Nord-Aurdal Municipality
Nord-Aurdal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Valdres. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Fagernes. Other urban centres in Nord-Aurdal include the villages of Aurdal, Leira, and Skrautvål. The municipality is served by Fagernes Airport, Leirin. In Nord-Aurdal, there is an alpine skiing center called Valdres Alpinsenter.
The municipality is the 128th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Nord-Aurdal Municipality is the 154th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,455. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 2.3% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The parish of Nordre Aurdal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838.On 1 January 1894, the new Etnedal Municipality was created by merging the eastern valley area of Nordre Etnedal from Nordre Aurdal Municipality plus the Søndre Etnedal area from the neighboring Søndre Aurdal Municipality.
On 1 January 1979, there was a border adjustment in an unpopulated area where part of Etnedal Municipality was transferred to Nord-Aurdal Municipality and another part of Nord-Aurdal Municipality that was transferred to Etnedal Municipality. Then on 1 January 1984, the unpopulated northern side of the Makalausfjellet mountain was transferred from Sør-Aurdal Municipality to Nord-Aurdal Municipality.
Historically, this 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 Aurdalen valley since it was a central geographic feature of the area. The first word in the name is which is essentially a prefix that means "north". The second word comes from the local valley name. The first element of that word is the genitive case of the old river name, Aur, now named Bøaelva. The river name comes from the word which means "gravel". The last element of the second word is which means "valley" or "dale". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Nordre Aurdal. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Nord-Aurdal. Both and mean "north", so the name Nord-Aurdal means " northern Aurdal".Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted by royal decree on 13 December 1985. The official blazon is "Or, three cinquefoils azure". This means the arms have a field has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The charge is three five-petaled flowers. The arms show three blue flowers of the species Gentiana nivalis which are commonly called "Snow Gentian". The flowers, which are locally known as "the blue eyes of Christ", grow all over Norway, but they grow abundantly in this area. Three flowers were chosen to represent the three main settlements of the municipality: Aurdal, Fagernes, and Leira. This type of flower only opens in sunlight and heat, so it was chosen to symbolize being open and positive. The arms were designed by Bjørn Arnesen who based it off an idea by Ivar Aars. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.Churches
The Church of Norway has six parishes within Nord-Aurdal Municipality. It is part of the Valdres prosti in the Diocese of Hamar.| Parish | Church name | Location of the church | Year built |
| Aurdal | Aurdal Church | Aurdal | 1737 |
| Skrautvål | Skrautvål Church | Skrautvål | 1785 |
| Svenes | Strand Church | Synnstrond | 1735 |
| Tingnes | Tingnes Church | Fagernes | 1972 |
| Tisleidalen | Tisleidalen Church | Hovda | 1957 |
| Ulnes | Ulnes Church | Ulnes | 1250 |
Geography
Nord-Aurdal Municipality is located to the north of Sør-Aurdal Municipality, east of Etnedal Municipality and Gausdal Municipality, and south of Øystre Slidre Municipality and Vestre Slidre Municipality. To the west, it is bordered by Hemsedal Municipality and Gol Municipality in Buskerud county. Nord-Aurdal Municipality measures about on the north–south axis and on the east–west axis.The municipality lies in the western side of Innlandet county. Although Fagernes is the administrative center of Nord-Aurdal Municipality, the village of Aurdal was the historic centre of the centuries-old Church of Norway parish of Aurdal. Nord-Aurdal Municipality is part of the traditional district of Valdres in the central part of southern Norway, situated between the Gudbrandsdal and Hallingdal valleys.
The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Duptjernkampen, a tri-point on the borders of Nord-Aurdal Municipality, Nordre Land Municipality, and Gausdal Municipality. About 50% of the land is above. The Tisleifjorden and Aurdalsfjorden are large inland lakes that are located in the municipality. The river Begna flows through the municipality as well, with the Strondafjorden being a large lake that the river flows through.
Government
Nord-Aurdal 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 Vestoppland og Valdres District Court and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.Municipal council
The municipal council of Nord-Aurdal Municipality is made up of 21 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 Nord-Aurdal 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: Amund Wessel Kolderup
- 1840–1841: Thore S. Belgum
- 1842–1845: Torger Melbye
- 1846–1849: Amund Wessel Kolderup
- 1850–1853: Thore S. Belgum
- 1854–1859: Jean Marie L'Abee
- 1860–1865: Nils Frydenlund
- 1866–1881: Erik Kjørstad
- 1882–1901: Ole Skrutvold
- 1902–1907: O.T. Svennæs
- 1908–1913: Th. Aaberg
- 1914–1919: O.T. Svennæs
- 1920–1926: Erik Strand
- 1926–1945: Ivar Simensen
- 1946–1971: Asbjørn Granheim
- 1972–1981: Nils T. Døvre
- 1982–1987: Lage Westerbø
- 1988–2003: Ola N. Døvre
- 2003–2007: Svein Erik Hilmen
- 2007–2011: Helge Halvorsen
- 2011–2019: Inger Torun Klosbøle
- 2019–present: Knut Arne Fjelltun
Attractions
The Valdres Folkemuseum is located just outside Fagernes and has large collections of old houses, textiles, and music instruments.Notable people
- Knut Hamsun, a Norwegian author who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920
- J. C. M. Hanson, an American librarian and author
- Kaare Strøm, a limnologist
- Olav Meisdalshagen, a Norwegian politician who was Minister of Finance from 1947-1951 and Minister of Agriculture from 1955-1956
- Asbjørn Granheim, a Norwegian politician who was mayor of Nord-Aurdal from 1945-1971
- Inger Helene Nybråten, a former cross-country skier, gold medalist at the 1984 Winter Olympics, and twice silver medallist at the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics
- Eldbjørg Hemsing, a classical violinist
- Guro Kleven Hagen, a violinist, the 1st concertmaster at the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet
- Sylfest Glimsdal, a former biathlete who competed at three Summer Olympics