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General information

The parish of Gausdal was established as a civil municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1867, a small area of neighboring Øyer Municipality (population: 40) was transferred into Gausdal. In 1879, the municipality of Gausdal was divided into two separate municipalities: Vestre Gausdal in the northwest (population: 2,362) and Østre Gausdal in the southeast (population: 5,911). On 27 July 1956, a small area of Sør-Fron municipality (population: 7) was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Vestre Gausdal. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, the two municipalities of Vestre Gausdal (population: 2,590) and Østre Gausdal (population: 3,942) were merged into a new Gausdal Municipality.³

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Gausdalen valley (Old Norse: Gausdalr) since the municipality is located in the valley. The first element is named after the river Gausa which flows through the valley. The river name comes from the verb gjósa which means to "gush", "burst out", or "stream forcefully". The last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale".⁴

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 19 September 1986. The official blazon is "Per fess azure and argent, a single stair step section slanting outwards" (Norwegian: Delt av blått og sølv ved enkelt trappesnitt skrått utover). This means the arms have are divided with a line that is divided horizontally in the shape of a stairstep that is slanting to the right. 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 arms were designed to mimic the shape of one of the main mountains in the municipality, Skeikampen. The bottom argent part represents the snowy mountain and the top blue part represents the sky. The arms were designed by Inger Line Thallaug. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.⁵⁶⁷⁸

Churches

The Church of Norway has five parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Gausdal. It is part of the Sør-Gudbrandsdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar.

Churches in Gausdal

Parish (sokn)	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Aulstad	Aulstad Church	Aulstad	1864
Follebu	Follebu Church	Follebu	1260
Svatsum	Svatsum Church	Svatsum	1860
Vestre Gausdal	Vestre Gausdal Church	Forset	1784
Østre Gausdal	Østre Gausdal Church	Østre Gausdal	c. 1250

History

Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Gausdal by country of origin in 2017⁹

Ancestry	Number
Poland	84
Denmark	42
Lithuania	36
Germany	27
Thailand	24
Somalia	23
Sweden	16

The old Follebu Church was built of stone in the early Middle Ages (around 1250). It is unusual in that the chancel and nave were built as one continuous piece.

In the 1880s, there was mining for nickel in the Espedalen valley in the northwest part of the municipality. The search for nickel was taken up again in 2004 by Blackstone Venture, a Canadian company. As of 2006, they are still drilling for mineral samples only.

Geography

Gausdal is bordered on the northwest by Sør-Fron Municipality, on the northeast by Ringebu Municipality and Øyer Municipality, on the southeast by Lillehammer Municipality, on the south by Nordre Land Municipality, and on the southwest by Nord-Aurdal Municipality and Øystre Slidre Municipality.

The famous Peer Gynt mountain road begins here and leads to the town of Vinstra.

A popular ski area is located on the south slope of Skeikampen mountain.

Western tributaries of the Gudbrandsdalslågen river include the Gausa River, which flows through Gausdalen valley. The lake Dokkfløyvatn is located in the municipality.

Norway's smallest national park, Ormtjernkampen National Park, lies within the municipality.

Government

Gausdal 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.¹⁰ The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Vestre Innlandet District Court and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Gausdal is made up of 23 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Gausdal kommunestyre 2023–2027 ¹¹  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number ofrepresentatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	5
	Green Party (Miljøpartiet De Grønne)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	8
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
	Joint list of the Conservative Party (Høyre) and the Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	3
	Local list in Gausdal (Bygdalista i Gausdal)	5
Total number of members:		23

Gausdal kommunestyre 2019–2023 ¹²  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number ofrepresentatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	9
	Green Party (Miljøpartiet De Grønne)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	10
	Joint list of the Conservative Party (Høyre), Liberal Party (Venstre), and Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	1
	Local list in Gausdal (Bygdalista i Gausdal)	2
Total number of members:		23

Gausdal kommunestyre 2015–2019 ¹³¹⁴  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number ofrepresentatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	10
	Green Party (Miljøpartiet De Grønne)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	7
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
	Joint list of the Conservative Party (Høyre) and the Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	2
	Local list in Gausdal (Bygdalista i Gausdal)	2
Total number of members:		23

Gausdal kommunestyre 2011–2015 ¹⁵  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number ofrepresentatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	9
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	5
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	3
	Joint list of the Conservative Party (Høyre) and the Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	2
	Local list in Gausdal (Bygdalista i Gausdal)	4
Total number of members:		23

Gausdal kommunestyre 2007–2011 ¹⁶  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number ofrepresentatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	6
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	5
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	1
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	2
	Joint list of the Conservative Party (Høyre) and the Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	3
	Local list in Gausdal (Bygdalista i Gausdal)	6
Total number of members:		23

Gausdal kommunestyre 2003–2007 ¹⁷  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number ofrepresentatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	9
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	8
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
	Joint list of the Conservative Party (Høyre) and the Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	3
	Local list in Gausdal (Bygdalista i Gausdal)	2
Total number of members:		23

