Hol

Hol kommune
Municipality
Coat of arms
Viken within
Norway
Hol within Viken
Coordinates: 60°34′18″N 8°4′18″E
CountryNorway
CountyViken
DistrictHallingdal
Administrative centreHol
Government
 • Mayor (2003)Erik Kaupang (Ap)
Area
 • Total1,858 km2 (717 sq mi)
 • Land1,664 km2 (642 sq mi)
Area rank36 in Norway
Population
 (2004)
 • Total4,556
 • Rank211 in Norway
 • Density3/km2 (8/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
-1.5%
Demonym(s)Holing[1]
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-3044
Official language formNeutral[2]
Websitewww.hol.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Hol is a municipality in Viken county, Norway.

Administrative history

The area of Hol was separated from the municipality Ål in 1877 to become a separate municipality. In 1937 a part of neighboring Uvdal with 220 inhabitants moved to Hol municipality. The area was transferred from Uvdal to Hol in 1944. Uvdal was reunited with Nore to form the new municipality of Nore og Uvdal.

General information

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Hol farm (Old Norse: Hóll), since the first church was built here. The name is identical with the word hóll, which means "round (and isolated) hill".

Villages and hamlets in Hol municipality

Geography

Hol is bordered to the north by Lærdal, to the north and east by Ål, to the south by Nore og Uvdal, and to the west by Eidfjord, Ulvik and Aurland. Hol is a mountainous area, where over 90% of the area is at an altitude exceeding 900 meters above sea level. The Hallingskarvet mountain range is the highest point in the municipality, at 1933 meters above sea level. The Usta or Usteåne River flows northeast from Lake Ustevatn traveling down the Ustedalen valley. The Hallingdalselva River is formed by the confluence of the Usta River and the Holselva River from Lake Strandavatnet.

Lakes

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms of Hol is from modern times; the arms were granted on 5 July 1991. They show three silver anvils on a blue background and were designed by Trond Andersson. The three anvils are stacked one above the other, with the top one being largest and the bottom one smallest. The anvil was chosen to symbolize the former smithies in the municipality, which were famous for the production of axes, blades, and knives. Iron mining was already practiced in the area in the Viking Age.[3][4]

Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Hol by country of origin in 2017[5]
Ancestry Number
 Poland177
 Denmark70
 Sweden65
 Lithuania43
 Iceland37

(See also coat-of-arms of Trøgstad)

Hol Church

Hol Old Church

Hol Old Church (Hol gamle kirke) is presumed to date from the 13th century, but the exact dating is unknown. The church is the oldest parish in Hol and is first mentioned in a letter from 1328 as a small stave church with covered side porches (svalganger). The church has been expanded several times, in the 16th century, in 1697 and in 1798-99. It was rebuilt in 1888 and 1938. It is believed that the floor of the church was made using columns from the old stave church. The pulpit and baptismal font are from the Renaissance period (1697) and the altarpiece from 1703. The pulpit is placed above the altar. [6]

Notable residents
  • Lake Geiteryggen
  • Rossdøla River
  • Lake Flakavatn
  • Geilo
  • Geiteryggen
  • Skurdalen Church (Skurdalskyrkja)[7]

Attractions
  • Hallingskarvet National Park - national park in the municipalities of Hol (Buskerud), Ulvik (Hordaland) and Aurland (Sogn og Fjordane)
  • Hol Bygdemuseum - located along the road from Ål to Geilo in the small village of Hagafoss. The museum is built as an old farm (holingsgard) with buildings of the local type. There are a total of 17 buildings, of which two, Nestegardsstugu and Raunsgardsstugu, have decorative wall paintings on the walls.
  • Dagali Museum - museum with 10 buildings located in the middle of Dagali, on the edge of Hardangervidda. Buildings came from Dagali, Skurdalen, Tunhovd, and Uvdal; the oldest dates to the 18th century.
  • Dagali Skisenter - alpine resort in Dagali, also offering sled-racing, with one of Norway's longest sled-racing hills.
  • Dr Holms Hotel - resort hotel in the ski resort town of Geilo

Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Hol:[8]

See also

References
  1. "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  2. "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  3. Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  4. "Kommunevåpenet" (in Norwegian). Hol kommune. Archived from the original on 2010-08-16. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  5. "Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents, by immigration category, country background and percentages of the population". ssb.no. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  6. Sigrid Marie Christie, Håkon Christie. "Hol gamle kirke". Norges Kirker. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  7. "Skurdalskyrkja". Den Norske Kirke. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  8. "Vennskapskommuner" (in Norwegian). Hol kommune. Archived from the original (Microsoft Word) on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
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