Nord-Fron is a

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

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 ...

. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The

administrative centre An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

of the municipality is the town of Vinstra. Other population centers in Nord-Fron include the villages of Kvam and Skåbu. The municipality is the 95th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Nord-Fron is the 169th most populous municipality in Norway, with a population of 5,589. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

is , and its population has decreased by 4.1% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The

prestegjeld A ''prestegjeld'' was a geographic and administrative area within the Church of Norway (''Den Norske Kirke'') roughly equivalent to a parish. This traditional designation was in use for centuries to divide the kingdom into ecclesiastical areas tha ...

of Fron was established as a civil municipality on 1 January 1838 when the new

formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...

law was enacted. On 1 January 1851, the municipality was divided in two. The northwest portion became Nord-Fron Municipality (population: 4,685), and the southeast portion became

Sør-Fron Municipality Sør-Fron 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 Hundorp. Other villages in the municipality include Gålå, H ...

(population: 3,421). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee () was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a ...

. On 1 January 1965, the Sjoa area (population: 413) was transferred from Nord-Fron to the neighboring Sel Municipality. Then, on 1 January 1966, Nord-Fron Municipality (population: 5,758) and

(population: 3,648) were merged to form a new Fron Municipality (with similar borders to the old Fron municipality that existed from 1838 to 1851 minus the Sjoa area which was then part of Sel). This merger was not well-liked among the residents of the new municipality. On 1 January 1977, the merger was reversed. Nord-Fron Municipality (population: 6,131) and

(population: 3,509) were recreated using their old borders from 1965.

Name

The municipality (originally the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

) is named after the old ''Fron'' farm () since the first Fron Church was built there. The first element is which means "northern". The last element is uncertain, but it may come from the word , which means "earth" or "land". Thus the name of the municipality is "(the) northern (part of) Fron" (since the parish of Fron was divided in 1851 into a "north" and a "south" part). Historically, it was called ''Nordre Fron'', using another word that also means "north". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled ''Nordre Fron''. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to ''Nord-Fron'', using an alternate word for "north".

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted on 18 July 1980. The official

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

is ''"

Gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). Gules is portrayed in heraldic hatch ...

, a horse forcené Or"'' (). This means the arms have a red field (background), and the charge is a Dole Gudbrandsdal horse rearing up on its hind legs. The horse has a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

of Or, which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The Fron area has a long-standing tradition in

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given Horse breed, breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired chara ...

and is one of the main centres of horse breeding in Norway. Historically, the old Fron municipality used unofficial arms with a horse on it. After Fron was divided into Nord- and Sør-Fron in 1977, Nord-Fron chose these arms. Hallvard Trætteberg designed the arms. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

has four parishes () within the municipality of Nord-Fron. It is part of the Nord-Gudbrandsdal prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

) in the Diocese of Hamar.

History

The ''Nord-Hoge'' farm in the Sødorp parish of Nord-Fron is the legendary home of Per Gynt. Per was made famous by Peter Asbjørnsen's folk tales and

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

's play ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five-Act (drama), act play in verse written in 1867 by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. It is one of Ibsen's best known and most widely performed plays. ''Peer Gynt'' chronicles the journey of its title character fr ...

''. The body of Captain Sinclair is buried in Kvam. The small Kvam Church, built in 1775, was burned down during the

occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was rebuilt after the war.

Geography

Nord-Fron is bordered to the northwest by Sel Municipality, to the east and south by

, in the south by Øystre Slidre Municipality, and to the southwest by

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 ...

. The municipality stretches from the

Rondane Rondane National Park () is the oldest national park in Norway, established on 21 December 1962. The park is located in Innlandet county, in the municipalities of Dovre Municipality, Dovre, Folldal Municipality, Folldal, Sel Municipality, Sel, No ...

mountains in the north to the Jotunheimen mountains in the southwest. There are two main population centres in Nord-Fron: the town of Vinstra in the central part of the municipality and the village of Kvam in the north. Kvam is located at the northern end of the Peer Gynt Road, which passes through high roads with excellent views of the Jotunheimen,

Dovrefjell Dovrefjell is a mountain range in Central Norway that forms a natural barrier between Eastern Norway and Trøndelag. The mountain range is located in Innlandet, Møre og Romsdal, and Trøndelag counties in Norway. As a result of its central loca ...

