Alvdal

Alvdal kommune
—  Municipality  —

Coat of arms

Hedmark within
Norway
Alvdal within Hedmark
Coordinates:
Country Norway
County Hedmark
District Østerdalen
Administrative centre Alvdal
Government
 • Mayor (2007) Olov Grøtting (Sp)
Area
 • Total 943 km2 (364.1 sq mi)
 • Land 919 km2 (354.8 sq mi)
Area rank 116 in Norway
Population (2004)
 • Total 2,406
 • Rank 309 in Norway
 • Density 3/km2 (7.8/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years) -0.8 %
Demonym Alvdøl[1]
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-0438
Official language form Neutral
Website www.alvdal.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Alvdal is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Alvdal.

Alvdal (along with the eastern part of Folldal municipality) was separated from the municipality of Tynset to become a municipality of its own in 1864. The western part of Folldal was transferred from Dovre (in Oppland county) to Alvdal (and Hedmark county) in 1884. Folldal was separated from the municipality of Alvdal in 1914.

The Rørosbane railway line passes through Alvdal.

Contents

General information

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was (øfri) Elfardalr (meaning "(upper) river valley"). The first element is the genitive case of elfr which means "river" (here the Glomma river) and the last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale".

Prior to 1918, the municipality was called Lille-Elvdalen ("the small Elvdalen") to distinguish it from Store Elvedalen ("the big Elvedalen") which is now called Stor-Elvdal.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 25 November 1988. The arms show the front ends of two silver skis on a blue background. They represent the history and importance of skiing in the area.[2]

(See also Skien and Trysil)

Geography

Alvdal is bordered by Tynset to the north, Rendalen to the east and south, Stor-Elvdal to the south, and Folldal to the west. The highest mountain in the municipality is Storsølnkletten at 1,827 metres (5,994 ft) tall.

Notable residents

Writer and humorist Kjell Aukrust was born in Alvdal. The Aukrustsenteret in Alvdal is dedicated to him.

Aukrust is most famous for creating the fictional Norwegian village of Flåklypa and its cast of idiosyncratic characters.

References

External links