Hol is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway.

Hol Municipality
Hol kommune
Flag of Hol Municipality
Coat of arms of Hol Municipality
Buskerud within Norway
Buskerud within Norway
Hol within Buskerud
Hol within Buskerud
Coordinates: 60°34′18″N 8°4′18″E / 60.57167°N 8.07167°E / 60.57167; 8.07167
CountryNorway
CountyBuskerud
DistrictHallingdal
Administrative centreHol
Government
 • Mayor (2003)Erik Kaupang (Ap)
Area
 • Total1,858 km2 (717 sq mi)
 • Land1,664 km2 (642 sq mi)
 • Rank#36 in Norway
Population
 (2003)
 • Total4,556
 • Rank#211 in Norway
 • Density3/km2 (8/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
Decrease −1.5%
DemonymHoling[1]
Official language
 • Norwegian formNeutral
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-3330[3]
WebsiteOfficial website

Administrative history

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The area of Hol was separated from the municipality Ål in 1877 to become a separate municipality. In 1937 a part of neighboring Uvdal with 220 inhabitants moved to Hol municipality. The area was transferred from Uvdal to Hol in 1944. Uvdal was reunited with Nore to form the new municipality of Nore og Uvdal.

General information

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Name

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The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Hol farm (Old Norse: Hóll), since the first church was built here. The name is identical with the word hóll, which means 'round (and isolated) hill'.

Villages and hamlets in Hol municipality

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Geography

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Hol is bordered to the north by Lærdal, to the north and east by Ål, to the south by Nore og Uvdal, and to the west by Eidfjord, Ulvik and Aurland.

Lakes

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Mountains

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Coat-of-arms

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The coat-of-arms of Hol is from modern times; the arms were granted on 5 July 1991. They show three silver anvils on a blue background and were designed by Trond Andersson. The three anvils are stacked one above the other, with the top one being largest and the bottom one smallest. The anvil was chosen to symbolize the former smithies in the municipality, which were famous for the production of axes, blades, and knives. Iron mining was already practiced in the area in the Viking Age.[4][5]

Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Hol by country of origin in 2017[6]
Ancestry Number
  Poland 177
  Denmark 70
  Sweden 65
  Lithuania 43
  Iceland 37

(See also coat-of-arms of Trøgstad)

 
Hol Church

Hol Old Church

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Notable residents

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Photo of Terje Isungset taken by Knut Bry 2015

Sport

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Attractions

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  • Hallingskarvet National Park – national park in the municipalities of Hol (Buskerud), Ulvik (Hordaland) and Aurland (Sogn og Fjordane)
  • Hol Bygdemuseum – located along the road from Ål to Geilo in the small village of Hagafoss. The museum is built as an old farm (holingsgard) with buildings of the local type. There are a total of 17 buildings, of which two, Nestegardsstugu and Raunsgardsstugu, have decorative wall paintings on the walls.
  • Dagali Museum – museum with ten buildings located in the middle of Dagali, on the edge of Hardangervidda. The buildings came from Dagali, Skurdalen, Tunhovd, and Uvdal; the oldest dates to the 18th century.
  • Dagali Skisenter – alpine resort in Dagali, also offering sled-racing, with one of Norway's longest sled-racing hills.
  • Dr Holms Hotel – resort hotel in the ski resort town of Geilo

Sister cities

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The following cities are twinned with Hol:[9]

See also

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References

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[10]

  1. ^ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  2. ^ "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  3. ^ Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (2023-01-26). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
  4. ^ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  5. ^ "Kommunevåpenet" (in Norwegian). Hol kommune. Archived from the original on 2010-08-16. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  6. ^ "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 July 2017.
  7. ^ IMDb Database retrieved 15 August 2020
  8. ^ "Skurdalskyrkja". Den Norske Kirke. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  9. ^ "Vennskapskommuner" (in Norwegian). Hol kommune. Archived from the original (Microsoft Word) on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  10. ^ Sigrid Marie Christie, Håkon Christie. "Hol gamle kirke". Norges Kirker. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
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