Gausdal kommunestyre 1999–2003 ¹⁸¹⁹  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number ofrepresentatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	12
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	2
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	1
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	11
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	1
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
	Local list in Gausdal (Bygdalista i Gausdal)	4
Total number of members:		33

Gausdal kommunestyre 1995–1999 ²⁰  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number ofrepresentatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	14
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	1
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	1
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	11
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	1
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
	Local list in Gausdal (Bygdalista i Gausdal)	3
Total number of members:		33

Gausdal kommunestyre 1991–1995 ²¹  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number ofrepresentatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	15
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	1
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	10
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	4
Total number of members:		33

Gausdal kommunestyre 1987–1991 ²²  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number ofrepresentatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	18
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	3
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	6
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	2
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		33

Gausdal kommunestyre 1983–1987 ²³  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number ofrepresentatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	19
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	1
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	7
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	2
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		33

Gausdal kommunestyre 1979–1983 ²⁴  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number ofrepresentatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	19
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	1
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	7
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	1
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		33

Gausdal kommunestyre 1975–1979 ²⁵  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number ofrepresentatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	18
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	1
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	9
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	2
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		33

Gausdal kommunestyre 1971–1975 ²⁶  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number ofrepresentatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	19
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	1
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	9
	Socialist People's Party (Sosialistisk Folkeparti)	2
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		33

Gausdal kommunestyre 1967–1971 ²⁷  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number ofrepresentatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	17
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	10
	Socialist People's Party (Sosialistisk Folkeparti)	2
	Common List of small farmholders and Liberal Party (Småbrukere og Venstre)	4
Total number of members:		33

Gausdal kommunestyre 1963–1967 ²⁸  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number ofrepresentatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	17
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	9
	Socialist People's Party (Sosialistisk Folkeparti)	1
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	2
	List of workers, fishermen, and small farmholders (Arbeidere, fiskere, småbrukere liste)	3
Total number of members:		33

Gausdal kommunestyre 1962–1963 ²⁹  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number ofrepresentatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	24
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	12
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	4
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	2
Total number of members:		42
Note: On 1 January 1962, the municipalities of Vestre Gausdal and Østre Gausdal were merged into Gausdal. The members of the old municipal councils that had been elected from 1960 to 1963 were combined to form the new council for Gausdal. This was a temporary measure until the next election.

Mayors

The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Gausdal since its establishment in 1962:

• 1962-1970: Reidar Engjom (Ap)
• 1970-1975: Bjørn Midtlien (Ap)
• 1976-1982: Kristian Baukhol (Ap)
• 1983-1991: Nils Nygard (Ap)
• 1992-1993: Liv Røe Johnsen (SV)
• 1994–2001: Inger Enger (Sp)
• 2001-2007: Olav Olstad (Sp)
• 2007-2011: Mona B. Nicolaysen (Sp)
• 2011-2019: Hans Oddvar Høistad (Ap)
• 2019–present: Anette Musdalslien (Sp)³⁰

Notable people

Public service

• Abraham Pihl (1756 in Gausdal – 1821), a Norwegian clergyman, astronomer, and architect
• Hakon Adelsteen Sommerfeldt (1811 in Gausdal – 1888), a Norwegian naval officer and ship designer
• Sigurd Fougner (1879 in Østre Gausdal – 1959), a Norwegian Supreme Court judge
• Reidar Engjom, (Norwegian Wiki) (1907 - Gausdal - 1970), a Norwegian politician

The Arts

• Simen Fougner (1701 in Follebu – 1783), a Norwegian farmer, poet, and non-fiction writer
• Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832–1910), a Norwegian author and Nobel Prize in Literature winner in 1903; lived in Aulestad in Follebu, 1874-1910
• Iver Holter (1850 in Gausdal – 1941), a composer and conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra from 1882-1886
• Ole Amundsen Buslett (1855 in Gausdal – 1924), a Norwegian-American author, newspaperman, and politician
• Clara Tschudi (1856–1945), a Norwegian writer who lived in Gausdal
• Hans Aanrud (1863–1953), a writer of plays, poetry, and stories of rural life in Gudbrandsdalen; raised in Auggedalen
• Inge Krokann (1893 – 1962 in Gausdal), a writer who wrote idiosyncratic nynorsk works
• Carl Gustav Sparre Olsen (1903–1984), a violinist and composer of Norwegian folk tunes; lived in Gausdal from 1947-1966
• Magne Elvestrand (1914 in Østre Gausdal – 1991), a pianist, harpsichordist, and organist
• Else Kveine, (Norwegian Wiki) (1933 in Gausdal - 2013), a Norwegian poet

Sport

• Christen Smed, (Norwegian Wiki) (1797 in Gausdal - 1846), a mountaineer who climbed Romsdalshornet
• Mattis Stenshagen (born 1996 in Follebu), a Norwegian cross-country skier

