Skjåk 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 ...

Innlandet Innlandet is a county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (the municipalities of Jevnaker and Lunner were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken on the same date). The ...

county,

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 located in the traditional district of

Gudbrandsdal Gudbrandsdalen (; en, Gudbrand Valley) is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer and the lake of Mjøsa, extending toward ...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of

Bismo Bismo is the administrative centre of Skjåk municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the river Otta (river), Otta in the Ottadalen valley, about east of Grotli and about west of Fossbergom. The village has a po ...

. Most of the municipal residents live in the

Billingsdalen Billingsdal or Billingsdalen is a river valley in the municipality of Skjåk in Innlandet county, Norway. The valley is the inner part of the larger Ottadalen valley which is the valley through which the river Otta flows. It is considered a later ...

and

Ottadalen Ottadalen ( en, Otta Valley) is a valley in the municipalities of Skjåk, Lom, Vågå, and Sel in Innlandet county, Norway. The valley is one of the side valleys that branch off of the large Gudbrandsdalen valley. It lies on the northern edge ...

valleys along the river Otta. The local newspaper is named ''

Fjuken ''Fjuken'' is a weekly local newspaper published in Skjåk, Norway. It serves for Skjåk, Lom and Vågå. History and profile ''Fjuken'' was founded in 1989. The founders were initially community members. The paper is published by the company Sk ...

''. The municipality is the 33rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Skjåk is the 270th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,151. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

is and its population has decreased by 6.8% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Skjåk was established on 1 January 1866 when the municipality of Lom was divided and the western part of the municipality (population: 2,691) became the new municipality of Skjåk (historically spelled ''Skiaker''). The eastern part of the municipality (population: 3,299) remained as Lom.

Name

The municipality (originally the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

) is named after the old ''Skjåk'' farm ( non, Skeiðakr), since the first

Skjåk Church Skjåk Church ( no, Skjåk kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Skjåk Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Skjåk. It is the church for the Skjåk parish which is part of the Nord-Gudbrandsda ...

was built here. The first element is ''skeið'' which means "a running track for horse racing" and the last element is ''akr'' which means "

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 ...

" or " acre". Prior to 1889, the name was written "Skiaker", then from 1889 to 1910 it was spelled "Skiaaker", from 1911 to 1920 it was "Skjaak", and since 1921 it has been written in its present form, "Skjåk".

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 ...

was granted on 31 March 1989. It shows four white or silver-colored acanthus leaves on a blue background. This was picked to symbolize growth and strength. These symbols are found in many historic artifacts from around the area.

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes () within the municipality of Skjåk. It is part of the

Nord-Gudbrandsdal prosti The list of churches in Hamar is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Hamar which includes all of Innlandet county (plus two municipalities in Viken (county), Viken county) in Norway. The list is divided into several sections ...

( deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar.

Geography

Skjåk is the westernmost municipality in the

valley. It is bordered to the north by the municipalities of

Fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Förden and East Jutland Fjorde, Germany, ...

, Rauma, and

Lesja Lesja is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is village of Lesja. Other villages in the municipality include Bjorli, Lesjaskog, L ...

, in the east and southeast by Lom, in the south by Luster and in the west by Stryn and Stranda. The municipality lies along the Otta river between the mountainous areas of Breheim and Reinheim.

is the modern population center and the location of the majority of industry and shopping as well as the municipal administration. The community is at the meeting point between

Gudbrandsdalen Gudbrandsdalen (; en, Gudbrand Valley) is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer and the lake of Mjøsa, extending towa ...

and the mountains between the eastern parts of Norway and the west coast. The municipality lies on a historically significant traffic artery between Stryn and Nordfjord, Geiranger, and Sunnmøre and the more easterly Ottadal municipalities of Lom and

Vågå Vågå () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vågåmo. Other village areas in Vågå include Lalm and Besshe ...

. The

Breheimen National Park Breheimen National Park ( no, Breheimen nasjonalpark) (Lit: Home of The Glaciers) is a national park that was established in 2009. The park is located in the municipalities of Skjåk and Lom in Innlandet county and in Luster in Vestland count ...

and

Reinheimen National Park Reinheimen National Park ( no, Reinheimen nasjonalpark) is a national park in Norway that was established in 2006. The park consists of a continuous protected mountain area. It is located in Møre og Romsdal and Innlandet counties in Norway. The ...

are both located in the municipality. Of the total area, is used for agriculture; for

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. ...

