Drangedal is a municipality

Municipalities of Norway

Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...

 in Telemark

Telemark

is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien. Until 1919 the county was known as Bratsberg amt.-Location:...

 county

Counties of Norway

Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. It is part of the traditional region

Districts of Norway

The country Norway is historically divided into a number of districts. Many districts have deep historical roots, and only partially coincide with today's administrative units of counties and municipalities. The districts are defined by geographical features, often valleys, mountain ranges, fjords,...

 of Grenland

Grenland

Grenland is a traditional district in the county of Telemark, in the south of Norway. It is composed of the municipalities Skien, Porsgrunn, Bamble, Nome, and Siljan. Sometimes the municipalities Kragerø, and Drangedal are considered being part of the area...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Prestestranda

Prestestranda

Prestestranda is the administrative centre of Drangedal municipality, Norway. Its population is 1,223. The village was built around the train station which appeared with the Sørlandsbanen railroad in 1927....

. The municipality of Drangedal was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt

Formannskapsdistrikt

Formannskapsdistrikt was the name for a Norwegian local self-government districts put into force in 1838. This system of municipality was created in a bill approved by the Storting and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January 1837...

). The district of Tørdal

Tørdal

Tørdal is a district in Drangedal municipality, in the county Telemark, Norway....

 encompassed the northwestern part of the municipality.

The administrative centre in Drangedal, Prestestranda, and is situated by lake Tokevann

Tokke (lake)

Toke is a lake in Drangedal municipality in Telemark, Norway, consisting of Upper and Lower Toke, which is connected via "Straumen" - "the stream". At the north end of Upper Toke is the town center Prestestranda. In the south, Lower Toke reaches into Bamble and into Kragerø, where its outlet is in...

. The municipal government is located there along with primary and secondary schools, shopping facilities, and a bank. Drangedal railway station

Drangedal Station

Drangedal Station is a railway station located in Prestestranda in Drangedal, Norway on Sørlandsbanen. The station is served by express trains to Kristiansand and Oslo.-External links:*...

 is also located in Prestestranda and is served by the Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

 to Kristiansand

Kristiansand

-History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...

 Sørlandsbannen railway line.

Alpine

Alpine skiing

Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...

 and cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...

 is possible in the area of Drangedal, at Telemark's largest ski resort

Ski resort

A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...

.

Name

The Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 form of the name was Drangadalr. The meaning of the first element is unknown and the last element is dalr which means "valley

Valley

In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...

" or "dale".

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms

Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 is from modern times. They were granted 1989. The arms show two gold-colored pine cones on a green background.

External links

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
  Statistics Norway
  Statistics Norway is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876.Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every year on its web site. All releases are published both in Norwegian and English...