Gausdal Municipality

General information

The parish of Gausdal was established as a civil municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1867, a small area of neighboring Øyer Municipality (population: 40) was transferred into Gausdal Municipality. In 1879, Gausdal Municipality was divided into two separate municipalities: Vestre Gausdal Municipality in the northwest (population: 2,362) and Østre Gausdal Municipality in the southeast (population: 5,911). On 27 July 1956, a small area of Sør-Fron Municipality (population: 7) was transferred to the neighboring Vestre Gausdal Municipality.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, Vestre Gausdal Municipality (population: 2,590) and Østre Gausdal Municipality (population: 3,942) were merged to re-establish the old Gausdal Municipality which existed from 1838-1879 (the borders where similar, but not the same as the old Gausdal).

Historically, the municipality was part of the old Oppland county. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became a part of the newly-formed Innlandet county (after Hedmark and Oppland counties were merged).

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Gausdalen valley () since the municipality is located in the valley. The first element is named after the river Gausa which flows through the valley. The river name comes from the verb which means to "gush", "burst out", or "stream forcefully". The last element is which means "valley" or "dale".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 19 September 1986. The official blazon is "Per fess azure and argent, a single stair step section slanting outwards" (). This means the arms have are divided with a line that is divided horizontally in the shape of a stairstep that is slanting to the right. The field (background) above the line has a tincture of blue. Below the line, the field has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The arms were designed to mimic the shape of one of the main mountains in the municipality, Skeikampen. The bottom argent part represents the snowy mountain and the top blue part represents the sky. The arms were designed by Inger Line Thallaug. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has five parishes (sokn) within Gausdal Municipality. It is part of the Sør-Gudbrandsdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar.

History

The old Follebu Church was built of stone in the early Middle Ages (around 1250). It is unusual in that the chancel and nave were built as one continuous piece.

In the 1880s, there was mining for nickel in the Espedalen valley in the northwest part of the municipality. The search for nickel was taken up again in 2004 by Blackstone Venture, a Canadian company. As of 2006, they are still drilling for mineral samples only.

Geography

Gausdal is bordered on the northwest by Sør-Fron Municipality, on the northeast by Ringebu Municipality and Øyer Municipality, on the southeast by Lillehammer Municipality, on the south by Nordre Land Municipality, and on the southwest by Nord-Aurdal Municipality and Øystre Slidre Municipality.

Western tributaries of the Gudbrandsdalslågen river include the Gausa River, which flows through Gausdalen valley. The lake Dokkfløyvatn is located in the municipality. The highest point in the municipality is the 1552.51 m tall mountain Nordre Langsua, on the border with Sør-Fron Municipality.

The famous Peer Gynt mountain road begins here and leads to the town of Vinstra. A popular ski area is located on the south slope of Skeikampen mountain. Langsua National Park, partially lies within the municipality.

Government

Gausdal Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Gudbrandsdal District Court and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Gausdal is made up of 23 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party. |FrP/H = 3 |}} |Frp/H/V = 1 |}} |FrP/H = 2 |}} |FrP/H = 2 |}} |FrP/H = 3 |}} |FrP/H = 3 |}} |}} |}} |}} |}} |}} |}} |}} |}} |}} |}} |}}

Mayors

The mayor () of Gausdal Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position (incomplete list):

• 1838–1839: Østen Ovren

• 1840–1845: Paul Nyegaard

• 1846–1847: Erlend Midtvold

• 1848–1849: Simen Ovren

• 1850–1851: Christian Gundersen Fougner

• 1852–1855: John Svendsen Waalen

• 1871–1871: John Svendsen Waalen

• 1872–1875: Christian Gundersen Fougner

• 1876–1878: John Svendsen Waalen

• (1879–1961: Gausdal Municipality did not exist)

• 1962–1971: Reidar Engjom (Ap)

• 1971–1975: Bjørn Midtlien (Ap)

• 1975–1983: Kristian Baukhol (Ap)

• 1983–1991: Nils Nygard (Ap)

• 1991–1993: Liv Røe Johnsen (SV)

• 1994–2001: Inger Enger (Sp)

• 2001–2007: Olav Olstad (Sp)

• 2007–2011: Mona B. Nicolaysen (Sp)

• 2011–2019: Hans Oddvar Høistad (Ap)

• 2019–present: Anette Musdalslien (Sp)

Notable people

Public service

• Abraham Pihl (1756 in Gausdal – 1821), a clergyman, astronomer, and architect
• Hakon Adelsteen Sommerfeldt (1811 in Gausdal – 1888), a Norwegian naval officer and ship designer
• Sigurd Fougner (1879 in Østre Gausdal – 1959), a Norwegian Supreme Court judge
• Reidar Engjom, (Norwegian Wiki) (1907 in Gausdal - 1970), a Norwegian politician

The Arts

• Simen Fougner (1701 in Follebu – 1783), a farmer, poet, and non-fiction writer
• Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832–1910), an author and Nobel Prize in Literature winner in 1903; lived in Aulestad in Follebu, 1874-1910
• Iver Holter (1850 in Gausdal – 1941), a composer and conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra from 1882-1886
• Ole Amundsen Buslett (1855 in Gausdal – 1924), a Norwegian-American author, newspaperman, and politician
• Clara Tschudi (1856–1945), a writer who lived in Gausdal
• Hans Aanrud (1863–1953), a writer of plays, poetry, and stories of rural life in Gudbrandsdalen; raised in Auggedalen
• Inge Krokann (1893 – 1962 in Gausdal), a writer who wrote idiosyncratic nynorsk works
• Carl Gustav Sparre Olsen (1903–1984), a violinist and composer of Norwegian folk tunes; lived in Gausdal from 1947-1966
• Magne Elvestrand (1914 in Østre Gausdal – 1991), a pianist, harpsichordist, and organist
• Else Kveine, (Norwegian Wiki) (1933 in Gausdal - 2013), a poet

Sport

• Christen Smed, (Norwegian Wiki) (1797 in Gausdal - 1846), a mountaineer who climbed Romsdalshornet
• Mattis Stenshagen (born 1996 in Follebu), a cross-country skier

Sister cities

Gausdal has sister city agreements with the following places:

• SWE – Mora, Dalarna County, Sweden

References

References

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