Gudbrandsdal

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Gudbrandsdal

Gudbrandsdalen is a valley

Valley

In geology, a valley is a Depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge....
and traditional district

Districts of Norway

Norway is divided into a number of districts. Many districts have deep historical roots, and only partially coincide with today's administrative units of counties of Norway and municipalities of Norway....
in the Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a constitutional monarchy in Northern Europe that occupies the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula....
fylke (county) of Oppland

Oppland

is a Counties of Norway in Norway, bordering S?r-Tr?ndelag, M?re og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration is in Lillehammer....
. The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer

Lillehammer

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Oppland Counties of Norway, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics....
at Lake Mjøsa, extending 230 km toward Romsdal

Romsdal

Romsdal is the name of a valley and Districts of Norway in the Norwegian county M?re og Romsdal. It is located between Nordm?re and Sunnm?re....
. The large river Gudbrandsdalslågen

Gudbrandsdalslågen

The Gudbrandsdalsl?gen river flows through Norway's Gudbrandsdal valley.The Gudbrandsdalsl?gen begins in the lake Lesjaskogsvatnet , which lies in Lesja municipality in Oppland....
flows through the valley, starting from Lesjaskogsvatnet

Lesjaskogsvatnet

Lesjaskogsvatnet is a lake which serves as the headwaters for Gudbrandsdalsl?gen . Gudbrandsdalsl?gen flows through the Gudbrandsdal valley bottom, ending in lake Mj?sa....
and ending in lake Mjøsa

Mjøsa

Mj?sa is Norway's largest lake, as well as the one of the List_of_lakes_in_Norway#Deepest_lakes in Norway and in Europe as a whole, after Hornindalsvatnet....
.

The long valley is divided into three parts: Norddalen (the municipalities

Municipalities of Norway

||}Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called county , and 430 municipality . The capital city Oslo is considered both a county and a municipality....
of Lesja

Lesja

Lesja is a Municipalities of Norway in Oppland Counties of Norway, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lesja....
, Dovre

Dovre

Dovre is a Municipalities of Norway in Oppland Counties of Norway, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway of Dovre region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dovre....
, Skjåk

Skjåk

Skj?k is a Municipalities of Norway in Oppland Counties of Norway, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bismo....
, Lom

Lom, Norway

Lom is a Municipalities of Norway in Oppland Counties of Norway, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Fossbergom....
, Vågå

Vågå

V?g? is a Municipalities of Norway in Oppland Counties of Norway, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of V?g?mo....
and Sel

Sel

Sel is a Municipalities of Norway in Oppland Counties of Norway, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the List of cities in Norway of Otta, Norway....
), Midtdalen (the municipalities of Nord-Fron

Nord-Fron

Nord-Fron is a Municipalities of Norway in Oppland Counties of Norway, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vinstra....
, Sør-Fron

Sør-Fron

S?r-Fron is a Municipalities of Norway in Oppland Counties of Norway, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hundorp....
and Ringebu

Ringebu

is a Municipalities of Norway in Oppland Counties of Norway, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ringebu....
), and Sørdalen (the municipalities of Øyer

Øyer

?yer is a Municipalities of Norway in Oppland Counties of Norway, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tingberg....
, Gausdal

Gausdal

Gausdal is a Municipalities of Norway in Oppland Counties of Norway, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Segalstad bru....
and Lillehammer

Lillehammer

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Oppland Counties of Norway, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics....
).

name Gudbrandsdalen means 'the valley/dale of Gudbrand'.

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Encyclopedia

Gudbrandsdalen is a valley

Valley

In geology, a valley is a Depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge....
and traditional district

Districts of Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a constitutional monarchy in Northern Europe that occupies the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula....
fylke (county) of Oppland

Oppland

Lillehammer

Romsdal

Romsdal is the name of a valley and Districts of Norway in the Norwegian county M?re og Romsdal. It is located between Nordm?re and Sunnm?re....
. The large river Gudbrandsdalslågen

Gudbrandsdalslågen

Lesjaskogsvatnet

Mjøsa

Municipalities of Norway

||}Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called county , and 430 municipality . The capital city Oslo is considered both a county and a municipality....
of Lesja

Lesja

Dovre

Skjåk

Lom, Norway

Vågå

Sel

Nord-Fron

Sør-Fron

Ringebu

Øyer

Gausdal

Lillehammer

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Oppland Counties of Norway, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics....
).

