Seljord

Seljord is a municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional regions of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Seljord. The parish of Siljord was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt).

Seljord kommune
Municipality
Coat of arms
Vestfold og Telemark within
Norway
Seljord within Vestfold og Telemark
Coordinates: 59°30′48″N 8°38′56″E
CountryNorway
CountyVestfold og Telemark
DistrictVest-Telemark
Administrative centreSeljord
Government
 • Mayor (2015)Halfdan Haugan (Ap)
Area
 • Total715 km2 (276 sq mi)
 • Land670 km2 (260 sq mi)
Area rank155 in Norway
Population
 (2013)
 • Total2,944
 • Density4/km2 (10/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Seljording[1]
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-3820
Official language formNynorsk[2]
Websitewww.seljord.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Seljord is famous for its sea serpent, Selma, who allegedly lives in Lake Seljord (Seljordsvatnet).

The yearly Dyrsku'n market, held since 1866, attracts 60–80,000 visitors each year. The large fair started as a show of farm animals. Today it includes a huge market with vendors selling a variety of goods including base layer clothing, Bergans outdoors equipment, crafts, and food. Amusement rides are also featured.

Seljord Folkehøgskule is located in Seljord. The school offers a variety of courses including outdoor adventure, theater, music, and art. Seljord Folk High School

General information

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Seljord farm (Old Norse: Seljugerði), since the first church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of selja which means "sallow-tree" or "willow" and the last element is gerði which means "field". Prior to 1889, the name was written "Silgjord" or "Sillejord".[3]

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 15 September 1989. The arms show the sea serpent Selma in a gold-color on a red background.[4]

Notable residents
  • Memorial to Magnus Brostrup Landstad
  • Manndal chapel
  • Åmotsdal church
  • Lake Seljord (Seljordsvatnet)
  • Flooded boathouse in Seljord

References
  1. "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  2. "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  3. Rygh, Oluf (1914). Norske gaardnavne: Bratsbergs amt (dokpro.uio.no) (in Norwegian) (7 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius bogtrikkeri. pp. 321–322.
  4. "Kommunevåpenet" (in Norwegian). Seljord kommune. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
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