Sør-Aurdal 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 county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (the municipalities of Jevnaker and Lunner were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken on the same date). The n ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a 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 Jan Mayen and t ...

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

administrative centre An administrative center 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 administrative language (such as Belgium, L ...

of the municipality is the village of Bagn. Other villages in the municipality include Begna, Hedalen, and Begnadalen. The municipality is the 101st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Sør-Aurdal is the 231st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,889. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

is and its population has decreased by 8.4% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

of ''Søndre Aurdal'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 Janua ...

law). On 1 January 1894, the new Etnedal Municipality was established by merging the eastern valley area of ''Nordre Etnedal'' (population: 362) from the neighboring Nordre Aurdal municipality and the ''Søndre Etnedal'' area (population: 1,331) from the neighboring municipality of Søndre Aurdal. Then on 1 January 1984, the unpopulated northern side of the Makalaus mountain was transferred from Sør-Aurdal to Nord-Aurdal.

Name

The municipality (and parish) was named after the valley in which it is located. The

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is 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 of Scandinavia and t ...

form of the valley name was ''Aurardalr''. 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 can ...

of an old river name ''Aur'' (now called ''Bøaelva'') and the last element is ''dalr'' which means "

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

" or "dale". The old river name is derived from ''aurr'' which means " gravel". Originally the municipality was named ''Søndre Aurdal''. The name was changed from ''Søndre Aurdal'' to ''Sør-Aurdal'' in the early 20th century. Both ''søndre'' and ''sør-'' mean "south" (more specifically, "søndre" means "southern"), so the name ''Sør-Aurdal'' means "(the) southern (part of) Aurdal". (The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. ...

parish of Aurdal was divided into two in 1805, just over 30 years before the municipality was established in 1838.)

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 it ...

was granted by royal decree on 9 February 1990. It is blue with gold silhouette of the gilt-copper

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

reliquary ( chasse) that is based on the one found in the Hedal Stave Church except that this one has five blue arches which are inspired by the arches on a similar medieval chasse from the nearby medieval St. Thomas Church at Filefjell (now in the Bergen Museum) and representing the five

parishes of the municipality (Bagn, Reinli, Hedalen, Bruflat, and Begnadalen). It also has two dragon heads in the design since Sør-Aurdal is one of only two municipalities in Norway that have two stave churches that are still in use. The color blue was chosen to represent the two river systems in the municipality that were historically important for the logging industry and

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

s in Sør-Aurdal.

Churches

The

has five parishes () within the municipality of Sør-Aurdal. It is part of the

Valdres prosti The list of churches in Hamar is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Hamar which includes all of Innlandet county (plus two municipalities in Viken county) in Norway. The list is divided into several sections, one for each d ...

(

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman 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 reside ...

) in the Diocese of Hamar.

Geography

Sør-Aurdal municipality is bordered on the north by the municipalities of Nord-Aurdal and Etnedal, on the northeast by Nordre Land, on the east by Søndre Land (all of which are in

county). It is also bordered on the south by Ringerike and Flå municipalities, and on the west by Nesbyen and Gol municipalities (all of which are in Viken). Sør-Aurdal is part of the traditional district of Valdres in central, southern Norway, situated between the Gudbrandsdal and Hallingdal valleys. Sør-Aurdal includes parts of several smaller valleys including Begnadalen, Hedalen, Vassfaret, and Vidalen. The river Begna is the main river flowing through the municipality.

History

Reinli Stave Church Reinli Stave Church ( no, Reinli stavkyrkje) is a preserved parish church of the Church of Norway in Sør-Aurdal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Reinli. It is the former church for the Reinli parish ...

(built 1190-1250) is the third church on the same location in Reinli. A new tower was added in 1685 and the building was reconditioned by the Society for Preservation of Ancient Buildings in 1885. Olaf Haraldsson traveled through Valdres in 1023, and also visited Reinli. It is assumed, then, that there was a pagan temple at the same location before the first church, some time before the year 1000. Hedal Stave Church was built after 1160 and in 1699 it was rebuilt and changed. An old legend says the valley was abandoned during the Black Death and the church later discovered by a

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 N ...

hunter. A hide is hanging in the church, although now there is only a small part left as visitors have cut away pieces over the years.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Sør-Aurdal, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient

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

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usag ...

services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refer ...

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. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or adminis ...

