Etnedal

Etnedal kommune
Municipality

Coat of arms
Oppland within
Norway

Etnedal within Oppland
Coordinates: 60°58′2″N 9°39′13″E / 60.96722°N 9.65361°E / 60.96722; 9.65361Coordinates: 60°58′2″N 9°39′13″E / 60.96722°N 9.65361°E / 60.96722; 9.65361
Country Norway
County Oppland
District Valdres
Administrative centre Bruflat
Government
 • Mayor (2003) Jan Arild Berg (Sp)
Area
 • Total 459 km2 (177 sq mi)
 • Land 443 km2 (171 sq mi)
Area rank 220 in Norway
Population (2004)
 • Total 1,410
 • Rank 378 in Norway
 • Density 3/km2 (8/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years) -6.7 %
Demonym(s) Etnedøl[1]
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-0541
Official language form Neutral
Website www.etnedal.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Etnedal is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Valdres. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bruflat.

Bruflat church

Etnedal was created as a new municipality on 1 January 1894 after the merger of the areas Nordre Etnedal (from Nord-Aurdal municipality) and Bruflat (from Sør-Aurdal municipality).

General information

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was Etnardalr. The first element is the genitive case of the river name Etna (Old Norse: Etn) and the last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale". The meaning of the river name is unknown but it is possibly derived from etja (meaning "push forward") or eta (meaning "eat").

Coat-of-arms

Lunde bridge - the inspiration for the municipal arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted by royal degree on 14 July 1989. The arms show the old Lunde bridge (Lundebru) in gold on a blue background. It is one of the best preserved stone bridges in the country and it is now a national monument. It is also Northern Europe's largest dry stone-arch bridge. The bridge was built in 1829 on the old King's road to Bergen. A portion of the King's road was refurbished and turned into a footpath in 1992 and is now a natural and cultural walking path.[2][3]

Geography

Etnedal is bordered on the east by the municipality of Nordre Land, on the south by Sør-Aurdal, and on the west and north by Nord-Aurdal.

Etnedal is part of the traditional district of Valdres in central, southern Norway, situated between Gudbrandsdal and Hallingdal. Valdres also includes the municipalities Nord-Aurdal, Sør-Aurdal, Øystre Slidre, Vestre Slidre, and Vang.

The river Etna flows through the municipality, then into Nordre Land municipality and then down into Randsfjorden.

Economy

Occupations in the municipality include animal husbandry and logging, but there is also some industry and tourism.

References

  1. ↑ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  2. ↑ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". Retrieved 2008-12-30.
  3. ↑ "Kommunevåpenet-bru i blått" (in Norwegian). Etnedal kommune. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
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