Vinje 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' ...

Telemark Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...

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

Vest-Telemark Vest-Telemark () is a traditional district in Norway. The area comprises the western areas of the larger region known as Upper Telemark () in Vestfold og Telemark county. The region consists of six municipalities: Fyresdal, Tokke, Vinje, Nis ...

which is part of

Øvre Telemark Upper Telemark () is a traditional district in Telemark county in Norway. The area includes the inland areas of Telemark. More than two-thirds of the total area of Telemark—more than —belong to the traditional region of Upper Telemar ...

. 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 Åmot. Other villages in the municipality include

Arabygdi Arabygdi is a village in Vinje Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The village is located in the Rauland area at the western end of the lake Totak. The Norwegian County Road 362 passes through the village, connecting it to the villages o ...

Edland Edland is a village in Vinje Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The village is located where the rivers Bora and Kjela meet, just to the east of the village of Haukeli. The European route E134 highway runs through the village. The villag ...

Grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

, Haukeli,

Krossen Krossen is a village in Lindesnes municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located in the Mandalen valley, on the western shore of the river Mandalselva, about north of the town of Mandal and about south of the village of Øyslebø ...

Møsstrond Møsstrond is a small island village in Vinje Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The village is located on the island Hovdeøyi which lies in the lake Møsvatn, high up in the mountains just east of Hardangervidda National Park. The villa ...

, Nesland,

Øyfjell Øyfjell is a village in Vinje Municipality in Telemark 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 ...

Raulandsgrend Raulandsgrend or simply Rauland is a village in Vinje Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The village is located in a mountainous area along the north shore of the lake Totak, about to the northwest of the village of Krossen. The lake ...

, and

Vinje Vinje is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vest-Telemark which is part of Øvre Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Åmot. Other villages in the muni ...

. The municipality is the 14th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Vinje is the 209th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,832. 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 3% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

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 ...

of Vinje 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). In 1860, the northern district of Vinje (population: 745) and the

area of

Lårdal Lårdal is a village in Tokke Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The village is located on the north shore of the lake Bandak and about south of the village of Høydalsmo and the European route E134 highway. The village is the site of ...

(population: 243) were combined to form the new municipality of

Rauland Rauland is a former municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1860 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Vinje Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Raulandsgrend (also known ...

. 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,

municipality (population: 1,656) and Vinje municipality (population: 2,565) were merged to form a new, larger Vinje municipality.

Name

The municipality (originally the

) is named after the old ''Vinje'' farm () since the first Vinje Church was built there. The name is 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 the word which means "

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 ...

" or "

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Types of pasture Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...

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 16 November 1990. 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 Azure may refer to: Color * Azure (color), a hue of blue ** Azure (heraldry) ** Shades of azure, shades and variations Arts and media * ''Azure'' (Art Farmer and Fritz Pauer album), 1987 * Azure (Gary Peacock and Marilyn Crispell album), 2013 * ...

billy goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the family Bo ...

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 ...

" (). This means the arms have a blue

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 a billy goat. The billy goat 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. The color blue and the goat were chosen based on an old poem written by

Aasmund Olavsson Vinje Aasmund Olavsson Vinje (6 April 1818 – 30 July 1870) was a Norwegian poet and journalist who is remembered for poetry, travel writing, and his pioneering use of Landsmål (now known as Nynorsk). Background Vinje was born into a poor but w ...

. The poem is called ''Blåmann'' () which is about a goat named ''Blåmann''. This was also chosen to represent the importance of sheep and

goat farming Goat farming involves the raising and breeding of domestic goats (''Capra aegagrus hircus'') as a branch of animal husbandry. People farm goats principally for their meat, milk, fibre and skins. Goat farming can be very suited to production ...

in the mountainous municipality. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen. 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 Vinje. It is part of the

Øvre Telemark prosti Several Church of Norway churches are in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark in Norway. This list includes all of the parishes in Agder and Telemark counties. The diocese is based at the Kristiansand Cathedral in the city of Kristiansand (town), Kris ...

(

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 Agder og Telemark The Diocese of Agder og Telemark () is a diocese of the Church of Norway, covering all of Agder county and Telemark county in Norway. The cathedral city is Kristiansand, Norway's fifth largest city. Kristiansand Cathedral serves as the seat of t ...

History

The longstanding local traditions of arts and crafts have been well maintained. Rauland hosts a national academy for arts, crafts, and traditional music.

Folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

has always been strong in Vinje. The

Myllarguten Torgeir Augundsson (1801 – 21 November 1872), better known as Myllarguten (meaning ''the Millerboy''), is arguably the most acknowledged Norwegian folk musician to this day, and by far the most legendary. In his own local dialect, his given nam ...

, Targjei Augundsson lived the last years of his life in

. Vinje has also been home to many

rosemåling 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 ...

artists. Vinje became a site of heavy battles during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, at the

Battle of Vinjesvingen The Battle of Vinjesvingen was a battle of the Norwegian campaign and took place in May 1940 in the Telemark county, Norway. It became one of the two last strongholds of Norwegian resistance in southern Norway during World War II, the other be ...

when Norwegian forces held out for over a month against superior German forces.

Geography

Vinje is situated on both the

Hardangervidda Hardangervidda () is a mountain plateau ( Norwegian: ''vidde'') in central southern Norway, covering parts of Vestland, Telemark, and Buskerud counties. It is the largest plateau of its kind in Europe, with a cold year-round alpine climate, and o ...

plateau and parts of the

Setesdalsheiene Setesdalsheiene () is the collective term for the mountains to the west and east of the Setesdalen valley in Agder county in Southern Norway. The river Otra flows through the valley between the mountains. This area is primarily located in the m ...

mountain plateau. Most of the land area of the municipality is quite high in elevation. The

European route E134 European route E134 () is a International E-road network, European highway that crosses Norway starting at Haugesund Airport, Karmøy near the city of Haugesund on the west coast, heading over Haukeli, passing the city of Drammen, and ending in V ...

highway passes through Vinje on its way over the mountain pass to connect

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 ...

and

Western Norway Western Norway (; ) is the Regions of Norway, region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the Counties of Norway, counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrative fu ...

. Vinje sits along the highway about halfway between

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 ...

(in the east) and

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipalities of Norway, municipality and List of towns and cities in Norway, town on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. As of December 2023, the municipality of Haugesund has a population of 37,855. The vast majority of ...

(on Norway's west coast). Starting at Haukeli, the

Norwegian National Road 9 Norwegian National Road 9 (, ) is often called the ''Setesdal Road'' () and it is the main thoroughfare through the Setesdalen valley. It runs from the city of Kristiansand in the southern coast of Norway, through the Torridal and Setesdal v ...

leads up the steep slopes to Hovden and further south down the

Setesdal Setesdal (; older name: Sætersdal) is a valley and a traditional district in Agder County in southern Norway. It consists of the municipalities of Bykle, Valle, Bygland, Iveland, and Evje og Hornnes. The Otra river flows through the val ...

valley to the southern coastal city of

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

. The mountain ski resort Haukelifjell is also found nearby. The isolated and sparsely populated area is known for its rugged, mountainous terrain that supports a wide variety of outdoor activities, amongst them hiking, mountain biking, snowboarding, skiing, fishing, and canoeing. The

Hardangervidda National Park Hardangervidda National Park (, ), at , is Norway's largest national park. It spans from Numedal and Uvdal in the east and Røvelseggi and Ullensvang in the west across the Hardanger mountain plateau (Hardangervidda). Designated as a national p ...

lies partially in western Vinje. The village of

lies on the lake

Totak Totak is a lake in Vinje Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The lake is located in the Rauland area, about to the north of the village of Åmot. The lake is part of the Skien river watershed ('' Skiensvassdraget''), discharging via the ...

in the western part of Rauland. Its famous attraction is the "Urdbøuri", the largest stone

scree Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits. The term ''scree'' is ap ...

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 ...

, with huge boulders scattered on the floor of the valley. The rivers

Tokke Tokke is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dal ...

and Vinjeåi both flow through the municipality. The lakes Holmavatnet,

Møsvatn Møsvatn or Møsvann is a lake in Vinje Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is the tenth-largest lake in Norway with a surface area of and a volume of . The lake lies just east of the Hardangervidda National Park, in Skien watershed ...

, Songavatnet,

, and

Vinjevatn Vinjevatn is a lake in Vinje Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The lake lies a short distance to the northwest of the village of Åmot, Vinje, Åmot. The village of Vinje (village), Vinje lies at the north end of the lake. The main natur ...

are all located in Vinje as well. The mountains

Fitjanuten Fitjanuten is a mountain in southern Norway. The tall mountain lies on the border of the municipality of Suldal (in Rogaland county) and the municipality of Vinje (in Telemark county). The mountain lies just north of the lake Holmavatnet and ...

