Lærdal 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' ...

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 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 located on the south side of the

Sognefjorden The Sognefjord or Sognefjorden (, ), nicknamed the King of the Fjords (), is the longest and deepest fjord in Norway. Located in Vestland county in Western Norway, it stretches inland from the ocean to the small village of Skjolden in the muni ...

in the traditional district of

Sogn Sogn is a traditional district in Western Norway (''Vestlandet''). It is located in the county of Vestland, surrounding the Sognefjord, the largest/longest fjord in Norway. The district of Sogn consists of the municipalities of Aurland, Balestra ...

. The

administrative center 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 Belgiu ...

of the municipality is the village of

Lærdalsøyri Lærdalsøyri is the administrative centre of Lærdal Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located along the Lærdalselvi river where it empties into the Lærdalsfjorden, a branch off of the main Sognefjorden. The village is lo ...

. The old

Filefjell Kongevegen The Filefjell Kongevegen () is the name of the old trail over Filefjell, the mountainous area between Lærdal/ Borgund, and Valdres in Norway. It is the historical main route linking Western Norway and Eastern Norway. Due to the sometimes wet and m ...

road passes through Lærdal on its way to

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 ...

and later to

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 municipality is the 71st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway (with over half of this area consisting of mountains). Lærdal is the 273rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,129. 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 2.2% over the previous 10-year period. The Lærdal river valley is long, running from

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 ...

(

Høgeloft Høgeloft is a mountain on the border between the municipalities of Lærdal (in Vestland county) and Hemsedal (in Buskerud county), Norway. At above sea level, it is the highest mountain in the Filefjell mountain range. Høgeloft is one of the ...

mountain) and the

Filefjell Filefjell is a mountainous area in Norway. It is located between Lærdal in the Vestland county and Valdres in Innlandet county. It is the historical, as well as modern, main route, linking Western Norway and Eastern Norway. The European route E1 ...

mountains in the east to the

in the west. About half of the municipal residents live in the main village of

; the rest in the small villages in the surrounding valleys such as Borgund, Ljøsne,

Tønjum Tønjum is a village in Lærdal Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located along the river Lærdalselvi, about southeast of the municipal centre of Lærdalsøyri. The eastern end of the Lærdal Tunnel (part of the European ...

, Erdal, Vindedalen,

Frønningen Frønningen is a village in Lærdal Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the far northwestern corner of the municipality, east of where the Aurlandsfjorden empties into the main Sognefjorden. Prior to 1992, this area was a p ...

, and Strendene. The Old Lærdalsøyri village has 161 protected buildings. Some of the houses there date back to the mid-18th century. On the night of 18–19 January 2014, a major fire destroyed at least 30 buildings.

General information

''Lærdal'' was established as a

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). In the 19th century, the name was sometimes spelled ''Leerdahl'' or ''Leirdal''. The municipality of 1838 was created to be identical to the Lærdal

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 ...

''(

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 ...

)'' that included the sub-parishes () of Borgund,

, Hauge, and Aardal. In 1863, the northeastern sub-parish of Aardal (population: 1,791) was separated from Lærdal to form a separate municipality. In 1864, the eastern sub-parish of Borgund (population: 963) was separated from Lærdal to form its own municipality. This left Lærdal with 2,777 residents. 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 1964, Lærdal (population: 1,755) was merged with the municipality of Borgund (population: 492) and the Muggeteigen, Luggenes, and Bergmål farms (population: 11) along the Sognefjorden from the municipality of

Årdal Årdal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located at the end of the Årdalsfjorden in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sogn. The village of Årdalstangen is ...

. After the merger, Lærdal had a total of 2,258. On 1 January 1992, the

area (population: 32) of

Leikanger Municipality Leikanger () is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Sogn og Fjordane Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It was located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of S ...

was transferred to Lærdal municipality. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly created

county after

Sogn og Fjordane Sogn og Fjordane (; literally "Parish and the Fjords") was a Counties of Norway, county in western Norway, from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, after it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsda ...

and

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Munici ...

counties were merged.

