Tokke 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 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 ...

Vest-Telemark The Vest-Telemark traditional district of Norway comprises the upper and western areas of the larger region of Upper Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark. The region consists of six municipalities: Fyresdal, Tokke, Vinje, Nissedal ...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dalen. The municipality of Tokke was created on 1 January 1964 upon the merger of the two older municipalities of

Lårdal Lårdal is a village in Tokke Municipality in Vestfold og 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 th ...

and Mo. Located in Lårdal, Eidsborg stave church is one of Norway's old

stave church A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts ar ...

es.

General information

Name

The name originally belongs to the river running through the municipality. 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 river name must have been ''Þotka'' and it is related to the name of the lake

Totak Totak is a lake in the municipality of Vinje in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The lake is part of the Skien river watershed ( Skiensvassdraget), discharging via the river Tokke to lake Bandak. At 306 m Totak is the 10th deepest l ...

(which it comes from). The river name is probably derived from the Norse word ''þot'' meaning "roaring, rushing, or howling".

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 on 6 February 1987. The arms show a black

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the No ...

on a gold background. The bear in the arms symbolizes the rich nature in the

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s in the municipality. The bear plays a major role in many local

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

s and stories.

Geography

Tokke borders

Vinje Vinje is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark in the Counties of Norway, county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional regions of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative ...

Kviteseid Kviteseid is a municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kviteseid. The parish ...

Seljord Seljord is a municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional regions of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Seljord. The pari ...

Fyresdal Fyresdal is a municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Moland. The municipality of ''Molan ...

, Valle, and

Bykle Bykle is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Setesdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bykle. Other villages in Bykle municipality include Berdalen, Bjåen, Br ...

. The highest peak is ''Urdenosi'' which is above sea level.

Notable residents

Talleiv Huvestad Talleiv Olavson Huvestad (1761 – 13 July 1847) was a Norwegian teacher, farmer and politician. Talleiv Olavson Huvestad was born on the Storaasli farm in the parish of Skafså in Øvre Telemark, Norway, the son of Olaf Tollefsson Storaas ...

(1761 in Skafså – 1847) a teacher, farmer and politician * Søren Georg Abel (1772 in Mo – 1820) a Norwegian priest and politician *

Jens Matthias Pram Kaurin Jens Matthias Pram Kaurin (25 November 1804 – 6 July 1863) was a Norwegian professor of theology, biblical translator, and Lutheran priest. He served as the Bishop of the Diocese of Bjørgvin from 1858 until 1861. Life and family Jens Kaurin ...

(1804 in Lårdal – 1863) theology professor and Lutheran priest *

Marcus Jacob Monrad Marcus Jacob Monrad (19 January 1816 – 30 December 1897) was a Norwegian philosopher, a university professor for more than 40 years. He was born in Nøtterøy to parish priest Peder Monrad and Severine Elisabeth Ambroe, and grew up in Mo i ...

(1816–1897) a Norwegian philosopher and academic, grew up in Mo * Vetle Vislie (1858 in Skafså – 1933) a Norwegian educationalist, writer and politician *

Alf Blütecher Alf Blütecher (7 February 1880 – 5 March 1959) was a Norwegian actor. He appeared in more than eighty films from 1913 to 1930. Selected filmography References External links * 1880 births 1959 deaths People from Tokke Norwegian mal ...

(1880 in Lårdal – 1959) a Norwegian actor IMDb Database
Retrieved 12 November 2020 * Thomas Offenberg Backer (1892 in Mo – 1987) a Norwegian engineer *

Andreas Backer Andreas Cathrinus Backer (30 May 1895 – 10 August 1975) was a Norwegian journalist, newspaper editor and organizational leader. Backer was born in Mo, Telemark, the son of priest Hans Backer and Johanne Offenberg, and was a brother of Th ...

(1895 in Mo – 1975) a Norwegian journalist and newspaper editor *

Anne Grimdalen Anne Grimdalen (1 November 1899 – 3 October 1961) was a Norwegian sculptor. She was born on the mountain farm Grimdalen in Skafså, Telemark, and later also lived and worked in the so-called ''Kunstnerdalen'' in Asker. She worked mainly wi ...

(1899 in Skafså – 1961) a Norwegian sculptor *

Eivind Groven Eivind Groven (8 October 1901 – 8 February 1977) was a Norwegian composer and music-theorist. He was from traditional region of Vest-Telemark and had a background in the folk music of the area. Biography Groven was born in the village of L� ...

(1901 in Eidsborg – 1977) a microtonal composer and music-theorist *

Arvid Torgeir Lie Arvid Torgeir Lie (18 August 1938 – 19 May 2020) was a Norwegian poet, writer of short stories and translator. He was born in Skafså in Mo, current Tokke municipality. Among his poetry collections are ''Under fuglens vengjekross'' (1967) and ...

(1938 in Skafså – 2020) a Norwegian poet, short story writer and translator * Lene Vågslid (born 1986 in Tokke) a Norwegian teacher and politician

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 ...

*
Tokke description
{{Authority control Municipalities of Vestfold og Telemark