Siljan, Norway

Siljan kommune
Municipality

Coat of arms
Telemark within
Norway

Siljan within Telemark
Coordinates: 59°17′51″N 9°42′23″E / 59.29750°N 9.70639°E / 59.29750; 9.70639Coordinates: 59°17′51″N 9°42′23″E / 59.29750°N 9.70639°E / 59.29750; 9.70639
Country Norway
County Telemark
District Grenland
Administrative centre Siljan
Government
 • Mayor (2007) Ole Kristian Holtan (Ap)
Area
 • Total 214 km2 (83 sq mi)
 • Land 202 km2 (78 sq mi)
Area rank 324 in Norway
Population (2004)
 • Total 2,349
 • Rank 314 in Norway
 • Density 12/km2 (30/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years) 3.1 %
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-0811
Official language form Neutral
Website www.siljan.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Siljan is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Siljan. The parish of Slemdal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The name was later changed to Siljan.

The municipality is located northeast of Skien and borders Buskerud county in the north and Vestfold county in the east. There is a forest district on both sides of Skiensvassdraget (Skien river). The older main road to Skien, Larvik, and Oslo, passes through Siljan.

General information

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Siljan farm (Old Norse: Seljur), since the first church was built there. The name is (probably) the plural form of selja which means "sallow tree" or "willow". Prior to 1918, the name of the municipality was Slemdal.[1]

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted in 1989. The arms show three white saw blades on a green background. It was chosen to represent the timber industry of the municipality.

References

  1. ↑ Rygh, Oluf (1914). Norske gaardnavne: Bratsbergs amt (dokpro.uio.no) (in Norwegian) (7 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius bogtrikkeri. p. 93.
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