Oppdal Municipality Oppdal kommune
Municipality
Oppdal as seen from the Almann Mountain in August 2008
Flag Coat of arms
Trøndelag within Norway
Oppdal within Trøndelag
Coordinates: 62°34′25″N 09°36′32″E / 62.57361°N 9.60889°E / 62.57361; 9.60889
Country	Norway
County	Trøndelag
District	Dovre Region
Established	1 Jan 1838
• Created as	Formannskapsdistrikt
Administrative centre	Oppdal
Government
• Mayor (2023)	Peirson Wall (V)
Area
• Total	2,274.12 km2 (878.04 sq mi)
• Land	2,201.39 km2 (849.96 sq mi)
• Water	72.72 km2 (28.08 sq mi)  3.2%
• Rank	#24 in Norway
Population  (2023)
• Total	7,256
• Rank	#139 in Norway
• Density	3.3/km2 (9/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	+6.8%
Demonym	Oppdaling[1]
Official language [2]
• Norwegian form	Neutral
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-5021[3]
Website	Official website
Data from Statistics Norway

Oppdal^ⓘ is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Dovre region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Oppdal. Other villages in the municipality include Lønset, Vognillan, Fagerhaug, and Holan. The Oppdal Airport, Fagerhaug is located in the northeastern part of the municipality.

The 2,274-square-kilometre (878 sq mi) municipality is the 24th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Oppdal is the 139th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 7,256. The municipality's population density is 3.3 inhabitants per square kilometre (8.5/sq mi) and its population has increased by 6.8% over the previous 10-year period.^[4][5]

General information

The prestegjeld of Oppdal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The municipal boundaries have not changed since that time.^[6] On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Sør-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Oppdal farm (Old Norse: Uppdalr) since the first Oppdal Church was built there. The first element is upp which means "upper". The last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale". Historically, the name was also spelled Opdal.^[7]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 19 February 1982 (they were re-approved on 13 May 1983 after the government slightly changed the wording of the blazon). The official blazon is "Azure, three piles argent conjoined in pall" (Norwegian: I blått tre motstøtende sølv spisser i form av et gaffelkors). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is three triangles that meet in the centre, forming a Y-shaped design. The triangle design 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 design was nicknamed "meeting of ways" (Norwegian: vegamot) representing three important roads that meet in Oppdal, making it a major centre of commerce and transportation. One road comes from Dombås in the south going over the Dovre Mountains, one road comes from Sunndalsøra in Nordmøre from west, and the third road comes from Trondheim in the north(east). Historically, this area was a gathering place due to its central location. The arms were designed by Einar H. Skjervold. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.^[8][9][10]

Churches

The Church of Norway has three parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Oppdal. It is part of the Gauldal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

Churches in Oppdal

Parish (sokn)	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Fagerhaug	Fagerhaug Chapel	Fagerhaug	1921
Lønset	Lønset Chapel	Lønset	1863
Oppdal	Oppdal Church	Oppdal	1651
	St. Mikael's Chapel	south of Holan	2012

History

Oppdal is an alpine community which dates back to the Norwegian Iron Age. It is located at a crossroads for traffic from Trondheim, the Dovrefjell mountain range, and Sunndal on the west coast. This is reflected in the three rays in the coat-of-arms.

Oppdal was first settled sometime before 600 CE. By then there were about 50 farms in the area, and this number grew by about 20 more in the Viking Age. There are remnants of over 700 Pagan grave mounds from the time at Vang, in which jewelry and other pieces from the British Isles were found. This indicates that the area was relatively affluent and participated in the Viking trade. Much of the affluence was likely derived from the availability of game, both in the area and from nearby mountain ranges. Several game traps can still be seen in mountains around Oppdal, particularly ditches for reindeer. There have been more than 80 finds of at least two different types of arrowheads in the area.^[11]

Archeological finds in Oppdal indicate that there were less pronounced economic disparities than elsewhere in Norway. Communal efforts to hold off famine and share burdens appear to have been common throughout several centuries.

During the Christian era, Pagan shrines and grave mounds were replaced by churches and chapels. Five rural churches were built in Oppdal at the time, in Vang, Ålbu, Lønset, Lo, and Nordskogen. The Oppdal Church, built to replace an earlier stave church in 1653, stands to this day.^[12]

Oppdal was a stop for pilgrims on their way to the St. Olav shrine at the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim during the Middle Ages. As a result of the heavy stream of pilgrims who followed the Pilgrim's Route prior to the Reformation, King Eystein erected mountain stations where the pilgrims could find food and shelter. Kongsvoll, located on the Driva River along the route where pilgrims passed from the Gudbrandsdal valley into Oppdal was one of these stations, and is still an inn today. Drivstua, further north, was another.^[12][13]

Oppdal was particularly affected by the Black Plague, which led to the abandonment of a number of farms. With a worsening of the climate, the community hadn't recovered 170 years later, and there were only 35 farms and 350 people left. Only one church at Vang was still in use. As late as 1742, people in Oppdal died of hunger.

In the early 17th century, Oppdal's fortunes turned and population grew. By 1665, 2,200 people lived in Oppdal, and a new church was built at Vang, the Oppdal Church, which stands to this day. The Lønset Chapel and Fagerhaug Chapel have been re-established, and Oppdal houses several other religious communities. Since the 18th century, the inhabitants of Oppdal have made significant investments in education, leading to the establishment of several small rural schools and, recently, a high school.

In the 19th century, increased fertility and reduced mortality led to population growth that could not be sustained by agricultural resources. Many became tenant farmers, and eventually a large proportion of people from Oppdal emigrated to the United States. The population decreased until 1910, when the railroad from Oslo to Trondheim via Dovre (the Dovre Line) created employment and opened the area for tourism. In 1952, the first ski lift opened, and with further expansions Oppdal now offers one of Norway's largest downhill networks.

In 2013, NRK said that a Labour Party politician was fighting against the establishment of a refugee center.^[14]

Government

Oppdal 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.^[15] The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Oppdal is made up of 25 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Oppdal:

Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Oppdal_Municipality
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