Lærdal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lærdal kommune | |||
| — Municipality — | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Sogn og Fjordane | ||
| District | Sogn | ||
| Municipality ID | NO-1422 | ||
| Administrative centre | Lærdalsøyri | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor (2007) | Arne Sanden (Ap) | ||
| Area (Nr. 66 in Norway) | |||
| - Total | 1,342 km² (518.1 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 1,278 km² (493.4 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2004) | |||
| - Total | 2,169 | ||
| - Density | 2/km² (5.2/sq mi) | ||
| - Change (10 years) | -3.6 % | ||
| - Rank in Norway | 331 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Official language form | Nynorsk | ||
| Demonym | Lærdøl[1] | ||
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| Website: www.laerdal.kommune.no | |||
Lærdal is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway.
The valley of Lærdalen is long, running from Hemsedal in the east to the Sognefjord in the west. About 1200 of the 2200 inhabitants live in the main area of Lærdalsøyri; the rest in the small villages Borgund, Ljøsne, Tønjum, Erdal, Vindedalen, Frønningen and Strendene.
Lærdal has long traditions in farming, with the lower region of the valley being great for vegetable crops. Because of its dry climate it was one of the first places in Norway to begin the use of artificial irrigation. Despite having an inland climate, the water in the fjord keeps the winters from getting too cold.
The local hospital provides medical care for Lærdal itself and seven of the surrounding municipalities. The hospital, together with Opplysningen 1881 (directory assistance company), Østfold Energiproduksjon A/S and Norsk Hydro Aluminium Production Facilities in Årdal, are the major employers in Lærdal.
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[edit] About the Municipality
[edit] The name Lærdal
The Norse form of the name was Lærardalr. The first element is the genitive case of the rivername *Lærr (now Lærdalselvi) and the last element is dalr which means 'valley' or 'dale'. The meaning of the old rivername is unknown.
[edit] Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from 1987. It shows two Norse dragon heads (from the gables of Borgund stave church).
[edit] History
Lærdal was established as a municipality on January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Årdal was separated from Lærdal in 1860. Borgund was separated from Lærdal in 1864 - but again merged with Lærdal on January 1, 1964.
Borgund stave church (built around 1150) is one of Norway's oldest stave churches. It's a church devoted to St. Andreas.
The Old Lærdalsøyri village has over 160 protected buildings. Some of the houses are up to 250 years old.
[edit] Nature
[edit] The River Lærdalselvi
The River Lærdalselvi was traditionally one of the most exclusive salmon and sea trout rivers in Western Norway. Known by the Norwegian King (Harald V) as his second Queen, it has established Lærdal as one of the meccas of salmon and sea trout fly fishing, among others for the unusual fact that the river offers daylight fishing and dry fly fishing for sea trout. The salmon population was drastically depleted after an infestation with the salmon parasite Gyrodactylus salaris in the fall of 1996. After several treatments with aluminum sulfate, there are still problems with the parasite. In fall 2007, a smolt was again found infected by the parasite, and new treatments started in late March 2008. The river will be closed to angling for the 2008 season.
The river has formed a large delta at Lærdalsøyri, where huge amounts of silt and sand have been deposited by the river. Although the area has been spoiled by some unfortunate landfills it is still a sight worth seeing.
[edit] Birdlife
With the world famous salmon river "Lærdalselvi" running through the valley, and the wooded mountain slopes, birding in the Lærdal area is a great experience.
[edit] References
- ^ Personnemningar til stadnamn i Noreg (Norwegian)
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