Heidal or Heidalen is a valley in
Sel Municipality in
Innlandet
Innlandet is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (Jevnaker Municipality and Lunner Municipality were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken ( ...
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 ...
. The
U-shaped valley
U-shaped valleys, also called trough valleys or glacial troughs, are formed by the process of Glacial period, glaciation. They are characteristic of mountain glaciation in particular. They have a characteristic U shape in cross-section, with s ...
follows the river
Sjoa which begins in the nearby
Jotunheimen mountains eastward until it joins the
Gudbrandsdalslågen river in the main valley which runs through the region,
Gudbrandsdalen. The western end of the Sjoa river valley is in
Vågå Municipality
Vågå () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of ...
and there, it is called the
Sjodalen valley. From 1908-1965, the Heidal valley was an independent municipality called
Heidal, and since 1965, it has been a part of Sel Municipality. The main urban area in the valley is the village of
Bjølstad.
The valley runs northwest from the village of
Sjoa for about to the village of
Bjølstad where the valley curves to the southwest/south for about before entering Vågå municipality. After entering Vågå, the valley becomes much narrower as it enters into the Jotunheimen mountains and heading to the source of the river, the large lake
Gjende.
History
In the year 1177,
Ivar Gjæsling was King
Magnus IV's
lendmann for the
Opplands.
Gjesling allied himself with the
Birkebeiners (who chose
Sverre as their king at
Øreting in
Nidaros
Nidaros, Niðarós or Niðaróss () was the medieval name of Trondheim when it was the capital of Norway's first Christian kings. It was named for its position at the mouth (Old Norse: ''óss'') of the River Nid (the present-day Nidelva).
Althou ...
in 1177). In return, King Sverre granted Gjesling the whole Heidal valley.
Heidal is rich in beauty and tradition. It has a high concentration of older protected timber houses and farmsteads. The main industries are agriculture and forestry. Local traditions includes carpentry, wood carving, painting and weaving.
(''Heidal Kyrkje'') was built during the period 1937-41 as an exact replica of a 1754 church which was destroyed after being struck by lightning in 1933. Heidal Church is a
cruciform
A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design.
Cruciform architectural plan
Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...
church as are most of the churches in the Gudbrand Valley. The church was built of wood. It has about 300 seats and three galleries. The church was designed by architect
Bredo Berntsen (1877–1957). The altarpiece is a work by the Norwegian sculptor
Jakob Klukstad. Near the church stands the Bjølstad Chapel (''Bjølstad-kapellet''). Bjølstad Chapel seating 75 and dates from around 1531.
Heidal church, Sel, Norway.jpg, Heidal Church
Bjølstad chapel, Sel, Norway.jpg, Bjølstad Chapel
Some locations in the valley allow guided tours, including the Søre Harildstad farm and Bjølstad Chapel. Farms like the
Bjølstad Farm are not open to the public. At the Bjølstad Farm the newest building was constructed in about 1820 and the farm has been in the same family since the 13th century.
See also
*
Heidalsmuen
*
Heidal cheese
References
External links
Visit HeidalHeidal
{{use dmy dates, date=June 2022
Sel, Norway
Valleys of Innlandet