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

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, 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 a ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. 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, rural coun ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elects a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a 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 responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

. The municipality falls under the

Vestre Innlandet District Court Vestre Innlandet District Court ( no, Vestre Innlandet tingrett) is a district court (Norway), district court located in Innlandet county, Norway. This court is based at four different courthouses which are located in Gjøvik (town), Gjøvik, Fag ...

and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

of Sør-Aurdal is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayors

The mayors of Sør-Aurdal (incomplete list): *1945: Arne H. Grøv ( V) *1946-1963: Harald Bakken ( Ap) *1964-1981: Hallgrim Tronrud ( Ap) *1982-1991: Kristoffer Storruste ( Ap) *1992-1999: Svein Thorsrud ( Sp) *1999-2007: Knut Torgersen ( Ap) *2007–2019: Kåre Helland ( Sp) *2019–present: Marit Hougsrud ( Sp)

Media gallery

Reinli Stavkyrkje, Sør-Aurdal.JPG, Reinli Stavkyrkje Hedalen Stavkyrkje, Sør-Aurdal.jpg, Hedal Stavkyrkje Begnadalen - panoramio.jpg, Begnadalen Svartsetera, Bagn Bygdesamling.JPG, Svartsetera, Bagn Bygdesamling

Attractions

Bagn Bygdesamling Bagn Bydesamling is a small museum located in the hamlet of Dolven, south of Bagn at Sør-Aurdal in Innlandet county Norway. The museum is situated in the traditional district of Valdres and is run as a subsidiary of Valdres Folkemuseum. His ...

is a museum that is associated with

Valdres Folkemuseum The Valdres Folkemuseum is a folk museum located at Storøya outside Fagernes in Nord-Aurdal in Innlandet county, Norway. Overview Valdres Folk Museum was founded in 1901. It is located in the traditional rural district of Valdres. The mu ...

. It is located south of Bagn. It consists of twelve log houses and a building for permanent displays. A part of the museum is at Sandviken and the farm is Bagnsbergatn. * Bautahaugen Samlinger is another museum that is also associated with Valdres Folkemuseum. It is located in the middle of Hedalen. It consists of a collection of houses and items from Hedalen. The Hedal Stave Church is located just nearby.

Notable residents

Ola Hermundsen Berge Ola Hermundsen Berge (31 December 1768 – 28 December 1825) was a Norwegian folk artist and rose painter. Berge was born at Sør-Aurdal in Oppland, Norway. He received training for his folk art in the traditional region of Valdres. A common ...

(1768 in Sør-Aurdal - 1825), a Norwegian folk artist and rose painter * Hans Jacob Stabel (1769–1836), a priest in Sør-Aurdal from 1806; member of the constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814 * Haldor Boen (1851 in Sør-Aurdal – 1912), an American congressman from

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

* Mikkjel Fønhus (1874 in Sør-Aurdal - 1973), a journalist, novelist and short story writer about animals in the wilderness *

Sigurd Islandsmoen Sigurd Islandsmoen (August 27, 1881 – July 1, 1964) was a Norwegian composer. Sigurd Islandsmoen made significant contributions to the music of the Church of Norway. In all he wrote some 70 opus, among these five feature-length works for ...

(1881 in Bagn – 1964), a composer of music for the

Rolf Andvord Rolf Otto Andvord (31 October 1890 – 8 March 1976) was a Norwegian jurist and diplomat. Biography He was born in Sør-Aurdal as a son of Kristian Andvord (1855–1934), a chief physician, and Ebba Blomstedt (1860–1953). He was a nephew of ship ...

(1890 in Sør-Aurdal – 1976), a Norwegian jurist and diplomat * Per Juvkam (1907 in Sør-Aurdal – 2003), a Lutheran Bishop of Bjørgvin 1961-1977 *

Ruth Lagesen Ruth Lagesen (August 10, 1914 – April 7, 2005) was a Norwegian pianist and conductor. Biography Lagesen was born in Bagn in the Valdres Valdres () is a traditional district in central, southern Norway, situated between the districts of Gudb ...

(1914 in Bagn – 2005), a Norwegian pianist and conductor *

Morten Bakke Morten Bakke (born 16 December 1968) is a retired Norwegian football goalkeeper. Club career During his career, Bakke played for several clubs, most notably Molde and Vålerenga. He scored from the penalty mark in a 1992 Norwegian Football Cup ...

(born 1968 in Hedalen), a retired football goalkeeper with over 300 club caps

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 ...

*
Map of Sør-Aurdal municipality
in

Kulturnett.no The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality ( no, Det kongelige kultur- og likestillingsdepartement; short name ''Kultur- og likestillingsdepartementet'') is responsible for cultural policy, regulations and other matters related to the ...

Mikkjel Fønhus biography
from Dagbladet {{DEFAULTSORT:Sor-Aurdal Municipalities of Innlandet 1838 establishments in Norway