Kistenuten Kistenuten is a tall mountain in southern Norway. It is located in the Ryfylkeheiane mountains at the tripoint border of three different counties (and three municipalities): Suldal municipality in Rogaland county, Ullensvang municipality in V ...

, and

Vassdalseggi Vassdalseggi is the tallest mountain in Rogaland county, Norway. The tall mountain sits on the border of the municipalities of Vinje (in Telemark county) and Suldal (in Rogaland county). Vassdalseggi lies in the Ryfylkeheiane mountains about ...

all lie on the municipal and county border in western Vinje.

Government

Vinje 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 Telemark District Court and the

Agder Court of Appeal The Agder Court of Appeal () is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the town of Skien. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestfold og Telemark and Agder (except for Sirdal Municipality which ...

Municipal council

The

of Vinje is made up of 25 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 ...

Mayor

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 Vinje (incomplete list): *1960–1971: Aslak Versto ( Ap) *1976–1979: Ingvald Godal ( Sp) *1980–1987: Aslak Versto ( Ap) *1988-1995: Olav Nystog ( Ap) *1995-1999: Olav Nordstoga ( Sp) *1999–2003:

Børre Rønningen Børre Rønningen (born 11 May 1949 in Vikna Municipality) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He previously represented the Socialist Left Party. For this party he was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Telemark in 1989, and w ...

( Ap) *2003–2015: Arne Vinje ( SV) *2015–present: Jon Rikard Kleven ( Sp)

Notable people

The Arts

* Sveinung Svalastoga (1772 in Rauland – 1809), a

painter, poet, and woodcarver *

(''Torgeir Agundson Øygarden'') (1801–1872), a folk musician and master

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

r *

(1818–1870), a poet and journalist who 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 ...

Rikard Berge Rikard Berge (7 November 1881 – 26 September 1969) was a Norwegian folklorist, museologist biographer and magazine editor. Biography Rikard Gjermundsen Berge was born in Rauland in Vinje, Telemark, Norway. He was the son of Geirmun ...

(1881 in Rauland – 1969), a folklorist,

museologist Museology (also called museum studies or museum science) is the study of museums. It explores the history of museums and their role in society, as well as the activities they engage in, including curating, preservation, public programming, and ed ...

, biographer, and editor *

Tarjei Vesaas Tarjei Vesaas (20 August 1897 – 15 March 1970) was a Norwegian poet and novelist. Vesaas is widely considered to be one of Norway's greatest writers of the twentieth century and perhaps its most important since World War II. Vesaas' work is c ...

(1897–1970), a poet and novelist *

Aslaug Vaa Aslaug Vaa (25 August 1889 – 28 November 1965) was a Norwegian poet and playwright. Her works contain elements from local tradition and landscape mixed with international influence. Personal life Aslaug Vaa was born on Nystog in Rauland, ...

(1889 in Rauland – 1965), a poet and playwright *

Aslak Brekke Aslak Brekke (October 6, 1901 – February 13, 1978) was a prominent vocalist of one of the Scandinavian poetic genres that is referred to as stev. He was also well known as a folk music singer. Early life He was born in Vinje, Telemark. On ...

(1901–1978), a vocalist using

stev Stev is a form of Norwegian folk song consisting of four line lyric stanzas. The English version of the word is stave, meaning the stressed syllable in a metric verse. Various types There are various types of ''stev'': ''Gamlestev'' * gamlest ...

and a folk singer *

Dyre Vaa Dyre Vaa (19 January 1903 – 11 May 1980) was a Norwegian sculptor and painter. Background He was born in Kviteseid, Telemark, and later lived and worked in Rauland. He was the son of Tor Aanundsson Vaa (1864–1928) and Anne Marie Roholt (18 ...

(1903–1980), a sculptor and painter whose works are found in Oslo and Vinje * Anne Lofthus (1932–2003), a ceramic artist and art teacher * Guri Vesaas (born 1939), a writer and translator of children's books * Stein Versto (born 1957), a poet, novelist, translator, and folk musician *

Aasmund Nordstoga Aasmund Nordstoga (born 26 August 1964) is a Norwegian musician, singer and composer from Vinje, Telemark. He made his solo debut in 2009 with the album ''Ein '', an album for which he was nominated for the Spellemannsprisen award. He released the ...

