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

Hadeland Hadeland () is a traditional district in the southeastern part of Norway. It is centered on the southern part of the large lake Randsfjorden in Innlandet and Akershus counties. The district consists of the municipalities Gran in Innlandet cou ...

. 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

Jaren Jaren is the administrative centre of Gran Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located about to the northwest of the capital city of Oslo. The lake Randsfjorden (Norway's fourth largest lake) lies about west of Jaren. The ...

. Other villages in Gran include

Bjoneroa Bjoneroa is a village in Gran Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the western shore of Norway's fourth largest lake, Randsfjorden. The village lies in the far northwestern part of Gran, just along the municipal ...

Brandbu Brandbu is a village in Gran Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located in Hadeland, along the eastern shore of the large lake Randsfjorden, about to the northwest of the capital city of Oslo. Brandbu and its neighboring ...

, Egge,

Gran Gran may refer to: People *Grandmother, affectionately known as "gran" * Gran (name) Places * Gran, the historical German name for Esztergom, a city and the primatial metropolitan see of Hungary * Gran, Norway, a municipality in Innlandet coun ...

, and Ringstad. The municipality is the 148th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Gran is the 89th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 13,568. 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 0.1% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The

prestegjeld A ''prestegjeld'' was a geographic and administrative area within the Church of Norway (''Den Norske Kirke'') roughly equivalent to a parish. This traditional designation was in use for centuries to divide the kingdom into ecclesiastical areas tha ...

of Gran 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 ...

law). On 1 January 1874, an unpopulated area of Gran Municipality was transferred to the neighboring

Jevnaker Municipality Jevnaker is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Jevnaker with a population of 4,302. The parish of ''Jævnaker'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see form ...

. On 1 January 1897, the municipality was divided into two. The northern part of the municipality (population: 4,719) became the new municipality of

and the southern part of the municipality (population: 3,897) remained as Gran municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee () was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a ...

. On 1 January 1962, the Furulund area of Gran on the west side of the lake

Randsfjorden Randsfjorden is Norway's fourth-largest lake with an area of . Its volume is estimated at just over , and its greatest depth is . The lake is located at an elevation of above sea level. It is located in Innlandet and Akershus counties in the m ...

(population: 180) was transferred to the neighboring

. Also on that date, the remaining part of Gran (population: 5,249) was merged with Brandbu Municipality (population: 6,477) to form a new, larger Gran Municipality. On 1 January 1964, the part of Gran located at the south end of the lake

Einavatnet Einavatnet is a lake which lies in Vestre Toten Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The lake lies at an elevation of above sea level. The lake lies in the southern portion of the municipality, about south of the municipal centre, Raufos ...

(population: 12) was transferred to the neighboring

Vestre Toten Municipality Vestre Toten is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Toten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rau ...

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 (). The name is identical with the word which means "

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

tree".

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 11 December 1987. 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 ''"

Gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). Gules is portrayed in heraldic hatch ...

, two

piles Hemorrhoids (or haemorrhoids), also known as piles, are vascular structures in the anal canal. In their normal state, they are cushions that help with stool control. They become a disease when swollen or inflamed; the unqualified term ''he ...

reversed from each emerges a

cross bottony A number of cross symbols were developed for the purpose of the emerging system of heraldry, which appeared in Western Europe in about 1200. This tradition is partly in the use of the Christian cross an emblem from the 11th century, and increasin ...

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

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) and the

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

is two triangles stretching upwards with a

bottony A number of cross symbols were developed for the purpose of the emerging system of heraldry, which appeared in Western Europe in about 1200. This tradition is partly in the use of the Christian cross an emblem from the 11th century, and increasin ...

cross on the tip of each triangle. The charge has a

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

of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The triangles and crosses were meant to represent the

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

s of the medieval Sister Churches which are located in the municipality. The arms were designed by Kari Ruud Flem from

Jevnaker Jevnaker is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Jevnaker with a population of 4,302. The parish of ''Jævnaker'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see form ...

