Fyresdal is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

in the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Vestfold og Telemark Vestfold og Telemark (; ) is a county under disestablishment in Norway. The county is the southernmost one of Eastern Norway and consists of two distinct and separate traditional regions: the former counties of Telemark and (most of) Vestfol ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

. It is part of the traditional region of Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Moland. The municipality of ''Moland'' was established on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 Janu ...

). In 1879, the name was changed to ''Fyresdal''.

General information

Name

The

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

form of the name was ''Fyrisdalr''. 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 can a ...

of the name of the

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

''Fyrir'' (now called

Fyresvatn Fyresvatn, or Fyresvatnet, is the fifth-deepest lake in Norway with a depth of . It is located in Fyresdal municipality, part of Vestfold og Telemark county. Fyresvatn belongs to the Arendal watershed, and discharges via the Fyreselv river int ...

). The last element is ''dalr'' which means "

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain 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 ove ...

" or "dale". The name of the lake is derived from the word ''fura'' which means "

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

tree". Prior to 1879, the municipality was called ''Moland''.

Coat-of-arms

The

coat-of-arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...

is from modern times. They were granted in 1992. The arms show two silver-colored broadaxes on a green background. It was chosen to represent the

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

work in the municipality.

History

Fyresdal is known for its many findings from the

Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...

, its mighty Viking graves, heaps of

slag Slag is a by-product of smelting ( pyrometallurgical) ores and used metals. Broadly, it can be classified as ferrous (by-products of processing iron and steel), ferroalloy (by-product of ferroalloy production) or non-ferrous/base metals (by-p ...

, and the former pilgrim church that once stood proudly north of the village centre. People travelled to this church from all over Norway and even from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. It was said that the

stream A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams ...

running behind the church had healing powers. A few miles south of the site where the Heggland Pilgrim Church ( no, Heggland Kyrkje), once stood at ''Molandsmoen'', a stone with

Runic inscriptions A runic inscription is an inscription made in one of the various runic alphabets. They generally contained practical information or memorials instead of magic or mythic stories. The body of runic inscriptions falls into the three categories of ...

can be found. This is a reminder from the Viking Age when horse battles were held there. Originally, one believes, there were four of them. ''Klokkarhamaren'' is a little

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

on a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on a ...

in the municipal centre, and it is the location of a cave called ''Munkhola''. It is believed that a certain number of

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

s in Medieval times resided, held masses, and sought refuge here.

Economy

Most people in the municipality work in the fields of

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exc ...

, industry and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

. There are not many full-time farmers left in Fyresdal, but many people derive a secondary income from agriculture and forestry. The largest employer in the municipality is Telemark Kildevann which makes bottled water and soft drinks for the national and Swedish markets. There are also a few small high-competence mechanical factories which produce parts for the offshore industry.

Transportation

The Vest-Telemark airport, Fyresdal is located in Moland, with a nearby hotel. This is a joint operation under the name ''Airparc Fyresdal''. Fyresdal has bus connections with the city centres of

Skien Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the ...

and

Porsgrunn is a city and municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Porsgrunn. The municipality of Porsgrun ...

in Telemark county;

Arendal Arendal () is a municipality in Agder county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the region of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Arendal (which is also the seat of Agder county). Some of the notab ...

in Aust-Agder county;

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, secon ...

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the cit ...

county;

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipality on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. While the population is greater in the neighboring Karmøy municipality, the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and souther ...

Rogaland Rogaland () is a county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 479,892. The admin ...

county; and to the capital,

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) 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 ...

. A bus also travels between Fyresdal and Dalen, the municipal centre of Tokke, every school day of the year.

Geography

The municipality of Fyresdal consists of several little villages north of the municipal centre, in the main valley of Fyresdal, and on the western and southeastern shores of Fyresvatn (Lake Fyresdal), one of Norway's deepest lakes. The municipal centre of Fyresdal is ''Moland''. This is the location of the municipal assembly, the school, the community house, kindergartens, the home for the elderly, and most of the commercial enterprises in the village. Moland is the most heavily populated aea of Fyresdal. Fyresdal is among the westernmost municipalities in Telemark. It borders the municipalities of Tokke, Kviteseid, and Nissedal in Telemark county. It also shares borders with the municipalities of

Åmli Åmli is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional region of Sørlandet. The main population centre and administrative center is the village of Åmli which lies along the river Nidelva. Other villages in Åmli in ...

, Bygland, and Valle in

Aust-Agder Aust-Agder (, en, "East Agder") was a county (''fylke'') in Norway until 1 January 2020, when it was merged with Vest-Agder to form Agder county. In 2002, there were 102,945 inhabitants, which was 2.2% of Norway's population. Its area was . The ...

county.

Neighbourhoods in Fyresdal

Attractions

*One of Fyresdal's two churches (''Moland Kyrkje'') and the vicarage (''Fyresdal Prestegard'') are located in Moland. According to Telemark

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, rangin ...