Name

The municipality (originally the

) is named after the old village of ''

Lærdal Lærdal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the south side of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Lærdalsøyri. The old Filefjell Ko ...

'' (). The first element is the

genitive case In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive ca ...

of the old name of the local river . The meaning of the river name is unknown. The last element is which means "

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

" or "dale".

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 18 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 dragon heads

bendwise In heraldry, a bend is a band or strap running from the upper dexter (the bearer's right side and the viewer's left) corner of the shield to the lower sinister (the bearer's left side, and the viewer's right). Authorities differ as to how m ...

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

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 ...

heads aligned diagonally. 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 dragon heads are based on the wooden dragons seen on the gables of the historic

Borgund Stave Church Borgund Stave Church () is a former parish church initially of the Catholic Church and later the Church of Norway in Lærdal Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It was built around the year 1200 as the village church of Borgund, and belong ...

that was built around 1150 in Lærdal. The arms were designed by Inge Rotevatn. 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 Lærdal. It is part of the

Sogn prosti Sogn is a traditional district in Western Norway (''Vestlandet''). It is located in the county of Vestland, surrounding the Sognefjord, the largest/longest fjord in Norway. The district of Sogn consists of the municipalities of Aurland, Balestran ...

(

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 Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin () is one of the 11 dioceses that make up the Church of Norway. It includes all of the churches located in the county of Vestland in Western Norway, and those outside of Norway in the Seamen's Church. The cathedral cit ...

Government

Lærdal 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 Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the

Gulating Court of Appeal The Gulating Court of Appeal () is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Bergen. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestland and Rogaland plus Sirdal Municipality in Agder county ...

Municipal council

The

of Lærdal 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 Lærdal: *1838-1843: Nils Rossing Bull *1844-1845: Jan Henrik Nitter Hansen *1846-1847: Hannibal Winsnes *1848-1857: Nils Rossing Bull *1858-1859: Jan Rumohr *1860-1863: Jørgen Christian Lindstrøm *1864-1871: Jan Rumohr *1872-1875: Søren Schelderup *1876-1877: David Anderson Raa *1878-1879: Baard Lysne *1880-1881: Tøger Ravn *1882-1888: Otto Blehr *1889-1891: Peder Th. Tønjum *1896-1898: Gerhard Dahl *1899-1901: Tøger Ravn *1908-1910: Hans H. Michelsen *1911-1913: Haakon Mo *1914-1916: Hans H. Michelsen *1917-1922: Olav Skjær *1923-1925: Nils Lysne *1926-1937: Olav Skjær *1938-1942: Per Severin Hjermann ( Bp) *1942-1945: Petter Klingenberg ( NS) *1945-1954: Per Severin Hjermann ( Bp) *1954-1959: Egil Natvik ( V) *1960-1963: Ingebrigt Eri ( Sp) *1964-1975: Anders Lunden ( Ap) *1976-1979: Per Hjermann ( Sp) *1980-1981: Knut L. Blaaflat ( Sp) *1982-1989: Knut O. Hegg ( Sp) *1990-1999: Hans A. Tønjum ( Sp) *1999-2003: Olav Wendelbo ( Sp) *2003–2007: Knut O. Aarethun ( Ap) *2007–2011: Arne Sanden ( Ap) *2011–2019: Jan Geir Solheim ( Sp) *2019–present: Audun Mo ( Ap)

Twin towns – Sister cities

Lærdal 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: *

Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

''(since 1998)''

Geography

Lærdal is located southeast of the

and east of the

Aurlandsfjorden Aurlandsfjord (, ) is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. The fjord flows through the municipalities of Aurland, Vik, and Lærdal. The long fjord is a branch off of the main Sognefjorden, Norway's longest fjord. The fjord is deep and narrow ...