The name

The name Gudbrandsdalen means 'the valley/dale of Gudbrand'. Gudbrand (Norse Guðbrandr) is an old male name compounded of guð m 'god' and brandr m 'sword'. This was probably a title used by the kings of the valley living at Hundorp

Hundorp

Hundorp is a village in Gudbrandsdal, Norway. The administrative centre of S?r-Fron, Oppland, Hundorp was also the centre of the petty kingdom of Gudbrandsdal and as such important in religion and politics....
.

History

Gudbrandsdalen is shaped by the recent ice age and rivers from the present glacial areas in Jotunheimen

Jotunheimen

Jotunheimen is a mountainous area of roughly 3,500 km? in Southern Norway. Jotunheimen is a part of the long Scandinavian Mountains range. The 29 highest mountains in Norway are in Jotunheimen, including the very highest - Galdh?piggen ....
and Dovre

Dovre

Mammoth

A mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of the Elephantidae and close relatives of modern elephants....
s and musk ox

Musk Ox

The muskox is an Arctic mammal of the Bovidae family, noted for its thick coat and for the strong odor emitted by males, from which its name derives....
en, living in the area at that time, are found in the valley.

Stone Age

Stone Age

The Stone Age is a broad prehistory time period during which humans widely used Rock for toolmaking.Stone tools were made from a variety of different kinds of stone....
- Several traces of hunters are found in the valley (and in the mountain areas around). Of special interest is a rock carving of elk

Moose

File:Alces alces NA.svgThe moose or elk , , is the largest Extant taxon species in the deer family . Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a "twig-like" configuration....
s in the northern part of Lillehammer.

1015 - Gudbrandsdalen is mentioned extensively in the Heimskringla

Heimskringla

Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca....
(The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway) by Snorri Sturlson. The account of King Olaf

Olaf II of Norway

Olaf Haraldsson , was king of Norway from 1015–1028, . His mother was ?sta Gudbrandsdatter, and his father was Harald Grenske, great-grandchild of Harald I of Norway....
's (A.D. 1015-1021) conversion of Dale-Gudbrand to Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
is popularly recognized.

1206 The heir of the Norwegian throne, Håkon Håkonsson, is saved by birkebeiner

Birkebeiner

The Birkebein Party or Birkebeinar was the name for a rebellious party in Norway, formed in 1174 around the pretender Eystein Meyla. The name has its origins in propaganda from the opposing party that the rebels were so poor that they made their shoes of birch bark....
s with a ski-run from Lillehammer

Lillehammer

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Oppland Counties of Norway, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics....
to Rena

Rena

Rena may refer to:Locations:*Rena, Badajoz, a municipality in Badajoz , Spain*Rena, Norway, a town in NorwayPeople:*Rena Mero, a former WWE Diva and one of the stars of its "Attitude Era," better known by her ring name, Sable...
.

1349 to 1350 – The Black Plague halved the population in Gudbrandsdalen. This resulted in a temporary improvement for the lower classes as crofters became scarce and even the poor were able to rent the better farms in the bottom lands.

1537 - During the Reformation

Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe. It is thought to have begun in 1517 with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses and may be considered to have ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648....
the Church was subordinated to the “lendmenn” or sheriff. Church property was appropriated by the Crown and the King became the biggest Gudbrandsdalen landowner.

1612 - Near Otta in Gudbrandsdalen, was the Battle of Kringen

Battle of Kringen

The Battle of Kringen was an ambush perpetrated by a Norwegian peasant militia against Scottish mercenary soldiers who were on their way to enlist in the Swedish army for the Kalmar War....
where local peasants in 1612 defeated the Scottish

Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
mercenary army. The legends of this battle live on to this day, including the story of how the peasant girl Prillar-Guri
Prillar-Guri

Pillar-Guri, Prillarguri or Pillarguri was a woman who according to oral tradition played a key role in the Battle of Kringen, in which Scottish forces were defeated on their way to Sweden to enlist in Swedish service in the Kalmar War against Denmark and Norway....
lured the Scots into an ambush by playing the traditional ram's horn.

1670 to 1725 – Most of the royal property was sold off to pay for war debts, first to established property holders, but increasingly to peasant proprietors. A freeholder’s era began and a new “upper class” of land holders was formed.

