Solør is a
Norwegian traditional district consisting of the valley between
Elverum in the north and
Kongsvinger in the south. It is part of
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 it includes
VÃ¥ler Municipality,
Ã…snes Municipality, and
Grue Municipality.
Glomma valley
Glommadal (''Glåmdalen'') is a designation for the valley formed by the river
Glåma (also called the Glomma), which is the longest and largest river in Norway. From Lake
Aursunden in the north and south to
Elverum, the valley is called the
Østerdalen. From that point south until
Kongsvinger, it is referred to as Solør. As the river turns westerly from Kongsvinger to
Nes, the valley is called
Odalen. These designations are also traditional districts, reflecting the designations locals used for their valleys.
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 .
Geography
Solør is a rural area and consists mainly of farming land and forest. In fact, Solør is the number one potato producing area in Norway. Forestry is also important for the area, and "Forestia", a major chip-board factory, is situated in Våler, playing an important role in the local society, especially by providing jobs for a large proportion of the local inhabitants.
History
In the early
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 ...
, before
Harald Fairhair, Solør was a
petty kingdom. In the 17th century the forest east of Glomma became known as ''
Finnskogen
Finnskogen ("Forest of the Finns") is an area of Norway and Sweden situated in the counties of Innlandet and Värmland respectively, so named because of immigration of Finnish people in the 17th century, the so-called ''Forest Finns, Skogfinner/"Fo ...
'' (). This named refers to
Finnish refugees from Sweden who had been encouraged to settle in the adjacent province of
Värmland
Värmland () is a ''Provinces of Sweden, landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west.
Name
Several Latinized version ...
but were later evicted and fled across the border into Hedmark.
was one of the historic Kings of Soløyjar (Solør).
References
Districts of Innlandet
Petty kingdoms of Norway
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