Lom 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 Gudbrandsdal. 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 Fossbergom. Another village area in Lom is Elvesæter. The municipality is the 38th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Lom is the 266th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,212. 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 decreased by 6.4% over the previous 10-year period. Lom is famous for its extensive history, for Lom Stave Church, one of the few remaining stave churches in Norway. Also for being located in the midst of the highest mountains in

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

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 ...

(parish) of Lom 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 1866, the western district of Lom (population: 2,691) was separated and established as the new municipality of Skiaker. Afterwards, the remaining part of Lom had 3,299 residents. The boundaries of Lom have not changed since that time.

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 '' Lom'' farm since the first Lom Stave Church was built there. 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 (

nominative case In grammar, the nominative case ( abbreviated ), subjective case, straight case, or upright case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb, or (in Latin and formal variants ...

) and (

dative case In grammar, the dative case ( abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a drink". In this examp ...

). The name is derived from the

plural In many languages, a plural (sometimes list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated as pl., pl, , or ), is one of the values of the grammatical number, grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than ...

form of which means "clearing" or "

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...

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 6 February 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 ''" Azure, three shovels

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 ...

palewise in fess"'' (). This means the arms have a blue field (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 three vertical

spade A spade is a tool primarily for digging consisting of a long handle and blade, typically with the blade narrower and flatter than the common shovel. Early spades were made of riven wood or of animal bones (often shoulder blades). After the a ...

s lined up horizontally. 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 ...

which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. These spades () were historically used to scoop water from the

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

channels typical for the area. The area is one of the driest in Norway, but the soil is good for

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. It thus needs irrigation. In the 17th century, a system was developed in which melting water from the mountains was transported to the area using wooden channels or aqueducts. The water was further divided using irrigation channels. The arms were designed by Einar H. Skjervold. 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 three parishes () within the municipality of Lom. It is part of the Nord-Gudbrandsdal prosti (

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.

History

An ancient trade route passed up from

Sunnmøre Sunnmøre (, ) is the southernmost traditional district of the western Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. Its main city is Ålesund. The region comprises the municipalities () of Fjord, Giske, Hareid, Herøy, Sande, Haram, Stranda Mu ...

through Lom and

Skjåk Skjåk 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 Bismo. Most of the municipal residents live in the Billingsdalen ...

and down the Gudbrandsdalen valley into

Eastern Norway Eastern Norway (, ) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Oslo, Akershus, Vestfold, Østfold, Buskerud, Telemark, and Innlandet. Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region of Norw ...

. The trade consisted of

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

and

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

heading inland, and

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...

heading to the coast. The Saga of Olaf Haraldson relates that St. Olaf commented as he first looked down on Lom, "What a pity to have to lay waste to such a beautiful valley." In the face of such a clear motivation, the residents of the valley converted (it has since been a recurring discussion whether he looked to Lom or the neighbouring municipality

, at the time a part of Lom.) ''St. Olafs-stuggu'', a building where St. Olaf is reported to have spent a night in 1021, can still be found here. The building is part of the Presthaugen District Museum. Lom Stave Church, which is located in Fossbergom, is believed to have been built in 1158, making 2008 the 850th anniversary. It was enlarged in 1634, with further addition of two

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 ...

s in 1667. It is believed that the church was originally surrounded by a circumambulatory passage, like many other Norwegian stave churches, but that this passage was removed when the two side wings were added. A few Runic inscriptions can be still be seen in the church. The church also contains numerous paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries with religious motifs. Many of the paintings were made by local artist Eggert Munch, a distant relation of the famous

Edvard Munch Edvard Munch ( ; ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His 1893 work ''The Scream'' has become one of Western art's most acclaimed images. His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dread of inher ...

. The church also contains numerous examples of local woodcarving, as seen in the elaborate acanthus scrolls adorning the pulpit. Carved

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

figures on the roof are old symbols of protection against evil. It is still in use as the local church. The Garmo Stave Church, which was built around 1150, has been relocated from Lom municipality and is now at Maihaugen in

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 ...

. It was replaced with a new Garmo Church. During the 1940 Norwegian Campaign German prisoners of war were kept by the Norwegian Army at Lom prisoner of war camp. Lom was bombed twice by the German

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 ...

in April 1940.

