Gol () 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' ...

Buskerud Buskerud () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Vestland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardanger ...

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 part of the

traditional region A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

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 ...

. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Gol which is also the population center. Gol was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...

). The area of

Hemsedal Hemsedal is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Buskerud Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hallingdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Trøym ...

was separated from Gol in 1897 to become a separate municipality. The municipality of Gol is bordered to the north by the municipality of Nord-Aurdal (in

Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The ...

county), to the east by Sør-Aurdal (in Oppland county), to the south by Nes, and to the west by

Ål Ål is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Buskerud Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hallingdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ål. The par ...

and

General information

Name

The

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

form of the name was ''Gǫrð''. This is probably an old river name (for the lower part of Hemsil river). The name of the river maybe derived from the word ''garðr'' m 'fence; border' - and the meaning is then 'the border river'.

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 last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achiev ...

is from modern times. They were granted on 13 September 1985. The arms are gold with three black keys in the center. The keys are derived from the key for Gol stave church.

Transport

The

Bergen Line The Bergen Line, or the Bergen Railway ( or ), is a long scenic overlook, scenic standard gauge railway line between Bergen and Hønefoss, Norway. The name is often applied to the entire route from Bergen to Oslo, including the Randsfjord Line ...

from Bergen to Oslo runs through Gol Station which opened in 1907. Gol is connected to

Norwegian National Road 7 Norwegian National Road 7 (, ) is a national road in Norway which runs from the town of Hønefoss in Buskerud county to the village of Granvin in Vestland county. The route is long and runs east–west through Viken and Vestland counties ove ...

, 50 and 52 as well as

Norwegian county road A Norwegian county road ( or ) is a highway in Norway owned and maintained by the local county municipality. Some of the roads have road signs. The signs are white with black numbers. History In 1931, a system of national roads ''(Riksvei)'', ...

51. There are daily bus connections to

Gjøvik Gjøvik () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Gjøvik (town), town of Gjøvik. Some of the villages in Gjøvik include Biri, Norway, Biri, Bybrua, ...

and

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...

Gol Church

Gol Church (''Gol kirke'') was constructed during 1882 based upon a design by architect Henrik Nissen. The church is characterized by

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

style with gables and small towers with crosses. It was built of wood and has 500 seats. The

mediaeval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...

Gol stave church (built ca. 1216) was due for demolition after the construction of the larger and new church. Gol stave church was saved from destruction by the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments (''Fortidsminneforeningen''), which bought the materials with the intention of re-erecting the church elsewhere. Financial problems were solved when King Oscar II decided to pay for its relocation and restoration as the central building of his private

open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings" ...

near

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 ...

. The restoration was overseen by architect Waldemar Hansteen. It was completed in 1885. In 1907, the royal museum was merged with the Norsk Folkemuseum, which now manages the stave church, still nominally belonging to the reigning monarch. Gol replica03020004

Attractions

*Gordarike Familiepark is a

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

located in downtown Gol. The theme and environment are built to reflect the

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

and Middle Ages. A modern

replica A replica is an exact (usually 1:1 in scale) copy or remake of an object, made out of the same raw materials, whether a molecule, a work of art, or a commercial product. The term is also used for copies that closely resemble the original, without ...

of Gol stave church has been built as a

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...

at the park. The replica was built in the 1980s and consecrated in 1994. *

Gol Bygdetun Gol Bygdetun is an outdoor museum in the village of Gol in Buskerud county, Norway. Gol Bygdetun is a subsidiary of Hallingdal Museum. Gol is located in the traditional rural region of Hallingdal Hallingdal () is a valley as well as a traditi ...

is an open-air museum located in the village of Gol. It was built around the old ''Skaga'' farm. It is dedicated to the cultural history of Gol, and contains farm buildings of nearly all types. Barns, lofts and wooden stables are all featured together with a millhouse, a school house and a log cabin. The oldest building dates back to 17th century. Gol Bygdetun is a subsidiary of Hallingdal Museum which operating in association with Buskerudmuseet.

Notable residents

* Bjørn Frøysåk (1634 in Gol – 1709) a Norwegian farmer and merchant * Johan Willoch Erichsen (1842–1916 in Gol) a Norwegian Bishop of Bjørgvin * Lilly Heber (1879 in Gol – 1944) Norwegian literary critic and historian * Hans Johan Jensen (1882–?) a Norwegian politician, farmer and carpenter * Sigrun Eng (born 1951 in Sør-Fron) a Norwegian politician, member of Gol municipal council 1983 to 1991 *

Pål Golberg Pål Golberg (born 16 July 1990) is a Norwegian Cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skier. His biggest World Cup success so far is the victory in FIS Ski Tour 2020, stage event placed in Sweden and Norway. He represents the club Gol IL. ...

(born 1990 in Gol) is a Norwegian cross-country skier

Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Gol: * -

Årjäng Årjäng is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Årjäng Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden with 3,228 inhabitants in 2010. It is located around from the Norway-Sweden border and on the road between Karlstad and Oslo. In 1540 År ...

Värmland County Värmland County () is a county or '' län'' in west central Sweden. It borders the Swedish counties of Dalarna, Örebro and Västra Götaland, as well as the Norwegian counties of Østfold, Akershus and Innlandet to the west. The title of Duke ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

* - Fanø, Region Syddanmark,

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

* -

Virrat Virrat (; ) is a town and municipality of Finland. Part of the Pirkanmaa region, it is located north of Tampere and west of Jyväskylä. Virrat is from Helsinki. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The ...

Pirkanmaa Pirkanmaa (; ; ), also known as ''Tampere Region'' in government documents, is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, South Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Päijät-Häme, Kanta-Häme and Southwest Finland. Most of the wate ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

* - Bracebridge,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Gallery

File:Tisleifjorden dam.jpg, Tisleifjorden Dam File:Gol stasjon 110812.jpg, Gol Train Station File:Hemsil II kraftverk.JPG, Hemsil II Kraftverk File:Gol Politi lensmannsgaarden IMG 1577.JPG, Gol Police Station

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 ...

* {{authority control Hallingdal Municipalities of Buskerud Villages in Buskerud