. The municipality is centered on the Lærdalselvi River with the

and Hemsedalsfjell mountain ranges on its east. Lærdal is bordered in

county by the municipality of

Aurland Aurland () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Counties of Norway, county of Vestland, Norway. It is located on the south side of the Sognefjorden in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sogn. The administrativ ...

to the southwest,

Sogndal Sogndal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansv ...

to the northwest, and

to the north. It is also bordered on the east by Vang (

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) and

(

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), and in the south 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

Hol HOL or Hol may refer to: Places * Hol, Norway, in Buskerud county * Hol Municipality (Nordland), a former municipality in Norway * Hol, Tjeldsund, Norway * Hol, Ludhiana, Punjab, India Science and technology * HOL (proof assistant), a family of i ...

(both in

county). The lakes

Eldrevatnet Eldrevatnet or Eldrevatn is a lake in the municipality of Lærdal in Vestland county, Norway. The lake lies at an elevation of above sea level. It is located about southeast of the village of Borgund, not far from the European route E16 hig ...

Juklevatnet Juklevatnet is a lake in the municipalities of Hemsedal (in Buskerud county) and Lærdal (in Vestland county), Norway. It is located east of Borgund in Lærdal, just to the south of the mountain Høgeloft in the Filefjell range. The lake sits ...

, and

Øljusjøen Øljusjøen is a lake in the municipalities of Hemsedal (in Buskerud county) and Lærdal (in Vestland county), Norway. The lake is located at an elevation of above sea level. It sits about southeast of the village of Borgund, Sogn og Fjordan ...

are located along the southeastern border, south of the mountain

Climate

Lærdal is situated near the head of Sognefjorden. The very long fjord snakes past mountain ranges on its way from the sea inland to Lærdal, and the mountains create a

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...

effect for the innermost part of the fjord, making Lærdal much drier than the coast, with just 20% of Bergen's precipitation. The mountains also sometimes gives a

föhn effect A Foehn, or Föhn (, , , ), is a type of dry, relatively warm katabatic wind, downslope wind in the leeward, lee of a mountain range. It is a rain shadow wind that results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air that has dropped most of ...

in winter for Lærdal. The climate of Lærdal is a thus a mix of oceanic and continental features. Lærdal has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

, or a temperate

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(Cfb), depending on winter threshold ( as used in US or as in the original

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

). The record high was recorded both July 2018 and July 2019. The all-time low is from January 1942.

Lærdal tunnel

The '' Lærdalstunnel'' was built through the Aurlandsfjell mountains dividing

from Lærdal. It is the world's longest road tunnel () at . Construction began in 1995 and was completed in 2000.

Lærdalselvi river

The River was traditionally one of the most exclusive

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

and

sea trout Sea trout is the common name usually applied to anadromous (sea-run) forms of brown trout (''Salmo trutta''), and is often referred to as ''Salmo trutta'' morpha ''trutta''. Other names for anadromous brown trout are bull trout, sewin (Wales ...

rivers in

. Known by the Norwegian King Harald V as his second Queen, the river has established Lærdal as one of the meccas of salmon and sea trout

fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling technique that uses an ultra-lightweight lure called an artificial fly, which typically mimics small invertebrates such as flying and aquatic insects to attract and catch fish. Because the mass of the fly lure is in ...

, among others for the unusual fact that the river offers daylight fishing and dry fly fishing for sea trout. The salmon population was drastically depleted after an infestation with the salmon parasite ''

Gyrodactylus salaris ''Gyrodactylus salaris'', commonly known as salmon fluke, salmon killer, or the Norwegian salmon killer is a tiny monogenean ectoparasite which lives on the body surface of freshwater fish. This leech-like parasite has been implicated in the redu ...

'' in the fall of 1996. After several treatments with

aluminium sulfate Aluminium sulfate is a salt with the chemical formula, formula . It is soluble in water and is mainly used as a Coagulation (water treatment), coagulating agent (promoting particle collision by neutralizing charge) in the purification of drinking ...

, there are still problems with the parasite. In fall 2007, a smolt was again found infected by the parasite, and new treatments started in late March 2008. Because of this parasite, the river was closed to angling for the 2008 season. The river has formed a large delta at

, where huge amounts of

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension (chemistry), suspension with water. Silt usually ...

and sand have been deposited by the river. Although the area has been spoiled by some unfortunate landfills it is still a sight worth seeing.