(born 1964), a musician, singer, composer, and TV presenter *

Sven Erik Kristiansen Sven Erik Kristiansen (born 4 February 1969) is a Norwegian musician, best known as the former vocalist in the black metal band Mayhem under the stage name Maniac. ''Loudwire'' called Kristiansen "an incarnation of authenticity." Career K ...

(born 1969), a musician and former vocalist in the

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

band

Mayhem Mayhem most commonly refers to: * Mayhem (crime), a type of crime Mayhem may also refer to: People * Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress * Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter * Mayhem Miller (dr ...

Arve Moen Bergset Arve Moen Bergset (born 13 March 1972) is a Norwegian traditional folk singer, hardanger fiddler, and classical violinist. He is known both for his solo works as well as for his works with Bukkene Bruse. Life and career He was born in Sandn ...

(born 1972), a traditional folk singer,

hardanger fiddle A hardanger fiddle () is a traditional stringed instrument considered the national instrument of Norway. In modern designs, this type of fiddle is very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings (rather than four as on a standard v ...

r, and classical violinist *

Odd Nordstoga Odd Nordstoga (born 10 December 1972) is a folk singer, musician, actor and editor from Vinje Municipality in Telemark, Norway. In 2004, he went from relative obscurity to becoming the country's biggest selling recording artist, with the phenome ...

(born 1972), a folk singer, musician, actor and editor. Retrieved 24 August 2020. *

Ingebjørg Bratland Ingebjørg Harman Bratland (born 8 May 1990 in Edland, Vinje, Telemark) is a Norwegian folk singer, kveder and artist. In 2008–2009, she attended Foss Upper Secondary School in Oslo. Early life Bratland began singing as a kveder when sh ...

(born 1990), a folk singer, kveder, and artist

Public Service

Paul Peterson Paus Sir Povel Pedersson Paus (1625 in Vinje – 1682 in Hjartdal), also rendered as Paul Paus and commonly known locally in Telemark as Sir Pál (), was a Norwegian cleric and a signatory of the 1661 Sovereignty Act, the new constitution of Denmark- ...

(1625-1682), a cleric, political activist, and poet * Olav Aslakson Versto (1892 in Rauland – 1977), a politician * Einar Skinnarland (1918–2002), a

Norwegian resistance The Norwegian resistance ( Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *Asserting the legitimacy of the exiled governm ...

fighter during WWII and dam builder * Aslak Versto (1924-1992), a politician *

Olav Vesaas Olav Vesaas (born 21 December 1935) is a Norwegian journalist, biographer and publisher. Biography Vesaas was born on 21 December 1935 in Vinje to novelist Tarjei Vesaas and poet Halldis Moren Vesaas, and is a brother of Guri Vesaas. From 1968 ...

(born 1935), a journalist, biographer, and publisher *

Olav Versto Olav Versto (31 July 1950 – 7 July 2011) was a Norwegian journalist and editor, primarily known for his work for the newspaper ''Verdens Gang''. Education and career Versto received a cand.mag. degree from the University of Oslo in 1976. He sta ...

(1950–2011), a journalist and editor *

Astrid Versto Astrid Versto (born 3 August 1953) is a Norwegian journalist and diplomat. She was born in Vinje and took her education at the Norwegian Journalist College. After a journalistic career she was hired as director of communications in Norad in 2000 ...

(born 1953), a journalist and diplomat

Sport

* Olav Jenssen (born 1962), a discus thrower who competed in the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

* Knut Tore Apeland (born 1968), a former Nordic combined skier and two-time team silver medallist at the

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, were an international winter multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Hav ...

Terje Håkonsen Terje Håkonsen (born 11 October 1974) is a Norwegian professional snowboarder. He is considered one of the most influential snowboarders in the history of the sport. In the book ''The way of the snowboarder'', Rob Reed wrote that "Haakonsen took ...

(born 1974), a

snowboarder Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic ...

Attractions

*The home of

is now a small museum. (The cotters place Kosi in Arabygdi.) *The monument of Myllarguten, the 19th century musician, who played for kings and who inspired

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic music, Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwid ...

. It is located on the roadside vis-a-vis Kosi.

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 ...

* {{use dmy dates, date=January 2023 Municipalities of Telemark 1838 establishments in Norway