Røldal is a village in the municipality of

Ullensvang Ullensvang is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Hardanger. The administrative centre is the Odda (town), town of Odda. Some o ...

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and political leadership is based. The County governor (Norway), County Governor is based in ...

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 village lies in the Røldal valley along the Storelva river on the north end of the lake Røldalsvatnet. Røldal is located about southeast of the town of

Odda Odda () is a list of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the old Hordaland counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1913 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Ullensvang Municipality i ...

. Røldal was formerly part of the independent municipality of Røldal from 1838 until 1964 when it became a part of

municipality. Then in 2020, it became part of Ullensvang. The 13th-century Røldal Stave Church is located here. The village is located at the junction of the European route E134 highway and the Norwegian National Road 13. The E134 highway follows a historic route that connects Eastern and Western Norway, passing right through Røldal. It is located near the borders of three counties: Hordaland,

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...

(to the south), and

Telemark Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...

(to the east). The village has a population (2019) of 353 and a

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 ...

of . People from this area use the

demonym A demonym (; ) or 'gentilic' () is a word that identifies a group of people ( inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place ( hamlet, village, town, city, region, ...

''røldøl'' for themselves, others who live outside of Røldal generally use the term ''røldøling''.

History

Due to its location near the border of three counties, 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 ...

of Røldal has been part of three different dioceses over the centuries. It originally belonged to the Diocese of Bjørgvin, but it was transferred to the (new)

Diocese of Stavanger The Diocese of Stavanger () is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers all of Rogaland county in western Norway. The cathedral city is Stavanger, where the Stavanger Cathedral is located. The bishop is Anne Lise Ådnøy, who has held the p ...

in 1125. In 1684, it became a part of the (new) Diocese of Kristiansand. Røldal was finally transferred back to the Diocese of Bjørgvin in 1864. Historically, the Røldal area was part of the

of Suldal (to the south), with Røldal being an annex to the main parish. Suldal and Røldal each had their own churches, but they shared a priest since Røldal was a sparsely populated area and could not support their own priest. Suldal was located in

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

county and Røldal was located in Søndre Bergenhus county. In 1838, Røldal became a its own municipality which existed until 1964 when it was merged into

Attractions

Tourists visit Røldal for a number of reasons. The centuries-old Røldal Stave Church is a preserved museum, but it is also a regularly-used church for the village. The Røldal skicenter in the Hordadal valley is famous for receiving the most snowfall of any populated area in Norway. Røldal also is a point for access to the nearby

Hardangervidda Hardangervidda () is a mountain plateau ( Norwegian: ''vidde'') in central southern Norway, covering parts of Vestland, Telemark, and Buskerud counties. It is the largest plateau of its kind in Europe, with a cold year-round alpine climate, and o ...

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

. Other places of interest include the Røldal Village Museum (showing a traditional local farm), some iron-age burial mounds, and the Kalvatræet Literature House.

Name

The village is named after the old ''Røldal'' farm where the local church ( Røldal Stave Church) is located. The farm was probably named after the valley in which it is located. The

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

form of the name might have been ''Rœrgudalr''. The first element would then be the

genitive case In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive ca ...

of the local rivername ''Røyrga'' (derived from ''røyrr'' which means 'rocky ground') and the last element is ''dalr'' which means 'dale' or 'valley'.

References

External links

Røldal Ski center

Røldal Tourism

Røldal - Visit Norway tourism site

Røldal Stave Church

Photos
from the national library, pictures taken by Axel Lindahl and Anders Beer Wilse. {{DEFAULTSORT:Roldal Villages in Vestland Ullensvang