, and Rondane mountain. Lakes in the area include Feforvatnet, Olstappen, Øyangen, and Sandvatnet/Kaldfjorden/Øyvatnet. Mountains in the region include Gravdalsknappen, Heimdalshøe, Hornflågene, Ingulssjøhøi, Saukampen, Sikkilsdalshøa, Styggehøe, and

Smiubelgen Smiubelgin is a mountain range in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the western part of Rondane National Park, separated from the eastern part by the lake Rondvatnet. The Smiubelgen mountains have sharper ridges than the eastern part of ...

Government

Nord-Fron Municipality is responsible for

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

services, welfare and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

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

economic development In economics, economic development (or 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 object ...

, and municipal

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s and utilities. 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, borough cou ...

of directly elected representatives. A vote of the municipal council indirectly elects the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Vestre Innlandet District Court and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

of Nord-Fron is made up of 25 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, 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 oft ...

Mayors

The

mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

of Nord-Fron (incomplete list): *1894–1898: Ole Iversen Teige ( V) *1902–1907: Ole Iversen Teige ( V) *1945-1955: Albert Kvammen ( Ap) *1956-1965: Paul Brenna ( Ap) *''(1966-1977: part of Fron Municipality)'' *1977-1983: Tollef Beitrusten ( Ap) *1984-2007: Gunnar Tore Stenseng ( Ap) *2007-2011: Tove Haugli ( Ap) *2011-2015: Olav Røssum ( Sp) *2015–2021: Rune Støstad ( Ap) *2021–present: Anne-Marie Olstad ( Ap)

Attractions

Royal residence

The Royal Mountain Chalet, Prinsehytta, is located in the Sikkilsdalen valley in Nord-Fron. It is used as a royal residence by the

Norwegian royal family Members of the Norwegian royal family are people related to King Harald V of Norway or former Norwegian monarchs who are royals and who hold royal titles. The term does not include non-royal relatives. The current family who holds the throne a ...

for

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

trips and during the

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

and winter holidays.

Eidefoss petroglyphs

The rock carvings at Eidefoss are located on the east side of the river south of the white water.

National parks

Rondane National Park Rondane National Park () is the oldest national park in Norway, established on 21 December 1962. The park is located in Innlandet county, in the municipalities of Dovre Municipality, Dovre, Folldal Municipality, Folldal, Sel Municipality, Sel, No ...

, which lies partially in Nord-Fron, was the first Norwegian National Park, established on 21 December 1962. In 2003, Rondane National Park was enlarged, and smaller areas of nature protection were opened or enlarged. * Jotunheim National Park is not technically in Nord-Fron, but its southern border brushes Nord-Fron's western border.

Sister cities

Nord-Fron has

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

agreements with the following places: * - Hedemora,

Dalarna County Dalarna County () is a county or '' län'' in central Sweden (Svealand). It borders on the counties of Uppsala, Jämtland, Gävleborg, Västmanland, Örebro and Värmland. It also borders on the Norwegian counties of Hedmark and Trøndelag to ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

* - Richmond,

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, England,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Notable people

* Peder Per Veggum (1768 in Nord-Fron – 1836), a Norwegian artist and rose painter, a cabinet carpenter and woodcarver; associated with the decorative folk art of Rosemaling * Ole Paulssøn Haagenstad (1775 in Fron – 1866), a Norwegian farmer and politician * Jacob Smith Jarmann (1816 in Nord-Fron – 1894), a Norwegian firearms designer, invented the Jarmann M1884 rifle * Hallstein Høgåsen (born 1937 in Nord-Fron), a Norwegian

theoretical physicist Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experi ...

, main field elementary particle physics * Grete Berget (1954 in Vinstra – 2017), a Norwegian politician and journalist * Geir Helgemo (born 1970 in Vinstra), a professional bridge player, Monaco resident * Øystein Skar (born 1985 in Vinstra), a Norwegian pianist and composer

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, 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 year on its web site. All rele ...

* {{use dmy dates, date=June 2022 Gudbrandsdalen Municipalities of Innlandet 1851 establishments in Norway 1966 disestablishments in Norway 1977 establishments in Norway