club, they did ambush the cabinet minister Frihagen, capturing his car and a suitcase with . Minister Frihagen managed to escape the ambush and the money was recovered when Oberleutnant Schmidt surrendered 19 April. The King eventually made his way to
Molde Molde () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Pen ...
from where he was brought to
Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...
by HMS ''Glasgow''. During the
German occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...
, Dombås and
Oppdal Oppdal may refer to: Places *Oppdal Municipality is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Dovre region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Oppdal ( ...
were the locations of the Stalag 380
prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...
, relocated in late 1942 from
Skarżysko-Kamienna Skarżysko-Kamienna () is a city in northern Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in south-central Poland by Kamienna (river), Kamienna river, to the north of Świętokrzyskie Mountains; one of the voivodship's major cities. Prior to 1928, it bore the name ...
in German-occupied Poland.


Climate

Dombås has a boreal climate with modest precipitation. Summer is the wettest season; late winter and spring is the driest season.


Media

The newspaper '' Vigga'' is published in Dombås.


Notable residents

*
Sigurd Einbu Sigurd Einbu (November 5, 1866 – May 10, 1946) (spelled ''Enebue'' at birth), was a Norwegian self-taught astronomer from Lesjaskog, known to have discovered a nova in the star, stellar constellation Gemini (constellation), Gemini on March 12, 19 ...
(1866–1946), a self-taught astronomer, he ran a magnetic monitoring station at Dombås from 1916 * Ragnar Solberg (1898–1967), a Norwegian poet, living in Fokstua * Eli Hagen (born 1947 in Dombås), a TV presenter and personality, wife of Carl Ivar Hagen *
Lars Berger Lars Berger (born 1 May 1979) is a former Norwegian biathlete and cross-country skier. Life and career Fellow former biathlete Tora Berger is his sister. Berger's family moved to Lesja Municipality in Oppland county in 1985. At the age of six, ...
(born 1979) and
Tora Berger Tora Berger (born 18 March 1981) is a retired Norwegian biathlete and Olympic champion. Personal life Berger married in 2010, having met her husband in high school.
(born 1981), retired Norwegian cross-country skiers. * Marcus Kleveland (born 1999), snowboarder.


See also

* Dombås Station


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dombaas Dovre Villages in Innlandet