Hjartdal 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 go ...

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) Vestfold ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a 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 Jan Mayen and the ...

. It is part of the

traditional region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic, linguistic or political basis, regardless of latterday borders. They are used as delimitations for studying and analysing social ...

s of

Upper Telemark Upper Telemark ( no, Øvre Telemark) is a Norwegian region comprising the inland of the traditional district Telemark in Vestfold og Telemark county. More than two thirds of the total area of Telemark, or above 10,000 square kilometres, belong t ...

and

Øst-Telemark Aust-Telemark is a traditional district in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It comprises three municipalities: Hjartdal, Notodden and Tinn. The largest population centres in the region are the cities Notodden and Rjukan, of which Noto ...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sauland. The

of ''Hierdal'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). It consists of three parish'es: Hjartdal, Sauland, and

Tuddal Tuddal is a village in Hjartdal municipality, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian ...

. Up to the 1500s Hjartdal parish stretched from Rauland in the west and

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud, Viken county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production ...

to the east. Counting from west to east, the villages Åmotsdal, Svartdal, Hjartdal, Tuddal, Sauland, Gransherad, Bolkesjø, Jondalen and Lisleherad was at one point included in the same parish. Sometime after 1687 Lisleherad was transferred to former

Heddal Heddal is a village and parish in Notodden municipality in Telemark County, Norway. History The parish of ''Hitterdal'' was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Notodden was separated from Heddal both as a ...

parish, and last,

Gransherad Gransherad is a former municipality in Telemark county, Norway, located north-west of the city Notodden. ''Grandsherred'' was created in 1859 by the merger of the parishes Hovin in Tinn and Gransherad in Hjartdal. On January 1, 1886 Hovin was se ...

was separated 1860. At the same time the administrative centre was moved from Hjartdal village to Sauland. Today, the Hjartdal parish and municipality consist of the three villages Hjartdal, Sauland and Tuddal.

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 settlemen ...

form of the name was ''Hjartdalr''. The first element is probably a river name ''*Hjarta'' (now called the

Hjartdøla Hjartdøla is a river in Hjartdal municipality in Vestfold og Telemark, Norway. The river is formed at the convergence of Skjesvatnet, Breidvatnet and Bjordøla. From here, it runs into lake Hjartsjå and through Hjartdal, before it junction w ...

river) and the last element is ''dalr'' m '

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 ...

, dale'. The river name is derived from ''hjǫrtr'' m '

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of we ...

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 w ...

is from modern times. They were granted in 1989. The arms show a silver-colored

on a green background. They are

canting arms Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name (or, less often, some attribute or function) in a visual pun or rebus. French heralds used the term (), as they would sound out the name of the armiger. Many armorial all ...

because the name of the municipality is derived from the word for deer.

Notable residents

* Hans Paus (1656–1715) a Norwegian priest and poet *

Drengman Aaker Drengman Olsen Aaker (September 24, 1839 – March 30, 1894) was an American politician and businessman. Biography Born in Hjartdal, Telemark in Norway, Aaker emigrated with his parents to the United States in 1848 and settled in Waukesha Cou ...

(1839–1894) an American politician and businessman, served in the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

* Kittel Halvorson (1846–1936) farmer &

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Knut Buen Knut Buen (born 31 October 1948) is a Norwegian fiddler, composer, folklorist and publisher. He was born in Kongsberg; the son of folk musician Anders Buen and Margit Tjønn, and is brother of Hauk Buen, Agnes Buen Garnås and the artist Kari Bu ...

(born 1948) a Norwegian fiddler, composer, folklorist and publisher; lives in

* Sven Tore Løkslid, (Norwegian Wiki) (born 1984) county governor of

, and former mayor of Hjartdal

References

External links

* *
Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway * {{Vestfold og Telemark, municipalities Municipalities of Vestfold og Telemark