Telemark

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Telemark (disambiguation).

Telemark (help·info) is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien.

Telemark fylke

County NO-08
Region Østlandet
Administrative centre Skien
County mayor Gunn Marit Helgesen (H)
Area
 - Total
 - Percentage		 Ranked 10
15,299 km²
4.55 %
Population
 - Total (2007)
 - Percentage
 - Change (10 years)
 - Density		 Ranked 13
166,731
3.63 %
1.8 %
12/km²
Gross Regional Product
 - Total (2001)
 - Percentage
 - GRP/capita		 Ranked 12
36,345 million NOK
2.38 %
219,404 NOK

The county is located in southeastern Norway, extending from Hardangervidda to the Skagerrak coast. The coastline extends from Langesundsfjorden to Gjernestangen at the border to Aust-Agder. Telemark has a very broken and heterogeneous landscape, including many hills and valleys.

The largest population centres are Skien, Porsgrunn, Notodden, Rjukan and Kragerø. Other important places are Stathelle, Ulefoss, Brevik, Langesund, Bø, Fyresdal and Vinje.

[edit] The name

The Norse form of the name was Þelamörk. The first element is the genitive plural case of þelir, the name of an old Germanic tribe. The last element is mörk f 'woodland, borderland'. (See also Hedmark and Finnmark.)

Until 1919 the county was called Bratsberg amt. The amt was named after the farm Bratsberg (Norse Brattsberg), since this was the seat of the amtmann ('governor'). The first element is the genitive case of brattr m 'steep mountain', the last element is berg n 'mountain'. (The name is referring to a steep mountainside behind the farm.)

Telemark lent its name to Telemark skiing, a style invented by Sondre Norheim, and the characteristic Telemark landing of ski jumping.

[edit] Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1970). It shows an old type of battle axe, significant for the county.

[edit] History

Some historians used to believe that Telemark had been a petty kingdom in the early Viking Age, prior to the reign of Harald Fairhair. This assertion, however, is unfounded.

The film The Heroes of Telemark is loosely based on the Norwegian heavy water sabotage, a raid on a heavy water plant at Rjukan during World War II. Ray Mears made a documentary titled The Real Heroes of Telemark as a response to the inaccuracies of the film, giving an account more focused on the outdoor skills that were required for the operation (spending months in remote cabins).

Until 1919 the county was known as Bratsberg amt.

Notable people born in Telemark

[edit] Districts

The county is conventionally divided into traditional districts. These are Grenland, Vest-Telemark, Midt-Telemark, Øst-Telemark and Vestmar.

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Districts of Telemark

[edit] Municipalities

Location of Telemark Municipalities

Telemark County has a total of 18 municipalities:

  1. Bamble
  2. Bø
  3. Drangedal
  4. Fyresdal
  5. Hjartdal
  6. Kragerø
  7. Kviteseid
  8. Nissedal
  9. Nome
  10. Notodden
  11. Porsgrunn
  12. Sauherad
  13. Seljord
  14. Siljan
  15. Skien
  16. Tinn
  17. Tokke
  18. Vinje

[edit] External links

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Counties of Norway
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