. 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 Gran. It is part of the

Hadeland og Land 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

Granavollen is the site of the Sister Churches (). These two stone churches are from the

Middle Ages 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 ...

and were constructed side by side. The smaller and older is the ''Mariakirke'', a single

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

church built in the Romanesque style, built sometime before 1150. The neighbouring ''Nikolaikirke'' is a three-aisled

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

, probably inspired by the construction of the ''St. Halvardskirke'' in

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 ...

. It was built sometime between 1150 and 1200. 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 churches were built by two sisters. These two detested each other so much they could not share the same church. A more likely explanation however, is that the ''Mariakirke'' was built for the local congregation, while the ''Nikolaikirke'' was the main church for Hadeland parish. The Granavollen stone is located behind the ''Nikolaikirken''. The Old Tingelstad Church (''Tingelstad St.Petri Kirke'') is another medieval stone church. It is a Romanesque stone church, dated to the 12th century and dedicated to St.Peter. This church has survived even though it has not been in regular use for some 140 years. This is also the location of

Hadeland Folkemuseum Hadeland Folkemuseum is a regional museum for Hadeland (Gran, Lunner and Jevnaker) in southeastern Norway. It was founded in 1913, and is located in Tingelstad in Gran. The museum is situated along ''Kongevegen'' (The King's Road), the road from O ...

with a collection of buildings from the area, farm implements, a

grave mound A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. ...

from 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 a replica of the 11th century Dynna Runestone (''Dynnasteinen''). It also holds an archive of photographs and documents.

Economy

In 2002, the economy of the municipality was in free income per inhabitant, and the net debt per inhabitant was (also municipal economy, not private). Health care spending represents about one-third of the total municipal budget, which is 7.5% higher than the average for Norway. The

Norwegian National Road 4 Norwegian National Road 4 (, ) is a national road in Norway which is the main route north from the capital city of Oslo to the junction with the European route E6 highway at the village of Biri in Gjøvik Municipality. The road runs through Ni ...

runs through the most populated parts of Gran, bringing lots of transportation traffic.

Geography

Gran is part of the

region. It is bordered to the north by the municipalities of

Søndre Land Søndre Land is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Land, Norway, Land. The administrative centre of the municipality is the v ...

and

Vestre Toten Vestre Toten is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Toten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rau ...

(in

county), to the east by

Hurdal Hurdal is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hurdal. Hurdal is located about north of Oslo, along the lake Hurdalsjøen. ...

and

Nannestad Nannestad is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Teigebyen. History Nannestad was established as a municipality on 1 Janua ...

, to the south by

Lunner Lunner is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hadeland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Roa, Norway, ...

and

, and to the west by Ringerike. There are several lakes in Gran including Øyangen,

, and

Vestre Bjonevatnet Vestre Bjonevatnet is a small lake in Norway. The lake is located primarily in Ringerike Municipality in Buskerud county and the far northern tip of the lake stretches across the border into Søndre Land Municipality and Gran Municipality in In ...

Government

Gran 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 Gran is made up of 27 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 Gran (incomplete list): *1838-1839: Carl Jacob Bergh *1856-1861: Amund Larsen Gulden *1864-1867: Amund Larsen Gulden *1945-1946: Olaf Prestsæter ( Bp) *1946-1948: Paul A. Grini ( Bp) *1948-1951: Axel Moger ( Ap) *1952-1954: Lars Skovly ( Ap) *1955-1956: Axel Bråten ( Ap) *1956-1959: Torgrim Dynna ( Bp) *1960-1961: Kristian Torgalsen ( Ap) *1962-1965: Jens Røisli ( Ap) *1966-1970: Alf Skovly ( Ap) *1970-1979: Gunnar Sagbakken ( Ap) *1980-1995: Lars Arne Høydal ( Ap) *1996–2005:

Rigmor Aasrud Rigmor Aasrud (born 26 June 1960) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. She has served as member of parliament for Oppland since 2009, having previously been a deputy member between 1993 and 2005. She also served as the party's parliame ...

( Ap) *2005-2007: Roald Braathen ( Ap) *2007-2011: Inger Staxrud ( LL) *2011-2015: Knut Magnar Lehre ( Ap) *2015–2019: Willy Westhagen ( LL) *2019–2023: Randi Eek Thorsen ( Ap) *2023-present: Gunn Elisabeth Alm Thoresen ( Ap)

Sister cities

Gran has

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

agreements with the following places: * - Favrskov,

Region Midtjylland The Central Denmark Region (), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid-Jutland, is an administrative Regions of Denmark, region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municip ...

