Vinje
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| County | Telemark | |
| District | Vest-Telemark | |
| Municipality | NO-0834 | |
| Administrative centre | Vinje | |
| Mayor (2003) | Arne Vinje (SV) | |
| Official language form | Nynorsk | |
| Area - Total - Land - Percentage |
Ranked 12 3,106 km² 2,732 km² 0.96 % |
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| Population - Total (2004) - Percentage - Change (10 years) - Density |
Ranked 238 3,756 0.08 % -6.8 % 1/km² |
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| Coordinates | ||
| www.vinje.kommune.no |
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Vinje is a municipality in the county of Telemark, Norway.
Vinje is situated on both the Hardangervidda and parts of the Setesdalsheiane mountain plateaus. Highway E134 passes through Vinje, which is located halfway between Oslo and Haugesund, which is on Norway’s west coast. The locally renowned Haukelifjell is also found nearby.
Vinje became a site of heavy battles in World War II, at the Battle of Vinjesvingen when Norwegian forces held out for over a month against superior German forces.
The isolated and sparsely populated area is known for its rugged, mountainous terrain that supports a wide variety of outdoor activities, amongst them hiking, mountain biking, snowboarding, skiing, fishing, and canoeing.
The area is teeming with leisure homes, currently somewhat more than 4,000, but 2,000 more are planned or under construction.
The municipality of Vinje covers the northwestern corner of Telemark. The administrative center is Åmot, situated in 'Ytre Vinje'n Vinje. Krossen in Rauland and Tallaksbru in Edland are the other small centers of the area.
In Åmot, there are two quite nice grocery stores, one low end clothes store and one boutique, one good general store with everything from PC's to crystal ware and sports, one small liquor store, one bank, and a pub/restaurant [1]. Some kilometers to the west of Åmot there is the Mjonøy Crafts & Culture Center [2]. During summer season Mjonøy serves edible food, but they close up for the winter. Along the way from Åmot to Mjonøy you'll drive past the Vinje church, a red wooden structure dating back to 1796.
Vinje is the birthplace of authors Aasmund Olavsson Vinje, Tarjei Vesaas, Aslaug Vaa and the popular musician Odd Nordstoga.
Arabygdi lies on Lake Totak in the western part of Rauland. Its most famous attraction is the Urdbøuri, the largest stone scree in Northern Europe, with huge boulders lying helter skelter on the floor of the valley. Master fiddler Myllarguten, or Torgeir Agundson Øygarden, spent his declining years at the cotters place Kosi in Arabygdi. His home is now a small museum. A monument to this 19th century musician, who played for kings and who inspired Edvard Grieg, has been created by sculptor Dyre Vaa and erected on the roadside vis a vis Kosi.
Edland is on E134 about 35 kilomteres west of Åmot. Here they have a gas station with hot dogs and hamburgers, a daily store of surprisingly high quality, one mediocre one, and three cafés (meal providers) of even lower standards than the one in Åmot.
Vågslid has the highest elevation of any village along the highway. It's a tourist trap with its activities are based on the natural surroundings of the area and concentrated to the south of the river Kjela. There are many blazed hiking trails and lakes for fishing. Guided hiking tours devoted to special subjects can be arranged. The biggest alpine skiing facility of Vinje is situated in Vågslid.
Rauland supposedly got its name from the red, iron-rich boggy earth common to the area. Bog-iron was for centuries an important local resource.
The previous municipality of Rauland was merged with Vinje as of January 1, 1964, and has since been part of the larger Vinje municipality. This caused some controversy at the time.
Krossen (Norwegian for the intersection) is the center of Rauland. There is a primary school, one quite decent restaurant, a couple of bad ones, a passable pub, a couple of low end daily stores, a souvernir shop, a bank and a gas station. Rauland also has several hotels and alpine skiing facilities. For anyone thusly inclined, there is also a church, nice and white and idyllically situated on the lakeshore. It is a few years older than the one in Vinje.
The local traditions of arts and crafts have been well maintained, and therefore Rauland is able to boast an "Academy", which is really an arts and crafts school with the additions of music and traditional cooking thrown in.
[edit] The name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old farm Vinje (Norse Vinjar), since the first church was built here. The name is the plural form of vin f 'meadow, pasture'.
[edit] Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1990). It shows a billy-goat.
| Municipalities of Telemark |  |
|---|---|
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Bamble | Bø | Drangedal | Fyresdal | Hjartdal | Kragerø | Kviteseid | Nissedal | Nome | Notodden | Porsgrunn | Sauherad | Seljord | Siljan | Skien | Tinn | Tokke | Vinje |
|