; is covered by water (including the Breiddalsvatnet lake); and the rest is mountains and other non-

arable land Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for th ...

. Virtually the entire long valley floor is continuously, but sparsely, built up. Skjåk serves as a point of entry to the mountain areas just west;

hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

are also popular

tourist 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 ...

activities. The municipality includes a number of large lakes including Aursjoen, Breiddalsvatnet, Grønvatnet, Langvatnet, Rauddalsvatn, and Tordsvatnet. The

Breheimen Breheimen is a mountain range in the Innlandet and Vestland counties in Norway. The area lies west of the Jotunheimen mountain range. The mountain range lies to the northwest of the Sognefjellsvegen road, north of the Sognefjorden, south of the ...

mountains run through the municipality and the Holåbreen and Tystigbreen

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

s are located in those mountains.

Climate

Nestled in a deep valley, the populated regions of Skjåk are rain shadowed and as a result are actually one of the most arid places in

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 subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

with annual precipitation of about per year, but it avoids a steppe climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Bsk'') by being too cold (mean annual temperature of ), thus having a low

evapotranspiration Evapotranspiration (ET) is the combined processes by which water moves from the earth’s surface into the atmosphere. It covers both water evaporation (movement of water to the air directly from soil, canopies, and water bodies) and transpi ...

rate, and having precipitation too spread out (about 55% in summer). This gives Skjåk a subarctic climate (Köppen ''Dfc''), thanks to low overall precipitation levels in summer. In addition, one side of the valley, ''solsida'' ("the sunny side"), has a southern exposure, whereas ''baksida'' (the "back side") gets very little sun.

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 t ...

has been enabled by elaborate

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) 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 been devel ...

systems for hundreds of years, so the area is green and productive rather than desert-like.

History

Skjåk has historical roots back to 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 ...

and has a rich cultural heritage. An ancient route of travel between east and west went from Skjåk up through the Raudal valley and down through the Sunndal valley to Stryn on an arm of the

Nordfjord Nordfjord ( en, Northern fjord—in contrast to Sunnfjord) is a traditional district of Norway. Geography The region is located in the northern part of Vestland county in Western Norway. It centers on the Nordfjorden and it comprises the muni ...

. For example, in 1197, according to King Sverre's saga, Bishop Nikolaus is reported to have sent a group of baglers from Oppdal over the mountains to Stryn on Nordfjord, via Raudal.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Skjåk, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services,

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...

and other social services,

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, 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 ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. 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, rural counc ...

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

representatives, which in turn elects a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a 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 responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

. The municipality falls under the Vestre Innlandet District Court and the

Eidsivating Court of Appeal The Eidsivating Court of Appeal ( no, Eidsivating lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Hamar. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Innlandet and eastern Viken. These ...

Municipal council

The

of Skjåk is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a 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 often featur ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayors

The mayors of Skjåk (incomplete list): *1960–1971: Trygve Bakke ( Sp) *1972–1983: Hans Krogstad ( Sp) *1984–1987: Åge Willy Rønningen ( Ap) *1988–1995: Margit Grimstad Lien ( Sp) *1996–2003: Hans Krogstad ( Sp) *2003–2007: Ola Stensgård ( Sp) *2007–2015: Rolv Kristen Øygard ( Sp) *2015–2019: Elias Sperstad ( Sp) *2019–present: Edel Kveen ( Sp)

Notable residents

* Skjåk-Ola, (Norwegian Wiki) (1744 in Skjåk - 1803) real name ''Ola Rasmussen Skjåk'', wood carver * Tore Ørjasæter (1886 in Skjåk – 1968) an educator, literature critic, author and poet * Jan-Magnus Bruheim (1914 in Skjåk – 1988) a Norwegian poet and children's writer * Magnhild Bruheim, (Norwegian Wiki) (born 1951 in Skjåk) author and journalist * Rune Øygard (born 1959 in Skjåk) a former politician and convicted paedophile *

Trond Bersu Trond Bersu (born 4 January 1984 in Skjåk, Norway) is a Norwegian drummer and producer. Career During his music studies on the Jazz program at the Trondheim musikkonservatorium Bersu started the band PELbO together with fellow students Ine ...

(born 1984 in Skjåk) a Norwegian drummer and producer

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Skjaak Municipalities of Innlandet 1866 establishments in Norway