Seljord 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' ...

in Telemark 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 districts of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. 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 village of Seljord. Other villages in the municipality include Flatdal and Åmotsdal. The municipality is the 161st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Seljord is the 229th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,939. 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 0.2% over the previous 10-year period. Seljord is famous for its sea serpent, Selma, who allegedly lives in Lake Seljord (''Seljordsvatnet''). The yearly Dyrsku'n market, held since 1866, attracts 60,000 to 80,000 visitors each year. The large fair started as a show of farm animals. More recently, it also includes a huge market with vendors selling a variety of goods including base layer clothing, Bergans outdoors equipment, crafts, and food. Amusement rides are also featured. Seljord folk high school is located in Seljord. The school offers a variety of courses including outdoor adventure, theater, music, and art.

General information

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 ''Sillejord'' (later spelled ''Seljord'') was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

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). On 11 October 1873, an unpopulated area of Kviteseid Municipality was transferred to Seljord. On 1 January 1883, an area of southeastern Seljord (population: 235) was transferred to the neighboring Bø Municipality. On 23 January 1905, an unpopulated part of Hjartdal Municipality was transferred to Seljord.

Name

The municipality (originally the

) is named after the old ''Seljord'' farm () since the first Seljord Church was built there. The first element is 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 word which means "sallow-tree" or "

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

". The last element is which means " field". Prior to 1889, the name was spelled ''Silgjord'' or ''Sillejord''.

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 15 September 1989. 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, a sea serpent Or"'' (). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a sea serpent. The charge 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 design symbolizes the local legend of a sea serpent named Selma who allegedly lives in the lake Seljordsvatn. The arms were designed by Trygve Magnus Barstad. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish () within the municipality of Seljord. It is part of the Øvre Telemark 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 Agder og Telemark.

Government

Seljord 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. 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 ...

is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Telemark District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.

Mayors

The mayors () of Seljord (incomplete list): * 1878-1884: Jørund Telnes * 1886-1886: Jørund Telnes * 2004-2007: John Kleivstaul ( Sp) * 2007-2013: Solveig Sundbø Abrahamsen ( H) * 2013-2015: Jon Svartdal ( KrF) * 2015-2019: Halfdan Haugan ( Ap) * 2019–2023: Beate Marie Dahl Eide ( Sp) * 2023-present: Solveig Sundbø Abrahamsen ( H)

Municipal council

The

of Seljord is made up of 17 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 ...

Media gallery

Seljord kirke, minnestøtte for salmedikteren Landstad.jpg, Memorial to Magnus Brostrup Landstad Manndal chapel (3862071465).jpg, Mandal Chapel Åmotsdal church (3836952040).jpg, Åmotsdal Church Seljord lake.JPG, Lake Seljord (Seljordsvatnet) Seljord Boathouse.JPG, Flooded boathouse in Seljord

Notable people

* Anne Godlid (1773-1863), a 19th-century Norwegian storyteller * Jacob Andreas Wille (1777–1850), a priest, teacher, and Mayor of Seljord * Daniel Bremer Juell (1808-1855), the Bishop of Tromsø from 1849-1855 * Jørund Telnes (1845-1892), a farmer, teacher, writer, and Mayor of Seljord * Halvor J. Sandsdalen (1911-1998), a writer and folklore collector * Ingebjørg Kasin Sandsdalen (1915-2003), a poet * Aslaug Høydal (1916-2007), a schoolteacher, novelist, poet, and children's writer * Terje Grøstad (1925–2011), a painter and illustrator who lived in Flatdal * Hallvard Flatland (born 1957), a TV personality * Kim Leine (born 1961), a Danish-Norwegian author * Helga Flatland (born 1984), a novelist and children's writer who was brought up in Flatdal

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 ...

*
Seljord Folk High School
{{use dmy dates, date=August 2023 Municipalities of Telemark 1838 establishments in Norway