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 ...

* -

Kungsbacka Kungsbacka () is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Kungsbacka Municipality in Halland County, Sweden, with 19,057 inhabitants in 2010. It is a part of Greater Gothenburg Metropolitan Area. It is one of the most affluent parts of Sw ...

Halland County Halland County (, ) is a county ('' län'') on the western coast of Sweden. It corresponds roughly to the cultural and historical province of Halland. The capital is Halmstad. Prince Julian, the son of Prince Carl Philip, is Duke of Halland. ...

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 ...

* -

Lugazi Lugazi is a town in the Buikwe District of the Central Region of Uganda. The town is also called "Kawolo", and the two names are interchangeably used by the local inhabitants. Location The town is on the Kampala-Jinja Highway, approximately ...

Kampala District Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala, Kawempe, Makindye, Nakawa, and Rubaga. Kampala's metropolitan area cons ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

* -

Mukono Mukono Town is a municipality in Mukono District in the Central Region of Uganda. The town is administered by the Mukono Town Council. The district headquarters are located in this town. Location Mukono Municipality is east of Kampala ...

Mukono District Mukono is one of the districts in the Central Region of Uganda. The town of Mukono serves as the district headquarters and is home to the district's main commercial center. Location Mukono District is bordered by Kayunga District to the nort ...

* -

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...

Pärnu County Pärnu County ( or ''Pärnumaa''; ) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in the south-western part of the country, on the coast of Gulf of Riga, and borders Lääne and Rapla counties to the north, Järva and Viljandi counties to ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

* -

Saarijärvi Saarijärvi () is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland located in the Central Finland regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of , as of , and covers an area of ...

Länsi-Suomi ''Länsi-Suomi'' () is a morning broadsheet newspaper published in Finland, based in Rauma. History and profile ''Länsi-Suomi'' was established in 1905. The paper is part of Marva Group and is based in Rauma. Until 1992 the paper supported the co ...

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, ...

Notable people

Cally Monrad Ragnhild Caroline Monrad (31 July 1879 – 23 February 1950) was a Norwegian singer, actress and poet. She was born in Gran, studied singing in Dresden, stayed in Berlin for a long time, toured with Edvard Grieg, and performed for King Oscar ...

(1879 in Gran – 1950), a Norwegian singer, actress, and poet. Retrieved 25 December 2020. * Hans Stenseth (1896 in Gran – 1994), a leading Norwegian flautist *

Kristian Horn Kristian Horn (12 May 1903 – 28 April 1981) was a Norwegian botanist and humanist. Biography He was born in Brandbu as a son of store owner Martinius Horn (1887–1956) and Gina Kristoffersen (1875–1931). In 1932 he married Ester Jynge, a daug ...

(1903 in Brandbu – 1981), a Norwegian botanist, academic, and humanist * Kirsten Langbo (1909 in Gran – 1996), a children's writer, singer-songwriter, and entertainer * Ulla-Mari Brantenberg (born 1947), a Norwegian glass artist who lives in Brandbu *

Espen Reinertsen Espen Reinertsen (born 1979 in Gran, Norway) is a Norwegian saxophonist, flutist, composer, and music producer. Biography Reinertsen released his debut solo album in 2015 on the label of Susanna Wallumrød, SusannaSonata. He followed up with t ...

(born 1979 in Gran), a saxophonist, flutist, composer, and music producer

Sport

* Sverre Fredheim (1907 in Gan – 1981), an American Olympic skier * Torstein Seiersten (born 1931 in Brandbu), a retired speed skater who competed at the 1956 Winter Olympics, 1956 & 1960 Winter Olympics * Trond-Arne Bredesen (born 1967 in Gran), a Nordic combined skier who competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway *
Official website of Gran

Hadeland Folkemuseum

Raukr Viking Centre
{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Gran, Norway, Hadeland Municipalities of Innlandet 1838 establishments in Norway