Lærdal

Infobox_Kommune
name = Lærdal
idnumber = 1422
county = Sogn og Fjordane
landscape = Sogn

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capital = Lærdalsøyri
demonym = Lærdøl
language = Nynorsk


munwebpage = www.laerdal.kommune.no
governor = Arne Sanden (Ap)
governor_as_of = 2007
arearank = 66
area = 1342
arealand = 1278
areapercent = 0.41
population_as_of = 2004
populationrank = 331
population = 2,169
populationpercent = 0.05
populationdensity = 2
populationincrease = -3.6
lat_deg = 61 | lat_min = 3 | lat_sec = 4 | lon_deg = 7 | lon_min = 35 | lon_sec = 52
utm_zone = 32V | utm_northing = 6769295 | utm_easting = 0424292 | geo_cat = adm2nd

Lærdal is a municipality in the southwestern part of Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Lærdalsøyri.

The valley of Lærdal is long, running from Hemsedal in the east to the Sognefjord in the west. About 1200 of the 2200 inhabitants live in the main area of Lærdalsøyri; the rest in the small villages Borgund, Ljøsne, Tønjum, Erdal, Vindedalen, Ytre Frønningen, and Strendene. The Old Lærdalsøyri village has over 161 protected buildings. Some of the houses there date back to the mid-18th century.

Lærdal has long traditions in farming, with the lower region of the valley being great for vegetable crops. Because of its dry climate it was one of the first places in Norway to begin the use of artificial irrigation. Despite having an inland climate, the water in the fjord keeps the winters from getting too cold.

The local hospital provides medical care for Lærdal itself and seven of the surrounding municipalities. The hospital, together with Opplysningen 1881 (directory assistance company), Østfold Energiproduksjon A/S and Norsk Hydro Aluminium Production Facilities in Årdal, are the major employers in Lærdal.

General information

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was "Lærardalr". The first element is the genitive case of the old name of the river "Lærr"(now the river is called Lærdalselvi) and the last element is "dalr" which means "valley" or "dale". The meaning of the old rivername is unknown.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is modern (1987). It shows two Norse dragon heads (as seen on the gables of Borgund stave church).

Background

"Lærdal" was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). In the 19th century, the name was sometimes spelled "Leerdahl" or "Leidal".

The municipality of 1838 was created to be identical to the Lærdal parish "(prestegjeld)" that included the sub-parishes "(sokn)" of Borgund, Tønjum, Hauge, and Årdal.

In 1863, the sub-parish of Årdal (population: 1,791) was separated from Lærdal to form a separate municipality.cite web|first=Dag|last=Jukvam|publisher=Statistics Norway|title=Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen|date=1999|url=http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/90/rapp_9913/rapp_9913.pdf no icon]

In 1864, the sub-parish of Borgund (population: 963) was separated from Lærdal to form its own municipality. This left Lærdal with 2,777 residents.

On 1 January 1964, Lærdal (population: 1,755) was merged with the municipality of Borgund (population: 492) and the Muggeteigen, Luggenes, and Bergmål farms (population: 11) from Årdal. After the merger, Lærdal had a total of 2,258.cite web|url=http://www.emigration.no/sff/emigration3.nsf/0/326D0346278A5909C1256F570048962C?OpenDocument|title=Some historical data on the 26 Kommunes|first=Oddvar|last=Natvik|date=9 Feb 2005|accessdaymonth=15 June|accessyear=2008]

On 1 January 1992, the Frønning region of Leikanger (population: 32) was transferred to Lærdal.

Churches

The Church of Norway has four churches within the municipality of Lærdal. It is part of the Diocese of Bjørgvin and the Rural Deanery "(Prosti)" of Indre Sogn.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Lærdal, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor.

Municipal council

The municipal council "(Kommunestyre)" of Lærdal is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to every four years. For 2007–2011, the party breakdown is as follows:cite web|publisher=Statistics Norway|url=http://www.ssb.no/english/subjects/00/01/20/kommvalgform_en/tab-2008-01-29-15-en.html|title=Members of the local councils|accessdaymonth=19 June|accessyear=2008|date=2007] Infobox_Kommunestyre
name = Lærdal
start = 2007
end = 2011
Total = 17
Arbeiderpartiet = 7
Fremskrittspartiet =
Høyre = 2
Kristelig_Folkeparti =
Rød_Valgallianse =
Rødt =
Senterpartiet = 5
Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 2
Venstre = 1
Local_Lists = |

Mayor

The mayor "(ordførar)" of a municipality in Norway is a representative of the majority party of the municipal council who is elected to lead the council. The mayor for the 2007–2011 term is Arne Sanden of the Labour Party "(Det Norske Arbeiderpartiet)".cite web|publisher=Statistics Norway|url=http://www.ssb.no/english/subjects/00/01/20/kommvalgform_en/tab-2008-01-29-15-en.html|title=Members of the local councils|accessdaymonth=19 June|accessyear=2008|date=2007]

Geography

Lærdal is located southeast of the Sognefjord along the Lærdalselvi River with the Filefjell and Hemsedalsfjell mountain ranges on its east. Lærdal is bordered in Sogn og Fjordane county by the municipality of Aurland to the southwest, by Sogndal to the northwest, and by Årdal to the north. It is also bordered on the east by Vang (Oppland county) and Hemsedal (Buskerud county), and in the south by Ål and Hol (both in Buskerud county).

Lærdal tunnel

The "Lærdalstunnelen" was built through the mountains dividing Aurland from Lærdal. The tunnel is the worlds longest (as of 2008) at 24.5 km (15.2 miles). Construction began in 1995 and it was completed in 2000. [cite web|url=http://www.vegvesen.no/region_vest/prosjekter/lardalstunnelen/english.stm|title=The world's longest tunnel|publisher=Statens vegvesen|accessdaymonth=15 June|accessyear=2008]

Lærdalselvi river

The River Lærdalselvi was traditionally one of the most exclusive salmon and sea trout rivers in Norway. Known by the Norwegian King Harald V as his second Queen, the river has established Lærdal as one of the meccas of salmon and sea trout fly fishing, among others for the unusual fact that the river offers daylight fishing and dry fly fishing for sea trout. The salmon population was drastically depleted after an infestation with the salmon parasite "Gyrodactylus salaris" in the fall of 1996. After several treatments with aluminium sulfate, there are still problems with the parasite. In fall 2007, a smolt was again found infected by the parasite, and new treatments started in late March 2008. Because of this parasite, the river will be closed to angling for the 2008 season.

The river has formed a large delta at Lærdalsøyri, where huge amounts of silt and sand have been deposited by the river. Although the area has been spoiled by some unfortunate landfills it is still a sight worth seeing.

Photo gallery

References

External links

* [http://www.laerdal.kommune.no Official website: Lærdal Kommune] no icon
* [http://www.nrk.no/sfj/leksikon/1125624.html NRK: Fylkesleksikon - Lærdal Kommune] no icon