Sister cities

Gausdal has sister city agreements with the following places:³¹

• – Mora, Dalarna County, Sweden

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gausdal. Look up Gausdal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway (in Norwegian)
• Innlandet travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Gudbrandsdalen travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Tourist information
• Gausdølen - local newspaper (in Norwegian)
• Art of the States: Bright Days of Little Sunlight musical work inspired by the mountains near Gausdal

References

1. Statistisk sentralbyrå (2022). "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian). /wiki/Statistics_Norway ↩

2. Statistisk sentralbyrå (2022). "09280: Area of land and fresh water (km²) (M)" (in Norwegian). /wiki/Statistics_Norway ↩

3. Jukvam, Dag (1999). Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845. 9788253746845 ↩

4. Rygh, Oluf (1900). Norske gaardnavne: Kristians amt (første halvdel) (in Norwegian) (4 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 183. /wiki/Oluf_Rygh ↩

5. "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 10 November 2022. https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Gausdal ↩

6. "Godkjenning av våpen og flagg". Lovdata.no (in Norwegian). Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet. 19 September 1986. Retrieved 10 November 2022. https://lovdata.no/dokument/LF/forskrift/1986-09-19-1892 ↩

7. "Gausdal, Oppland (Norway)". Flags of the World. Retrieved 10 November 2022. https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/no-05-22.html ↩

8. "Kommunevåpen for Gausdal". Gausdal kommune (in Norwegian). Retrieved 7 August 2022. https://www.gausdal.kommune.no/kommunevaapen.190569.no.html ↩

9. "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 June 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150702101705/https://www.ssb.no/statistikkbanken/selectvarval/Define.asp?subjectcode=&ProductId=&MainTable=FolkInnvkatLand&nvl=&PLanguage=1&nyTmpVar=true&CMSSubjectArea=befolkning&KortNavnWeb=innvbef&StatVariant=&checked=true ↩

10. Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 14 October 2022. https://snl.no/kommunestyre ↩

11. "Kommunestyrevalg 2023 - Innlandet". Valgdirektoratet. Retrieved 12 January 2024. https://valgresultat.no/valg/2023/ko/innlandet/gausdal#seats ↩

12. "Kommunestyrevalg 2019 - Innlandet". Valgdirektoratet. Retrieved 7 August 2022. https://valgresultat.no/valg/2019/ko/innlandet/gausdal#seats ↩

13. "Kommunestyrevalg 2015 - Oppland". Valgdirektoratet. https://valgresultat.no/valg/2015/ko/oppland/gausdal#seats ↩

14. "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway. https://www.ssb.no/en/statbank/table/04813/ ↩

15. "Kommunestyrevalg 2011 - Oppland". Valgdirektoratet. https://valgresultat.no/valg/2011/ko/oppland/gausdal#seats ↩

16. "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway. https://www.ssb.no/en/statbank/table/04813/ ↩

17. "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway. https://www.ssb.no/en/statbank/table/04813/ ↩

18. "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway. https://www.ssb.no/en/statbank/table/04813/ ↩

19. Kommunestyrevalget 1999 (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger, Norge: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 2000. ISBN 8253748531. ISSN 0332-8023. 8253748531 ↩

20. Kommunestyrevalget 1995 (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger, Norge: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1996. ISBN 8253743351. ISSN 0332-8023. 8253743351 ↩

21. Kommunestyrevalget 1991 (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger, Norge: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1993. ISBN 8253737939. ISSN 0332-8023. 8253737939 ↩

22. Kommunestyrevalget 1987 (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger, Norge: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1988. ISBN 8253726325. ISSN 0332-8023. 8253726325 ↩

23. Kommunestyrevalget 1983 (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger, Norge: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1984. ISBN 8253720378. ISSN 0332-8023. 8253720378 ↩

24. Kommunestyrevalget 1979 (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo, Norge: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1979. ISBN 8253710836. ISSN 0332-8023. 8253710836 ↩

25. Kommunevalgene 1975 (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo, Norge: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1977. ISBN 8253705646. 8253705646 ↩

26. Kommunevalgene 1972 (PDF) (in Norwegian). Vol. I. Oslo, Norge: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1973. ISBN 8253701144. 8253701144 ↩

27. "Kommunevalgene 1967" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo, Norge: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1967. https://www.ssb.no/a/histstat/nos/nos_a214.pdf ↩

28. "Kommunevalgene 1963" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo, Norge: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1964. https://www.ssb.no/a/histstat/nos/nos_xii_138.pdf ↩

29. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1959" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo, Norge: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1960. https://www.ssb.no/a/histstat/nos/nos_xii_022.pdf ↩

30. "Sp fortsatt ordfører i Gausdal". NRK (in Norwegian). 21 September 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2024. https://www.nrk.no/innlandet/sp-fortsatt-ordforer-i-gausdal--1.16565752 ↩

31. "Vennskapstreff i Mora" (in Norwegian). Gausdal kommune. Retrieved 30 December 2008.[permanent dead link‍] http://www.gausdal.kommune.no/view/67331/ ↩