Economy

Lærdal has long traditions in farming, with the lower region of the valley being great for vegetable crops. Because of its dry climate it was one of the first places in Norway to begin the use of artificial

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 ...

. Despite having an inland climate, the water in the fjord keeps the winters from getting too cold. The local

Western Norway Regional Health Authority Western Norway Regional Health Authority () is a public ownership, state-owned regional health authority (Norway), regional health authority responsible for operating the hospitals in the counties of Rogaland and Vestland in Norway. Based in Stava ...

hospital provides medical care for Lærdal itself and seven of the surrounding municipalities. The hospital, together with Opplysningen 1881 (directory assistance company), Østfold Energiproduksjon A/S and

Norsk Hydro Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norway, Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. It is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. It has operations in some 50 countries around th ...

Aluminium Production Facilities in

, are the major employers in Lærdal. The local government and health authority is trying to close this hospital due to cost cutting, which may have negative effects on the area.

Notable people

* Peder Hjermann (1754 in Lærdal – 1834), a farmer and representative at the

Norwegian Constitutional Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly ( or ) is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised the dissolution of the union with Denmark. The meetings took place at the Eidsvoll Manor in th ...

* Anders Olson Lysne (1764 – executed 1803), a farmer who led the Lærdal farmers' rebellion from 1800 to 1802 * Jan Henrik Nitter Hansen (1801–1879), a businessman and politician who was mayor of Lærdal in the 1850s * Per Lysne (1880 in Lærdal – 1947), a Norwegian-American artist who brought

Rosemaling Rose-painting, , or is a Scandinavian decorative Folk art, folk painting that flourished from the 1700s to the mid-1800s, particularly in Norway. In Sweden, rose-painting began to be called , c. 1901, for the region Dalecarlia where it had been ...

folk art to the USA * Eivind Blehr (1881 in Lærdal – 1957), a politician who was a government minister in Quisling's government during WWII *

Knut Rumohr Knut Lindstrøm Rumohr (21 December 1916 – 31 October 2002) was a Norwegian painter and printmaker. Biography Rumohr was born at Frønningen in Leikanger (now Lærdal) in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. He was the son of Johan Rumohr (1886–19 ...

(1916 in Lærdal – 2002), a Norwegian painter and printmaker * Knut O. Aarethun (born 1942 in Lærdalsøyri), a politician who was mayor of Lærdal from 2003 to 2007 *

Ragnhild Sælthun Fjørtoft Ragnhild Sælthun Fjørtoft (born 9 June 1947) is a Norwegian former television presenter. She was born in Lærdal to farmer Olaf Sælthun and politician Ambjørg Sælthun, and is married to Arne Fjørtoft . She was assigned with NRK for 4 ...

(born 1947 in Lærdal), a Norwegian former TV presenter *

Øyvind Hegg-Lunde Øyvind Hegg-Lunde (born 12 February 1982 in Lærdal, Norway) is a Norwegian drummer and composer, raised in Borgund, Lærdal, but today resides in Bergen. He is known from collaborations with José González (singer), José Gonzalez, Junip, Arv ...

(born 1982 in Lærdal), a musician (playing drums and percussion) who was raised in Borgund

Photo gallery

File:Laerdal.JPG, Lærdalsøyri File:Laerdalsoyri03.jpg, Lærdalsøyri File:Norway Aurland Laerdal.jpg, Old mountain pass from Aurland to Lærdal (above the Lærdalstunnelen) File:Norway Aurland Laerdal2.jpg, Old mountain pass from Aurland to Lærdal (above the Lærdalstunnelen) File:Lærdal. Leikvollen.jpg, Lærdal File:Lærdalstunnelen.JPG, Lærdal tunnel File:Laerdalstunnel cave.jpg, Lærdal tunnel cave File:Store Jukleeggi.jpg, Store Jukleeggi – Mountain in Lærdal

References

External links

Official website: Lærdal Kommune

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 ...

NRK: Fylkesleksikon – Lærdal Kommune
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laerdal Municipalities of Vestland 1838 establishments in Norway