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Wikipedia / Lillehammer

Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. The town of Lillehammer was first created in 1827 as a part of Fåberg parish, and later became a municipality that merged with the much bigger Fåberg Municipality in 1964. Some of the more notable villages in the municipality include Fåberg, Hunderfossen, Jørstadmoen and Rudsbygd within the rural area of Fåberg. Vingnes, Saksumdal and Vingrom is located in the western and southern parts. The mountainous parts of the municipality consists of Fåberg Vestfjell, and Fåberg Østfjell, Nordseter.

The municipality is the 210th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Lillehammer Municipality is the 39th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 29,011. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 6.4% over the previous 10-year period.

The town of Lillehammer is the largest urban centre in the municipality. It lies in the central part of the municipality and it is surrounded by more rural areas. The town centre is a late nineteenth-century concentration of wooden houses, which enjoys a picturesque location overlooking the northern part of lake Mjøsa and the river Lågen, surrounded by mountains.

Lillehammer hosted the 1994 Winter Olympics, 2004 Junior Eurovision Song Contest, 2004 European Taekwondo Championships and 2016 Winter Youth Olympics.

General information

The municipality was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). Initially, the municipality only included the town of Lillehammer. On 1 January 1906, a small adjacent area of the neighboring Fåberg Municipality (population: 140) was annexed by Lillehammer Municipality to make room for more expansion as the town grew. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the town of Lillehammer (population: 5,905) was merged with Fåberg Municipality (population: 13,381) to form a new, much larger Lillehammer Municipality.

Historically, the municipality was part of the old Oppland county. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became a part of the newly-formed Innlandet county (after Hedmark and Oppland counties were merged).

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Hamar farm () since the first Lillehammer Church was built there. The name is identical with the word which means "stone" or "rocky hill". To distinguish it from the nearby town of Hamar and Diocese of Hamar, it began to be called "little Hamar": and , and finally Lillehammer. It is also mentioned in the Old Norse sagas as ("Little Trading Place").

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 4 April 1898. The arms have are divided with a diagonal line. The field (background) above the line has a tincture of blue. Below the line, the field has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The charge is a birkebeiner, carrying a spear and a shield, who is skiing down the mountainside under a blue sky. The design symbolizes the historical importance of when the Birkebeiners carried the future King Haakon from Lillehammer to Rena on skis. There is a mural crown above the escutcheon. The arms were designed by Andreas Bloch.

Churches

The Church of Norway has six parishes () within Lillehammer Municipality. It is part of the Sør-Gudbrandsdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar.

Parish ()

Church name

Location of the church

Year built

Fåberg

Fåberg Church

Fåberg

1727

Lillehammer

Lillehammer Church

Lillehammer

1882

Nordre Ål

Nordre Ål Church

Lillehammer

1994

Nordseter Church

Nordseter

1964

Saksumdal

Saksumdal Church

Lillehammer

1875

Søre Ål

Søre Ål Church

Lillehammer

1964

Vingrom

Vingrom Church

Vingrom

1908

Churches in Lillehammer Municipality

History

The town of Lillehammer is located at the northern end of Norway's largest lake, Mjøsa. There have likely been settlements here since the Iron Age and the market here was mentioned in Håkon Håkonson's saga in 1390. It is also mentioned as a site for Thing assembly in 1390. Tradition states that it was here in Lillehammer where the birkebeiners Torstein Skjevla and Skjervald Skrukka joined up with the King's son (and future King), Haakon, in 1205 before they traveled to Østerdalen (an event which is commemorated in March every year to this day). Since medieval times, the Lillehammer Church has been located here.

The town was granted market town rights on 7 August 1827 as a kjøpstad. At that time, 50 people lived within the boundaries of the newly established town. This site was chosen because there were no other towns in all of Christians amt (county) and this site was located along the Gudbrandsdalslågen river and the whole Gudbrandsdal valley was a major transportation route from the capital to northern Norway. Within two years of the establishment of the town, the population had risen to 360 people. The merchant Ludvig Wiese has been counted as the founder of the town (a statue of him was erected in the town in connection with the town's 100th anniversary in 1927). The laying of the main railway line from the capital in Christiania to Eidsvoll was completed in 1852. This railway line was connected with steamships along the lake Mjøsa which travelled to Lillehammer and from there a newly laid road made connections further up into the Gudbrandsdalen valley. This transport system made the transit of timber and agricultural goods from all over the county to the capital possible, and it contributed to the growth of the town of Lillehammer.

In 1973, Mossad killed a Moroccan waiter, having mistaken him for Palestinian terrorist Ali Hassan Salameh, which became known as the Lillehammer affair.

Lillehammer is known as a typical venue for winter sporting events; it was host city of the 1994 Winter Olympics, and the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics, and was part of a joint bid with applicant host city Oslo to host events part of the 2022 Winter Olympics until Oslo withdrew its bid on 1 October 2014.

Lillehammer is home to the largest literature festival in the Nordic countries and, in 2017, was designated as a UNESCO City of Literature.

Education

A number of schools are located in Lillehammer, including the Hammartun Primary and Lower Secondary School, Søre Ål Primary School and Kringsjå Primary and Lower Secondary School. Lillehammer Upper Secondary School consists of two branches, North and South, both situated near the city center. The private high school Norwegian College of Elite Sports, NTG, also has a branch in Lillehammer. The Lillehammer campus of Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences is situated just north of the town itself.

Lillehammer is also the home of the Nansen Academy - the Norwegian Humanistic Academy. The Nansen Academy is an educational institution for adult students with varied political, religious, and cultural backgrounds. The Academy was founded on the core principles of humanism and aims at strengthening the knowledge of these principles.

The 14th World Scout Jamboree was held from 29 July to 7 August 1975 and was hosted by Norway at Lillehammer.

