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Røldal

Village in Ullensvang Municipality, Norway

Summary

Village in Ullensvang Municipality, Norway

FieldValue
official_nameRøldal
settlement_typeVillage
image_skylineRøldal.jpg
image_captionView of the village and Røldalsvatnet in the background
mapframeyes
mapframe-zoom11
mapframe-markervillage
subdivision_typeCountry
subdivision_nameNorway
subdivision_type1Region
subdivision_name1Western Norway
subdivision_type2County
subdivision_name2Vestland
subdivision_type3District
subdivision_name3Hardanger
subdivision_type4Municipality
subdivision_name4Ullensvang Municipality
timezone1CET
utc_offset1+01:00
timezone1_DSTCEST
utc_offset1_DST+02:00
blank_nameClimate
blank_infoDfc
area_footnotes
area_total_km20.68
population_as_of2025
population_footnotes
population_total313
population_density_km2460
postal_code_typePost Code
postal_code5760 Røldal
coordinates
elevation_m414
elevation_footnotes

|mapframe-zoom = 11 |mapframe-marker = village

Røldal is a village in Ullensvang Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village lies in the Røldal valley along the Storelva river on the north end of the lake Røldalsvatnet. Røldal is located about 35 km southeast of the town of Odda. The 13th-century Røldal Stave Church is located here.

The village of Røldal was formerly part of the old Røldal Municipality from 1838 until 1964 when it became a part of Odda Municipality. Then in 2020, it became part of Ullensvang Municipality.

The village is located at the junction of the European route E134 highway and the Norwegian National Road 13. The E134 highway follows a historic route that connects Eastern and Western Norway, passing right through Røldal. It is located near the borders of three counties: Vestland, Rogaland (to the south), and Telemark (to the east).

The 0.68 km2 village has a population (2025) of 313 and a population density of 683 PD/km2.

History

Due to its location near the border of three counties, the parish of Røldal has been part of three different dioceses over the centuries. It originally belonged to the Diocese of Bjørgvin, but it was transferred to the (new) Diocese of Stavanger in 1125. In 1684, it became a part of the (new) Diocese of Kristiansand. Røldal was finally transferred back to the Diocese of Bjørgvin in 1864.

Historically, the Røldal area was part of the parish of Suldal (to the south), with Røldal being an annex to the main parish. Suldal and Røldal each had their own churches, but they shared a priest since Røldal was a sparsely populated area and could not support their own priest. Suldal was located in Stavanger county and Røldal was located in Søndre Bergenhus county. In 1838, Røldal Municipality was established and it existed until 1964 when it was merged into Odda Municipality. In 2020, it became part of Ullensvang Municipality.

Name

The village is named after the old Røldal farm where the local church (Røldal Stave Church) is located. The farm was probably named after the valley in which it is located. The Old Norse form of the name might have been Rœrgudalr. The first element would then be the genitive case of the local rivername Røyrga (derived from røyrr which means 'rocky ground') and the last element is which means 'dale' or 'valley'.

People from this area use the demonym røldøl for themselves, others who live outside of Røldal generally use the term røldøling.

Attractions

Tourists visit Røldal for a number of reasons. The centuries-old Røldal Stave Church is a preserved museum, but it is also a regularly-used church for the village. The Røldal skicenter in the Hordadal valley is famous for receiving the most snowfall of any populated area in Norway. Røldal also is a point for access to the nearby Hardangervidda plateau. Other places of interest include the Røldal Village Museum (showing a traditional local farm), some iron-age burial mounds, and the Kalvatræet Literature House.

References

References

  1. "Røldal, Ullensvang". [[yr.no]].
  2. "Informasjon om stadnamn". [[Norwegian Mapping Authority.
  3. {{Cite SNL. Røldal_-_tettstad. Røldal (tettstad). 2026-01-17. Thorsnæs. Geir. 2025-08-01
  4. Statistisk sentralbyrå. (2025-10-27). "Urban settlements. Population and area, by municipality".
  5. Jukvam, Dag. (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen". [[Statistics Norway.
  6. Rygh, Oluf. (1919). "Norske gaardnavne: Nordre Bergenhus amt". W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri.
  7. (2015-08-05). "Dølar på Dalen". Klassekampen.
  8. "Røldal Stave Church". Røldal.no.
  9. "Røldal Village Museum". Røldal.no.
  10. "Burial Mounds". Røldal.no.
  11. "Kalvatræet Literature House". Røldal.no.
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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