From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oppland is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration is in Lillehammer.

Oppland fylke

County	NO-05
Region	Østlandet
Administrative centre	Lillehammer
County mayor
Area  - Total  - Percentage	Ranked 5 25,192 km² 7.82 %
Population  - Total (2004)  - Percentage  - Change (10 years)  - Density	Ranked 12 183,690 4.01 % 0.2 % 8/km²
Gross Regional Product  - Total (2001)  - Percentage  - GRP/capita	Ranked 13 35,406 million NOK 2.32 % 193,130 NOK

Contents 1 Geography 2 The name 3 Coat-of-arms 4 History 5 Municipalities

Oppland extends from the lakes Mjøsa and Randsfjorden to the mountains Dovrefjell, Jotunheimen and Rondane. The county is conventionally divided into traditional districts. These are Gudbrandsdal, Valdres, Toten, Hadeland and Land.

Oppland includes the towns Lillehammer, Gjøvik and Otta, and Norway's two highest mountains, Glittertind and Galdhøpiggen.

Several museums and other attractions are situated in Oppland and tourism is important to the economy, Valdres and Gudbrandsdal being popular attractions. The Gudbrandsdal surrounds the river Gudbrandsdalslågen, and includes the villages Øyer, Dovre and Dombås. Valdres includes the area extending from Jotunheimen down to Bagn at Begna river. It is a well known place for skiing and winter sports. The main population centres in this area are Beitostølen and Fagernes.

In Norse times the inner parts of Norway was called Upplönd 'the upper countries'. The first element is upp 'upper'. The last element is lönd, the plural form of 'land'.

In 1757 the inner parts of the great Akershus amt was separated, and given the name Oplandenes Amt. This was divided in 1781 into Kristians Amt (named after the king Christian VII) and Hedemarkens Amt. In 1919 the name Kristians Amt was changed (back) to Opland fylke, and the form Oppland was settled in 1950.

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1989). It shows two Pulsatilla vernalis.

In the late Iron Age, Oppland was a petty kingdom.

Some kings of Oppland:

• Eystein, father of Åsa who married Halfdan Hvitbeinn (see Ynglinga Saga, paragraph 49)
• Halfdan "the Aged" Sveidasson (c. 750)
• Ivar Halfdansson (c. 770)
• Eystein "Glumra (the Noisy)" Ivarsson, son-in-law of Ragnvald the Mountain-High and father of Ragnvald Eysteinsson (788)

Oppland County has a total of 26 municipalities:

Dovre Etnedal Gausdal Gjøvik Gran Jevnaker Lesja Lillehammer Lom Lunner Nord-Aurdal Nord-Fron Nordre Land

Østre Toten Øyer Øystre Slidre Ringebu Sel Skjåk Søndre Land Sør-Aurdal Sør-Fron Vågå Vang Vestre Slidre Vestre Toten

Counties of Norway
Akershus | Aust-Agder | Buskerud | Finnmark | Hedmark | Hordaland | Møre og Romsdal | Nordland | Nord-Trøndelag | Oppland | Oslo | Østfold | Rogaland | Sogn og Fjordane | Sør-Trøndelag | Telemark | Troms | Vest-Agder | Vestfold