1789 "Storofsa" - the greatest flood recorded in Gudbrandsdalen: Several farms devastated, and many people killed.

1827 the city of Lillehammer

Lillehammer

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Oppland Counties of Norway, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics....
is established.

1856 the paddle steamer Skibladner

Skibladner

PS Skibladner is a paddle steamer operating on the lake of Mj?sa in Norway.Skibladner is a sidewheel design, and her maiden voyage was on August 2, 1856, making her the world's oldest steamship still in operation....
on the lake Mjøsa

Mjøsa

Mj?sa is Norway's largest lake, as well as the one of the List_of_lakes_in_Norway#Deepest_lakes in Norway and in Europe as a whole, after Hornindalsvatnet....
and Hovedbanen

Hovedbanen

The Hoved Line is a railway line in Norway which runs between Oslo and Eidsvoll. The line is owned by the Norwegian National Rail Administration....
(the first railroad in Norway) connect Gudbrandsdalen to Christiania

Christiania

Christiania can refer to:* The former name of Oslo from 1624 to 1877, also known as Kristiania 1878?1924* Christiania Township, Minnesota...
.

1904 The outdoor museum of Maihaugen

Maihaugen

Maihaugen is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Lillehammer, Norway. Maihaugen is Europe's largest open air museum and is one of the largest museums in Norway, with close to 200 buildings....
, exhibiting old houses from all parts of Gudbrandsdalen, opens at Lillehammer.

1921 Dovrebanen

Dovrebanen

The Dovre Line main line of the Rail transport in Norway between Oslo and Trondheim, though the 64 km section south of Eidsvoll is the Gardermo Line, and the only high-speed line in the country....
, the railway between Oslo

Oslo

is the Capital and largest List of cities in Norway in Norway.Metropolitan Oslo or the Greater Oslo Region makes up the third largest urban area in Scandinavia after Metropolitan Stockholm and Metropolitan Copenhagen....
and Trondheim

Trondheim

is a city and Municipalities of Norway in S?r-Tr?ndelag Counties of Norway, Norway. The city of Trondheim was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 ....
through Gudbrandsdalen, is finished and opens.

1940 Severe fighting in Gudbrandsdalen at Tretten

Tretten

Tretten is a small village in the northern part of the ?yer municipality, Norway. Its population is 849. References...
and Kvam

Kvam, Oppland

Kvam is a village in Gudbrandsdalen. The place lies in Nord-Fron municipality in Oppland County, Norway. During the military campaign in Norway in 1940, Kvam was the scene of a large military action between German and British soldiers....
, trying to stop the German advance.

1994 The 1994 Winter Olympics

1994 Winter Olympics

The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway....
are celebrated at Lillehammer

Lillehammer

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Oppland Counties of Norway, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics....
.

Towns

Lillehammer
Lillehammer

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Oppland Counties of Norway, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics....
Ringebu
Ringebu

is a Municipalities of Norway in Oppland Counties of Norway, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ringebu....
Otta
Otta, Norway

is a town in the municipalities of Norway of Sel in the counties of Norway of Oppland in Norway. It has about 2,750 inhabitants . Next to Otta lies the massive Rondane, which became the first national park in Norway in 1962, and which has several mountains over 2,000 metres....

Mountain areas close to the valley

Jotunheimen
Jotunheimen

Jotunheimen is a mountainous area of roughly 3,500 km? in Southern Norway. Jotunheimen is a part of the long Scandinavian Mountains range. The 29 highest mountains in Norway are in Jotunheimen, including the very highest - Galdh?piggen ....
Rondane
Dovre
Dovre

Dovre is a Municipalities of Norway in Oppland Counties of Norway, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway of Dovre region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dovre....

Named for Gudbrandsdal

Gudbrandsdalsost
Gudbrandsdalsbunad
Dølahest (Dole Gudbrandsdal
Dole Gudbrandsdal

The Dole Gudbrandsdal, D?lahest or Dole is a draft-type horse from Norway. There are two subtypes of the breed, the Dole Gudbrandsdal and the Dole Trotter, with the former being used mainly for heavy draft horse and farm work and the latter for harness racing....
)
Dølafe

Gudbrandsdal

The name

History

Towns

Mountain areas close to the valley

Named for Gudbrandsdal

Alpine/Skidestinations

External links