Valdres
Encyclopedia
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,...
in central, southern 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...
, situated between Gudbrandsdal
Gudbrandsdal
The Gudbrandsdalen is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county of Oppland. The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer at Mjøsa, extending 230 km toward Romsdal...
and Hallingdal
Hallingdal
Hallingdal is a valley and traditional district in Buskerud county in Norway. It consists of the municipalities of Flå, Nes, Gol, Hemsedal, Ål and Hol.-History:Ancient routes went to Vestlandet through Valdres and Hallingdal and down Røldal to Odda...
.
Administratively, Valdres belongs to Oppland
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 is, together with Hedmark, one of the only two landlocked counties of Norway....
. It consists of the municipalities Nord-Aurdal
Nord-Aurdal
Nord-Aurdal is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Valdres. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Fagernes....
, Sør-Aurdal
Sør-Aurdal
Sør-Aurdal is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Valdres. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bagn....
, Øystre Slidre
Øystre Slidre
Øystre Slidre is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Valdres. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of...
, Vestre Slidre
Vestre Slidre
Vestre Slidre is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Valdres. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Slidre...
, Vang and Etnedal
Etnedal
Etnedal is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Valdres. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bruflat....
. The main town in the region is Fagernes
Fagernes
is the largest settlement in the valley of Valdres, Norway, with a population of 1,801. Fagernes is the administrative centre of the municipality of Nord-Aurdal.See video from the Fagernes Town : *...
, where there also is an airport. European route E16
European route E16
European route E 16 is the designation of a main west-east road through Northern Ireland, Scotland and Norway, from Derry to Oslo, via Glasgow, Edinburgh, previously by ferry to Bergen, Voss, through the Gudvanga Tunnel, Lærdal, through the Lærdal Tunnel, over Filefjell to Fagernes, Hønefoss,...
is the main highway, while the main rivers are Begna
Begna
Begna is a river in Buskerud and Oppland counties in Norway. It is formed by the merging of the rivers Otrøelva and Ylja above Lake Vangsmjøsa. It is also the name of the village of Begna located by the river....
and Etna
Etna (river)
Etna river flows through Etnedal and Nordre Land municipality in Oppland, Norway.It flows into Randsfjorden....
. The railroad connection from Oslo (Valdresbanen
Valdresbanen
The Valdres Line was a Norwegian railway that connected to the Gjøvik Line at Eina with Fagernes in the district of Valdres. The first stretch opened on 23 November 1902, and the entire route was operational on October 10, 1906. The line was shut down for regular traffic as of 1 January 1989.The...
) was shut down in 1988, and the tracks are now removed.
Valdres is located approximately midway between 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...
and Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
. The valley is protected to the west and north by the Jotunheimen
Jotunheimen
Jotunheimen is a mountainous area of roughly 3,500 km² in Southern Norway and is part of the long range known as the Scandinavian Mountains. The 29 highest mountains in Norway are all in Jotunheimen, including the very highest - Galdhøpiggen...
mountains and to the south by the Gol
Gol
Gol can refer to:* Volkswagen Gol, a car made by Volkswagen do Brasil* Gol Transportes Aéreos Brazilian airline, company* Gol Acheron, a character in the Jak and Daxter videogame series* Gol, Norway, a municipality in Buskerud, Norway...
mountain ridge.
Historically, Valdres has had an agricultural economy, but tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
has grown in prominence in later years. Valdres is known for its excellent trout fishing.
Valdres March
Valdres March (Norwegian: Valdresmarsjen) is the title of a Norwegian marchMarch (music)
A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...
by Johannes Hanssen
Johannes Hanssen
Johannes Hanssen was a Norwegian bandmaster, composer and teacher. He was bandmaster of the Oslo Military Band from 1926 to 1934 and again from 1945 to 1946. Hanssen received the King's Order of Merit in Gold and King Haakon VII's Jubilee Medal...
. His most famous composition, Valdresmarsjen is a march celebrating the beautiful Valdres region. The main theme is the signature fanfare for the Valdres Battalion, which is based on an ancient melody formerly played on the medieval lur
Lur
A lur is a long natural blowing horn without finger holes that is played by embouchure. Lurs can be straight or curved in various shapes. The purpose of the curves was to make long instruments easier to carry A lur is a long natural blowing horn without finger holes that is played by embouchure....
, an uncoiled wooden wind instrument. The melody of the trio section derives from a fiddle tune traditional in Hardanger
Hardanger
Hardanger is a traditional district in the western part of Norway, dominated by the Hardangerfjord. It consists of the municipalities of Odda, Ullensvang, Eidfjord, Ulvik, Granvin, Kvam and Jondal, and is located inside the county of Hordaland....
and a pentatonic folk tune, above a typical Norwegian drone bass line.