Rollag

General information

History

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Rollag farm (Old Norse: Roll(u)lag), since the first church was built here. The first element is probably (the genitive case of) a river name Rolla (now called the Troelva river) and the last element is lag which means "fishing place".{{cite web|url= http://www.miljostatus.no/rollag

The municipality of Rollag was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Nore og Uvdal was separated from Rollag in 1858. The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted in 1993. The arms show two gold-colored lines on a red background. The lines represent an old warning cairn made of timber.

Geography

The municipality lies in the heart of the Numedal traditional region and valley, the westernmost valley in southeastern Norway. The river Numedalslågen flows through Rollag and into the Ytre Oslofjord at Larvik. In the northwest of the Rollag lie the Vegglifjell mountains, which are an entryway into the Hardangervidda. The municipality's highest point is Storegrønut at 1289 m located in the Vegglifjell mountains.{{cite web|url= https://snl.no/Numedal|title= Numedal|publisher = Store norske leksikon |author= Geir Thorsnæs |access-date= September 15, 2016}}{{cite web|url= https://snl.no/Numedalsl%C3%A5gen|title= Numedalslågen|publisher = Store norske leksikon |access-date= September 15, 2016}}

Rollag stave church

Rollag stave church (Rollag stavkirke) was built around 1150–1200. It is located a few kilometres north of the centre of Rollag. It was extended and windows were added in 1652. A new Apse was added in 1666. The transept was constructed in 1697–1698. A gallery was added in 1702. The sacristy was built in 1739. A Baroque pulpit was added in 1763.{{cite web|url= https://snl.no/Rollag_stavkirke|title= Rollag stavkirke

Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Rollag:

• FIN Jokioinen, Southern Finland, Finland

Notable people

• Niels Andreas Vibe (1759 in Rollag – 1814) a Norwegian military officer, civil and royal servant
• Ole Knudsen Nattestad (1807 in Veggli – 1886) a Norwegian-American pioneer immigrant settler
• Christian Sparre (1859–1940) a Commanding Admiral and politician; brought up in Rollag
• Herbrand Lofthus (1889 in Veggli 1972) a lightweight Greco-Roman wrestler, competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics
• Kittill Kristoffersen Berg (1903 in Rollag – 1983) a labourer, log driver, farmer and politician
• Halvor Kongsjorden (1911 in Veggli – 1990) a sport shooter, Olympic competitor in 1948 and a Norwegian resistance member
• Ragnar Tveiten (born 1938 in Veggli) a former Norwegian biathlete

References

References

1. "Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents, by immigration category, country background and percentages of the population". ssb.no.
2. (May 21, 2012). "Rollag stavkirke". Riksantikvaren.
3. (November 2017). "Jokioinen". Rollag kommune.