Lærdal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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- For the manufacturer of medical equipment, see Laerdal.
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| County | Sogn og Fjordane | |
| District | Sogn | |
| Municipality | NO-1422 | |
| Administrative centre | Lærdalsøyri | |
| Mayor (2005) | Knut O. Aarethun (Ap) | |
| Official language form | Nynorsk | |
| Area - Total - Land - Percentage |
Ranked 66 1,342 km² 1,278 km² 0.41 % |
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| Population - Total (2004) - Percentage - Change (10 years) - Density |
Ranked 331 2,169 0.05 % -3.6 % 2/km² |
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| Coordinates | ||
| www.laerdal.kommune.no |
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Lærdal is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It's a long valley, running from Hemsedal in east to the Sognefjord in west. About 1200 of the 2200 inhabitants mostly live in the main area of Lærdalsøyri; the rest in the small villages Borgund, Ljøsne, Tønjum, Erdal, Frønningen and Strendene.
Lærdal has long traditions in farming, the lower region of the valley is great for vegetable crops, and because of the dry climate, it was one of the first places in Norway that started using artificial irrigation.
Lærdal has a local hospital that gives medical help for it and seven of the surrounding municipalities.
The hospital, together with Opplysningen 1881, Østfold Energiproduksjon A/S and Norsk Hydro Aluminium Production Facilities in Årdal, are the biggest work employers for Lærdal.
The Old Lærdalsøyri is an area with old, protected houses dated up to 200 years old.
The River Lærdalselvi, known by the Norwegian King (Harald V) as his second Queen, also draws a lot of sportfishers to Lærdal. After an attack from the salmon parasite Gyrodactylus salaris in fall 1996, the river is now regaining its salmon and trout and is fully fishable.
[edit] Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1987). It shows two dragon heads (from the gables of Borgund stave church).
[edit] History
Borgund stave church (built around 1150) is one of Norway's oldest stave churches. It's a church devoted to St. Andreas.
| Municipalities of Sogn og Fjordane |  |
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Nordfjord: Bremanger | Eid | Gloppen | Hornindal | Selje | Stryn | Vågsøy |
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