, the ''

Troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human ...

of Røykjenes'' moved across the lake because the bells of the Moland church were disturbing its nap. The vicarage is where Vidkun Quisling was born. *Within the administrative center of Moland, one also finds the old village centre, ''Folkestadbyen''. Folkestadbyen is the location of the ''Fyresdal Vertshus'', a Swiss-styled dwelling built in 1890. It has housed and served both food and drinks to locals and travellers for over 100 years. ''Øyskogen'' park, which contains Viking graves and a lot of traditional Telemark houses ''(e.g. lofts and stabburs)'' is also part of the old village. The ''Fyresdal Bygdemuseum'', the village museum, is also located in Øyskogen. Folkestadbyen was named the prettiest town/village centre in Telemark in 2003. *'' Rv 355'' runs straight through the municipality from north to south. ''Hegglandsgrend'', ''Veum'', and ''Hauggrend'' are villages along Rv 355 located north of Moland. Hegglandsgrend is the home of ''Heggland Gamle Kyrkjegard''; Veum is the home of ''Veum Kyrkje''. A ''Rudolf Steiner School'' (an upper secondary level school) was located at ''Foldsæ'' in Hauggrend. This so-called ''friskole'' ("Free school") based on the thoughts and ideas of

Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as ...

was however closed down after few years. In Hauggrend, one also finds the most distinct mountain in Fyresdal, ''Roan''. This peak is above sea level, but not the highest point in the municipality, since the border to Valle passes near the peak of ''Napuren'', at a height of above sea level, some 300 feet higher. *North of Moland, to the west from the main valley we find the little settlements of ''Kleivgrend'', ''Åslandsgrend''. Turning left of the Rv 355 in Hegglandsgrend, one comes to Kleivgrend and Åslandsgrend. Between Kleivgrend and the neighbouring municipality Valle on the western side of the mountains, one finds an old track that priests and bishops used to get between the counties of

Agder Agder is a county (''fylke'') and traditional region in the southern part of Norway. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties were merged. Since the early 1900s, the term Sørlandet ("south ...

and Telemark. This track is named '' Bispevegen'' ("Bishop's Road") and every year a march called ''Bispevegmarsjen'' ("The Bishop's Road March") starts in Kleivgrend. In Fjellgardane, Germans ran mines in the 16th century at ''Moisesberg''. *On the western shores of Fyresvatn (Lake Fyresdal), to the southwest of Moland, one finds the villages of ''Fardal'', ''Breivik''. Here one finds an old and interesting stone called ''Røykjenessteinen''. In 2005, one also found some

arrowhead An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, as well as to fulfill some special purposes such as sign ...

s in this area that are believed to be 4000–4500 years old. Farther along the country road we find ''Birtedalen'', a popular place for people who set up mountain cabins. *South of Moland, at the southern end of Rv 355 across the scenic and mighty mountain of ''Våmur'' where one can see the lake from up above, one comes to the little village of ''Kilegrend''. In the old days there was no road connecting Kilegrend with the municipal centre. Thus one had to travel by boat. For years the steamboats called ''Teisner'' and ''Fyresdølen'' travelled between Moland and Kilegrend. The latter eventually capsized and sank. The wreck is still visible in Kilegrend. Image:Moland kyrkje.JPG, Moland Church Image:Fyresdal flyplass (tårn).JPG, Fyresdal Airport Image:Veum kyrkje.JPG, Veum Church Image:Fyresvatn.JPG, Fyresvatn (Lake Fyresdal)

Notable natives

Portrett av Vidkun Quisling i sivile klær, ukjent datering

* Petter Veum, (Norwegian Wiki) (1811 in Fyresdal - 1889) fiddler * Jon Lauritz Qvisling, (Norwegian Wiki) (1844 in Fyresdal - 1930) clergyman,

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and genealogist * John Lie, (Norwegian Wiki) (1846 in Fyresdal - 1916)

Ivar Peterson Tveiten Ivar Petterson Tveiten (18 December 1850 – 17 April 1934) was a Norwegian teacher and elected official of the Liberal Party who served as President of the Norwegian Parliament from 1916 to 1921. He also served as Minister of Education and C ...

(1850 in Fyresdal – 1934) a Norwegian teacher and politician *

Torgeir Vraa Torgeir Tarjei Olavsson Vraa (16 May 1868 – 21 June 1934) was a Norwegian educator, newspaper editor and politician for the Labour Party. Biography He was born on the Rui farm in the parish of Fyresdal in Telemark. Upon graduating from A ...

(1868 in Fyresdal – 1934) a Norwegian educator, newspaper editor and politician * Haakon Lie (1884 in Fyresdal – 1970) a Norwegian forester, novelist, poet and children's writer * Vidkun Quisling (1887 in Fyresdal – 1945) a Norwegian military officer, politician, Nazi collaborator &

traitor Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

* Frode Rui, (Norwegian Wiki) (born 1969 im Fyresdal) a Norwegian weightlifter *

Sugar Plum Fairies Sugar Plum Fairies were a folk and pop band from Fyresdal, Vest-Telemark, Norway, formed in 2000, who released one studio album. The band plays pop music influenced by the folk music tradition of their native Telemark, using folk instruments li ...

(formed 2000 in Fyresdal – 2009) a folk and pop band

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, 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 ye ...

* {{Authority control Municipalities of Vestfold og Telemark