Government

Lom 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 and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

of Lom is made up of 17 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 Lom: * 1838-1844: Ole J. Staff * 1845-1848: Mr. Strømsøe * 1848-1851: Ole J. Staff * 1851-1853: Ola G. Kvåle * 1854-1857: Julius Aars * 1858-1861: Ola G. Kvåle * 1862-1865: Rolv S. Blakar * 1866-1869: Ola G. Kvåle * 1870-1873: Rolv S. Blakar * 1874-1879: Gunder Lindsøe * 1880-1889: Sevald R. Blakar * 1890-1893: Rasmus K. Nordal * 1894-1897: Gregor Kvåle * 1898-1901: Olav O. Aukrust * 1902-1907: Rasmus K. Nordal * 1908-1910: Olav O. Aukrust * 1911-1913: Kristen Kjæstad * 1914-1916: Rasmus K. Nordal * 1917-1922: Rasmus Elvesæter * 1923-1925: Halvor Offigsbø * 1926-1928: Rasmus Elvesæter * 1929-1931: Hallvard Holm * 1932-1934: Jonas Galde * 1935-1940: Hans Bruøygard * 1941-1945: Paal O. Aukrust ( NS) * 1945-1945: Hans Bruøygard ( Ap) * 1946-1951: Jo Kveum ( Ap) * 1952-1955: Paal O. Aukrust ( Bp) * 1955-1969: Jo Kveum ( Ap) * 1970-1971: Steinar Bruøygard ( Ap) * 1972-1975: Jon P. Kolden ( Ap) * 1976-1983: Kristen Brandsar ( Sp) * 1984-1987: Steinar Bruøygard ( Ap) * 1988-1991: Jarmund Øyen ( Ap) * 1992–1995: Erik Frisvold ( Sp) * 1996-1999:

Jarmund Øyen Jarmund Øyen (born 6 March 1944) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He served as a deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolu ...

( Ap) * 1999-2003: Magnar Mundhjeld ( LL) * 2003-2011: Simen Bjørgen ( Sp) * 2011–2023: Bjarne Eiolf Holø ( Sp) * 2023-present: Kristian Frisvold ( LL)

Geography

Lom is the "gateway" to the Jotunheimen Mountains and to Jotunheim National Park. The municipality contains the two highest peaks in Norway, Galdhøpiggen at and Glittertind at , which lie within the park. Lom is bordered on the northwest by the municipality of

, in the north by Lesja, in the east and southeast by

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 south by Vang all in

county. In the southwest, it is bordered by Luster municipality in

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and political leadership is based. The County governor (Norway), County Governor is based in ...

county. The main village of Fossbergom is situated in the

Ottadalen Ottadalen () is a valley in the municipalities of Skjåk, Lom, Vågå, and Sel in Innlandet county, Norway. The valley is one of the side valleys that branch off of the large Gudbrandsdalen valley. It lies on the northern edge of Jotunheime ...

valley at an elevation of above sea level.

Climate

The

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

is very continental by Norwegian standards. Average annual precipitation (in Fossbergom) is , and monthly 24-hr averages range from in January to in July. Summers are often sunny with daytime temperatures typically ranging from to . The large mountain areas in Lom are much colder and have more precipitation; snowy weather is possible even in summer at altitudes above . Agriculture has for centuries used

Economy

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

has long been important in Lom. The natural environment and history of this mountainous region also make Lom a

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 ...

destination.

Notable people

* Jakob Klukstad (1705 in Lom – 1773), a Norwegian wood carver and painter *

Knut Hamsun Knut Hamsun (4 August 1859 – 19 February 1952) was a Norwegian writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920 Nobel Prize in Literature, 1920. Hamsun's work spans more than 70 years and shows variation with regard to conscio ...

(1859 in Lom – 1952), a novelist, winner of the 1920

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

. His childhood home can be seen 12 kilometers to the east of Lom center * Erland Frisvold (1877 in Lom – 1971), a politician and Army colonel * Olav Aukrust (1883 in Lom – 1929), a poet and teacher, used

Nynorsk Nynorsk (; ) is one of the two official written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language (''Landsmål''), parallel to the Da ...

. There is a memorial to him near the church * Jørgine Boomer (1887 in Bøverdalen – 1971), a Norwegian-American rags-to-riches hotel manager * Carl Gustav Sparre Olsen (1903–1984), a Norwegian violinist and composer, buried in Lom * Tor Jonsson (1916 in Lom – 1951), a poet and author and winner of The Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature. His childhood cottage is on the sunny-side road ''Solsidevegen'' * Anstein Gjengedal (born 1944 in Lom), the Chief of Police of Oslo from 2000 to 2012 * Arne Brimi (born 1957), a Norwegian chef and food writer * Vidar Johansen (born 1953), a Norwegian jazz musician, music arranger and composer; since 2015 lives on a mountain farm in Lom * Morten Schakenda (1966 – 2022), a Norwegian cook

Attractions

* Lom Stave Church * Jotunheim National Park * Norsk Fjellmuseum, the Norwegian Mountain Museum and information center for Jotunheim National Park * Lom District Museum in Presthaugen – an

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" ...

* Fossheim Stone/Mineral Center * County Route 55 (known as the Sognefjellsvegen) from Lom over the Sognefjell (the highest mountain pass in Northern Europe) * Knut Hamsun's cottage located at Garmostrædet * The Sagasøyla Column in Bøverdalen * Steinahøfjellet * Lom's irrigation canals

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 ...

*
Jotunheimen National Park
{{use dmy dates, date=May 2022 Municipalities of Innlandet 1838 establishments in Norway