Gausdal Municipality


Gausdal 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 Segalstad bru. Other villages in Gausdal include Follebu, Forset, and Svingvoll.
The municipality is the 91st largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Gausdal Municipality is the 156th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,174. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 1% over the previous 10-year period.
Logging, farming, and tourism are important industries in the municipality.

General information

The parish of Gausdal was established as a civil municipality on 1 January 1838. On 1 January 1867, a small area of neighboring Øyer Municipality was transferred into Gausdal Municipality. In 1879, Gausdal Municipality was divided into two separate municipalities: Vestre Gausdal Municipality in the northwest and Østre Gausdal Municipality in the southeast. On 27 July 1956, a small area of Sør-Fron Municipality was transferred to the neighboring Vestre Gausdal Municipality.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, Vestre Gausdal Municipality and Østre Gausdal Municipality were merged to re-establish the old Gausdal Municipality which existed from 1838-1879.
Historically, the municipality was part of the old Oppland county. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became a part of the newly-formed Innlandet county.

Name

The municipality is named after the Gausdalen valley since the municipality is located in the valley. The first element is named after the river Gausa which flows through the valley. The river name comes from the verb which means to "gush", "burst out", or "stream forcefully". The last element is which means "valley" or "dale".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 19 September 1986. The official blazon is "Per fess azure and argent, a single stair step section slanting outwards". This means the arms have are divided with a line that is divided horizontally in the shape of a stairstep that is slanting to the right. The field above the line has a tincture of blue. Below the line, the field has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The arms were designed to mimic the shape of one of the main mountains in the municipality, Skeikampen. The bottom argent part represents the snowy mountain and the top blue part represents the sky. The arms were designed by Inger Line Thallaug. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has five parishes within Gausdal Municipality. It is part of the Sør-Gudbrandsdal prosti in the Diocese of Hamar.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
AulstadAulstad ChurchAulstad1864
FollebuFollebu ChurchFollebu1260
SvatsumSvatsum ChurchSvatsum1860
Vestre GausdalVestre Gausdal ChurchForset1784
Østre GausdalØstre Gausdal ChurchPrestmoen

History

The old Follebu Church was built of stone in the early Middle Ages. It is unusual in that the chancel and nave were built as one continuous piece.
In the 1880s, there was mining for nickel in the Espedalen valley in the northwest part of the municipality. The search for nickel was taken up again in 2004 by Blackstone Venture, a Canadian company. As of 2006, they are still drilling for mineral samples only.

Geography

Gausdal is bordered on the northwest by Sør-Fron Municipality, on the northeast by Ringebu Municipality and Øyer Municipality, on the southeast by Lillehammer Municipality, on the south by Nordre Land Municipality, and on the southwest by Nord-Aurdal Municipality and Øystre Slidre Municipality.
Western tributaries of the Gudbrandsdalslågen river include the Gausa River, which flows through Gausdalen valley. The lake Dokkfløyvatn is located in the municipality. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Nordre Langsua, on the border with Sør-Fron Municipality.
The famous Peer Gynt mountain road begins here and leads to the town of Vinstra. A popular ski area is located on the south slope of Skeikampen mountain. Langsua National Park, partially lies within the municipality.

Government

Gausdal Municipality is responsible for primary education, outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Gudbrandsdal District Court and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Gausdal is made up of 23 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayor of Gausdal Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position :
  • 1838–1839: Østen Ovren
  • 1840–1845: Paul Nyegaard
  • 1846–1847: Erlend Midtvold
  • 1848–1849: Simen Ovren
  • 1850–1851: Christian Gundersen Fougner
  • 1852–1855: John Svendsen Waalen
  • 1871–1871: John Svendsen Waalen
  • 1872–1875: Christian Gundersen Fougner
  • 1876–1878: John Svendsen Waalen
  • 1962–1971: Reidar Engjom
  • 1971–1975: Bjørn Midtlien
  • 1975–1983: Kristian Baukhol
  • 1983–1991: Nils Nygard
  • 1991–1993: Liv Røe Johnsen
  • 1994–2001: Inger Enger
  • 2001–2007: Olav Olstad
  • 2007–2011: Mona B. Nicolaysen
  • 2011–2019: Hans Oddvar Høistad
  • 2019–present: Anette Musdalslien

    Notable people

Public service

Gausdal has sister city agreements with the following places: