Oppland Fylke

Jotunheimen (Norwegian: [ˈjôːtʉnˌhæɪmn̩]; "the home of the Jötunn") is a mountainous area of roughly in southern Norway and is part of the long range known as the Scandinavian Mountains. The 29 highest mountains in Norway are all located in the Jotunheimen mountains, including the tall mountain Galdhøpiggen (the highest point in Norway). The Jotunheimen mountains straddle the border between Innlandet and Vestland counties (historically part of the old Oppland and Sogn og Fjordane counties). To…

Besseggen or Besseggi is a mountain ridge in Vågå Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The tall mountain ridge is located in the Jotunheimen mountains within Jotunheimen National Park. The mountain sits about southwest of the village of Vågåmo and about northwest of the village of Beitostølen. The mountain ridge is surrounded by several other notable mountains including Veslfjellet to the east and Besshø to the northwest. The ridge runs between the lakes Gjende and Bessvatnet. The walk o…

Galdhøpiggen (Norwegian: [ˈɡɑ̀ɫhøːˌpɪɡn̩]) is the highest mountain in Norway, Scandinavia, and Northern Europe. The tall mountain is located in Lom Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is in the Jotunheimen mountains within Jotunheimen National Park. The mountain sits about southwest of the village of Fossbergom and about northeast of the village of Øvre Årdal. The mountain is surrounded by several other notable mountains including Keilhaus topp to the east; Store Styggehøe to the sou…

Rondane National Park (Norwegian: Rondane nasjonalpark) is the oldest national park in Norway, having been established on 21 December 1962. The park is located in Innlandet county, in the municipalities of Dovre, Folldal, Sel, Nord-Fron, Sør-Fron, Stor-Elvdal, and Ringebu. The park contains ten peaks above , with the highest being Rondeslottet at an altitude of . The park is an important habitat for herds of wild reindeer. The park was enlarged in 2003, and now covers an area of . Rondane lies j…

Maihaugen (De Sandvigske Samlinger på Maihaugen, Lillehammer) is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Lillehammer, Norway. Maihaugen, with close to 200 buildings, is one of Northern Europe's largest open-air museums and is one of the largest cultural facilities in Norway. History The founder, Anders Sandvig, collected from old houses and farmyards within Gudbrandsdalen to provide a sample of Norwegian culture and history in a museum. He first started in his backyard, but when his coll…

Bitihorn (local pronunciation: ) is a mountain on the border of Vang Municipality and Øystre Slidre Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The tall mountain is located in the Jotunheimen mountains about northwest of the village of Beitostølen. The mountain is surrounded by several other notable mountains including Rasletind and Raslet to the north, Gråhøi and Kvernhøi to the northeast, and Skaget to the east. It is situated on the west side of Norwegian County Road 51, and because of its lo…

Bygdin is a lake in Vang Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The is located in the southern part of the Jotunheimen mountain range. The long, narrow mountain lake is located between the large lakes Tyin (to the west) and Vinstre to the east. The depth of Bygdin is regulated for hydroelectric power generation at nearby power plants. The normal level of the water lies between above sea level. The maximum depth of the lake is . The Vinsteråni river runs out Bygdin, passes through the Vinst…

Ringebu Stave Church (Norwegian: Ringebu stavkyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Ringebu Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Ringebu in the Gudbrandsdalen valley. It is the church for the Ringebu parish which is part of the Sør-Gudbrandsdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar. The brown, wooden church was built in a stave church design around the year 1220 using plans drawn up by an unknown architect. The church seats about 300 people.…

Filefjell is a mountainous area in Norway. It is located between Lærdal in the Vestland county and Valdres in Innlandet county. It is the historical, as well as modern, main route, linking Western Norway and Eastern Norway. The European route E16 highway passes through Filefjell. Etymology Filefjell or sometimes Fillefjell, might be a double-name as "file" is thought to be derived from Old Norse word Fjáll, the same root that evolved into the modern word "fjell". Thus Filefjell in English would …

Mjøsa is Norway's largest lake, as well as one of the deepest lakes in Norway and in Europe. It is the fourth-deepest lake in Norway. It is located in the southern part of Norway, about north of the city of Oslo. Its main tributary is the river Gudbrandsdalslågen flowing in from the north; the only distributary is the river Vorma in the south. Inflows would theoretically need 5.6 years to fill the lake. With an average depth of about , most of the lake's volume is under sea level. The average o…

Hafjell is a village and a ski resort in Norway, in the Øyer municipality in the county of Oppland. Hafjell hosted the alpine skiing technical events (giant slalom and slalom) at the 1994 Winter Olympics; the speed events were held at Kvitfjell, a regular stop on the World Cup tour for men's speed events in March. Hafjell occasionally hosts World Cup slalom and giant slalom races, last in 2006 (women) and 1996 (men's and women's finals). Hafjell Bike Park Hafjell Bike Park is renowned as the be…

Lysgårdsbakken, officially known as Lysgårdsbakkene Ski Jumping Arena (Norwegian: Lysgårdsbakkene hoppanlegg), is a ski jumping hill in Lillehammer, Norway. It consists of a large hill, with a K-point of 123 and a hill size of 138, and a small hill with a K-point of 90 and a hill size of 100. It opened in 1993 for the 1994 Winter Olympics, where it hosted the ski jumping and Nordic combined events, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. After the Olympics, ownership was transferred to th…

Lillehammer Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track (Norwegian: Lillehammer Olympiske Bob- og Akebane) is a bobsleigh, luge and skeleton track located at Hunderfossen in Lillehammer, Norway, north of the town center of Lillehammer. It was completed in 1992 for the 1994 Winter Olympics, where it hosted the bobsleigh events and luge events. It has since also hosted the FIBT World Championships 1995 in skeleton and the FIL World Luge Championships 1995, and hosted 2016 Winter Youth Olympics. Original pla…

Aursjøen is a lake in Norway on the border between Lesja Municipality in Innlandet county and Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county. The lake sits at an elevation of above sea level and is about around. The lake was dammed up in 1953 to provide water for the Aura power station. It flooded together with the nearby lake Gautsjøen. The water in lake Aursjøen flows out to the river Aura which flows through the Eikesdalen valley and eventually to the lake Eikesdalsvatnet.

Kvitfjell (Norwegian: White mountain) is a ski resort in Norway, located in the municipality of Ringebu. Developed for the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, it is one of the most modern resorts in the world, with snowmaking on 80% of the alpine pistes. Based near the river Gudbrandsdalslågen, the resort offers 23 pistes: 5 green (nursery), 9 blue (beginner), 6 red (intermediate), and 3 black (advanced). Kvitfjell is also home to a terrain park and of cross-country pistes, with access to ext…

Reinli Stave Church (Norwegian: Reinli stavkyrkje) is a preserved parish church of the Church of Norway in Sør-Aurdal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Reinli. It is the former church for the Reinli parish which is part of the Valdres prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar. The brown, wooden church was built in a long church design around the year 1300 using plans drawn up by an unknown architect. The church seats about 70 people. History The first refer…

Garmo Stave Church () is a stave church situated at the Maihaugen museum at Lillehammer in Innlandet, Norway. Garmo Stave Church at Maihaugen is one of the most visited stave churches in Norway. Description Garmo Stave Church originally came from the village of Garmo in Lom in the former Oppland county. It was built circa 1150 on the site of a previous church believed to have been built in 1021 by a Viking chieftain. In 1730, it was expanded into a cruciform church in the timber. After Garmo C…

Old Tingelstad Church (Norwegian: Tingelstad gamle kirke) is a former parish church of the Church of Norway in Gran Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Tingelstad. It is part of the Gran/Tingelstad parish which is part of the Hadeland og Land prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar. The gray, stone church was built in a long church design around the year 1220 using plans drawn up by an unknown architect. The church seats about 110 people. History The stone …

Hedalen Stave Church (Norwegian: Hedalen stavkyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Sør-Aurdal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The stave church is located in the Hedalen valley. It is the church for the Hedalen parish which is part of the Valdres prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar. The brown, wooden stave church was built in a cruciform design around the year 1160 using plans drawn up by an unknown architect. The church seats about 210 people. History The earliest …

Høre Stave Church (Norwegian: Høre stavkyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Vang Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Kvien. It is the church for the Høre parish which is part of the Valdres prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar. The brown, wooden church was built in a long church design around the year 1179 using plans drawn up by an unknown architect. The church seats about 170 people. History The earliest existing historical records of …

The Scandinavian Mountains or the Scandes is a mountain range that runs through the Scandinavian Peninsula. The western sides of the mountains drop precipitously into the North Sea and Norwegian Sea, forming the fjords of Norway, whereas to the northeast they gradually curve towards Finland. To the north they form the border between Norway and Sweden, reaching high at the Arctic Circle. The mountain range just touches northwesternmost Finland but are scarcely more than hills at their northernmo…

The Gudbrandsdalslågen (or simply Lågen) is a river which flows through the Gudbrandsdal valley in Innlandet county, Norway. The long river runs through a large valley in Eastern Norway before emptying into Mjøsa, the largest lake in Norway. The river flows through the municipalities of Lesja, Dovre, Sel, Nord-Fron, Sør-Fron, Ringebu, Øyer, and Lillehammer. Watercourse The Gudbrandsdalslågen begins in the lake Lesjaskogsvatnet (or Lesjavatn), which lies in Lesja municipality in the far northern…

Håkons Hall, sometimes anglicized as Håkon Hall and Haakons Hall, is an arena located at Stampesletta in Lillehammer, Norway. With a spectator capacity of 11,500 people, it is the largest handball and ice hockey venue in the country. Håkons Hall is regularly used for handball and ice hockey tournaments, concerts, exhibitions, conferences and banquets. The venue is owned by Lillehammer Municipality via the subsidiary Lillehammer Olympiapark, which owns all the Olympic venues in Lillehammer. The N…

Gjøvik Olympic Cavern Hall (Norwegian: Gjøvik Olympiske Fjellhall or ) is an ice hockey rink located within a mountain hall in Gjøvik, Norway. With a capacity for 5,500 spectators, the hall also features a 25-meter swimming pool and telecommunications installations. Opened in 1993 and costing 134.6 million Norwegian krone (NOK), it was built for the 1994 Winter Olympics, where it hosted 16 ice hockey matches. It is the home of Gjøvik Hockey, has hosted the 1995 World Short Track Speed Skating Ch…