Government

Lillehammer Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Gudbrandsdal District Court and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Lillehammer Municipality is made up of 39 representatives who are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayor () of Lillehammer Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:

  • 1838–1843: Ludvig Wiese

  • 1844–1844: Børre Henrik Børresen

  • 1845–1845: Knut Torkilsen

  • 1846–1846: Christen Andersen

  • 1847–1847: Knut Torkilsen

  • 1848–1848: Christian Plathe

  • 1849–1849: Wilhelm Lorange

  • 1850–1851: Hans Jensen Selmer

  • 1852–1852: Wilhelm Lorange

  • 1853–1853: Ulrik Frederik Lange

  • 1854–1854: Wilhelm Lorange

  • 1855–1855: Ulrik Frederik Lange

  • 1856–1856: Karl Nilsen

  • 1857–1857: Jakob Løkke

  • 1858–1858: Karl Nilsen

  • 1859–1859: Jakob Løkke

  • 1860–1860: Wilhelm Lorange

  • 1861–1863: Ulrik Frederik Lange

  • 1864–1867: Karl Nilsen

  • 1868–1868: Jess Severin Horster

  • 1869–1871: Nikolai Gunnerius Bøhmer

  • 1872–1872: Thorstein Lunde

  • 1873–1873: Nikolai Gunnerius Bøhmer

  • 1874–1876: O.J. Grundtvig

  • 1877–1878: Karl Nilsen

  • 1879–1880: Thorstein Lunde

  • 1881–1889: Nikolai Gunnerius Bøhmer

  • 1890–1892: Thorstein Lunde

  • 1893–1895: Ingvald Schey

  • 1896–1897: Axel Thallaug

  • 1898–1899: E. Olsen-Berg

  • 1900–1901: Simen Fougner

  • 1902–1902: E. Olsen-Berg

  • 1903–1904: Axel Thallaug

  • 1905–1907: Ingvald Schey

  • 1908–1908: Eiliv Fougner

  • 1909–1910: O.A. Larsen

  • 1911–1912: Simen Fougner

  • 1913–1913: H. Lødrup

  • 1914–1916: Simen Fougner

  • 1917–1917: Olaf Formoe

  • 1918–1918: Thomas Tallaksen

  • 1919–1919: Arne Jensen

  • 1920–1922: Axel Thallaug (H)

  • 1923–1928: Johan Alfred Svendsen

  • 1929–1931: Eilif Moe (H)

  • 1932–1932: Arne Jensen (H)

  • 1938–1940: Olaf Sanne (H)

  • 1940–1940: Margit Haslund (H)

  • 1941–1941: Peer Widding

  • 1943–1943: Johannes Gadens

  • 1945–1945: Olaf Sanne (H)

  • 1946–1954: Einar Hansen (Ap)

  • 1954–1959: Anton Andreassen (Ap)

  • 1960–1963: Erling Juell Aune (Ap)

  • 1964–1975: Magne Henriksen (Ap)

  • 1976–1981: Knut Korsæth (Ap)

  • 1982–1987: Arild Bakken (Ap)

  • 1987–1999: Audun Tron (Ap)

  • 1999–2011: Synnøve Brenden Klemetrud (Ap)

  • 2011–2019: Espen Johnsen (Ap)

  • 2019–2023: Ingunn Trosholmen (Ap)

  • 2023–present: Hans Olav Sundfør (H)

Geography

Lillehammer Municipality is situated in the lower part of the Gudbrandsdal valley, at the northern end of lake Mjøsa. It is located to the south of Øyer Municipality, to the southeast of Gausdal Municipality, northeast of Nordre Land Municipality, to the north of Gjøvik Municipality, and to the southeast of Ringsaker Municipality. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Nevelfjell in the northeast part of the municipality.

Climate

Lillehammer has a humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb) and used to have a subarctic climate (Köppen: Dfc), with the Scandinavian mountain chain to the west and north limiting oceanic influences. The record high of was recorded in June 1970. The record low of was recorded in December 1978 and January 1979, and the same low was recorded in January 1987. There has been no overnight air frost in the month of August since 1978 with the record low for that month being . The coldest recorded temperature after 2000 is in January 2010. The average date for the last overnight freeze (low below ) in spring is May 10 and average date for first freeze in autumn is September 30 (1981-2010 average) giving an average frost-free season of 142 days. The current weather station Lillehammer-Sætherengen became operational in 1982; extremes are also from two earlier weather stations in Lillehammer.

Populated places

Lillehammer Municipality is subdivided into the following populated places (i.e.: neighborhoods, quarters, villages, localities, settlements, communities, hamlets, etc.):

Economy

The basis for the economy of the municipality is its position as the northernmost point of the lake Mjøsa and as the gateway for the Gudbrandsdal region, through which the historical highway from Oslo to Trondheim passes. The Mesna river has provided the basis for several small industries through the years, but Lillehammer is now all but industry-less.

Media

The regional newspaper Gudbrandsdølen Dagningen has its editorial office in Lillehammer.

The main offices of the commercial radio channel P4 Radio Hele Norge is in Lillehammer.

Transport

One of the major Norwegian rail lines, the Dovre Line, runs from Hamar to the north through Lillehammer on its way up the Gudbrandsdal valley, to terminate in the city of Trondheim. The European route E6 highway also passes through Lillehammer.

Attractions

In addition to the Olympic venues, Lillehammer has several tourist attractions:

Sport

Sports clubs

Culture

Lillehammer is the main location for several annual festivals and events.

Notable people

Arts

Public service

Sport

Other

Twin towns – sister cities

Lillehammer has sister city agreements with the following places:

Friendly cities

Lillehammer has also friendly relations with:

See also

References