Gol, Norway

The municipality is bordered to the north by Nord-Aurdal, Oppland, in the east by Sør-Aurdal, Oppland, in the south by Nes, and in the west by Ål and Hemsedal.

1 The name
2 Coat-of-arms
3 History
4 What to see

[edit] The name

The Norse form of the name was Gorð. This is probably an old river name (for the lower part of Hemsil).

[edit] Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1985). It shows the old key of Gol stave church (duplicated three times to fill the shield).

(See also the coat-of-arms of Sør-Odal.)

[edit] History

The mediaeval Gol stave church (built 1216) was due for demolition after the construction of a larger new church around 1880. It was saved from destruction by the Norwegian Society for the Preservation of Ancient Monuments, which bought the materials with the intention of re-erecting the church elsewhere. Financial problems were solved when king Oscar II decided to pay for its relocation and restoration as the central building of his private open air museum near Oslo, where it was completed in 1885. In 1907 the royal museum was merged with the Norsk Folkemuseum, which now manages the the stave church, still nominally belonging to the reigning monarch. A modern replica has been built as a tourist attraction in a theme park in downtown Gol; the replica is far from the original site of the mediaeval church.

[edit] What to see

Gol Bygdetun, is an open air museum built around the old farm Skaga, located in the village of Gol. It is dedicated to the cultural history of Gol, and contains farm buildings of nearly all types. The oldest building dates back to 17th century.

v • d • e Municipalities of Buskerud

Drammen · Flesberg · Flå · Gol · Hemsedal · Hol · Hole · Hurum · Kongsberg · Krødsherad · Lier · Modum · Nedre Eiker · Nes · Nore og Uvdal · Ringerike · Rollag · Røyken · Sigdal · Øvre Eiker · Ål