Oppland [ˈɔ̂plɑn] is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration was located in the town of Lillehammer.

Oppland County
Oppland fylke
Oppland mountains
Oppland mountains
Oppland within Norway
Oppland within Norway
Oppland County is located in Oppland
Oppland County
Oppland County
Oppland County is located in Norway
Oppland County
Oppland County
Coordinates: 61°25′N 9°20′E / 61.41°N 9.34°E / 61.41; 9.34
CountryNorway
CountyOppland
DistrictEastern Norway
Established1781
 • Preceded byOplandenes amt
Disestablished1 Jan 2020
 • Succeeded byInnlandet county
Administrative centreLillehammer
Government
 • BodyOppland County Municipality
 • Governor (2015-2019)Christl Kvam
 • County mayor
   (2015-2019)
Even Aleksander Hagen
Area
 (upon dissolution)
 • Total
25,192 km2 (9,727 sq mi)
 • Land23,787 km2 (9,184 sq mi)
 • Water1,405 km2 (542 sq mi)  5.6%
Population
 (30 September 2019)
 • Total
189,437
 • Density7.5/km2 (19/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
Increase +0.2%
DemonymOpplending[1]
Official language
 • Norwegian formNeutral
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-05[3]
Income (per capita)133,600 kr (2001)
GDP (per capita)193,130 kr (2001)
GDP national rank#13 in Norway
(2.32% of country)
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1951160,496—    
1961166,303+3.6%
1971172,479+3.7%
1981180,765+4.8%
1991182,593+1.0%
2001183,419+0.5%
2011186,087+1.5%
Source: Statistics Norway.[4]
Religion in Oppland[5][6]
religion percent
Christianity
89.60%
Islam
0.72%
Buddhism
0.14%
Other
9.54%

Merger

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On 1 January 2020, the neighboring counties of Oppland and Hedmark were merged to form the new Innlandet county. Both Oppland and Hedmark were the only landlocked counties of Norway, and the new Innlandet county is the only landlocked county in Norway. The two counties had historically been one county that was divided in 1781. Historically, the region was commonly known as "Opplandene". In 1781, the government split the area into two: Hedemarkens amt and Kristians amt (later renamed Hedmark and Oppland). In 2017, the government approved the merger of the two counties. There were several names debated, but the government settled on Innlandet.[7][8]

Geography

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Oppland extended from the lakes Mjøsa and Randsfjorden to the mountains Dovrefjell, Jotunheimen and Rondane. Gråhøe is a mountain on the border between the municipalities of Sel and Dovre in Oppland.[9][10]

The county was conventionally divided into traditional districts. These are the Gudbrandsdalen, Valdres, Toten, Hadeland and Land. Oppland included the towns Lillehammer, Gjøvik, Otta, and Fagernes, and Norway's two highest mountains, Glittertind and Galdhøpiggen, Valdres and the Gudbrand Valley being popular attractions. The Gudbrand Valley surrounds the river Gudbrandsdalslågen, and 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 were Beitostølen and Fagernes. Eight of the ten highest mountains in Norway are located in the western part of Oppland.

Etymology

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In Norse times the inner parts of Norway were called Upplǫnd which means 'the upper countries'. The first element is upp which means 'upper'. The last element is lǫnd which is the plural form of 'land'.

In 1757, the inner parts of the great Akershus amt were separated and given the name Oplandenes Amt. This was divided in 1781 into Christians Amt (named after the king Christian VII) and Hedemarkens Amt. The name/form was changed to Kristians Amt in 1877 after an official spelling reform that changed ch to k (see also Kristiania, Kristiansand and Kristiansund). In 1919, the name Kristians Amt was changed (back) to Opland fylke, and the spelling Oppland was approved in 1950.

Coat of arms

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The coat of arms was granted in 1989, and it showed two Pulsatilla vernalis.

Municipalities

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Oppland County (Christians Amt)[11] had a total of 26 municipalities:

  1. Dovre
  2. Etnedal
  3. Gausdal
  4. Gjøvik
  5. Gran
  6. Jevnaker (Jævnaker)
  7. Lesja (Lesje)
  8. Lillehammer
  9. Lom
  10. Lunner
  11. Nord-Aurdal
  12. Nord-Fron
  13. Nordre Land
  1. Østre Toten
  2. Øyer (Øier)
  3. Øystre Slidre
  4. Ringebu
  5. Sel
  6. Skjåk
  7. Søndre Land
  8. Sør-Aurdal (Søndre Aurdal)
  9. Sør-Fron
  10. Vågå (Vaage)
  11. Vang
  12. Vestre Slidre
  13. Vestre Toten
Number of minorities (1st and 2nd gen.)
in Oppland by country of origin in 2017
[12]
Nationality Population (2017)
  Poland 2,421
  Lithuania 1,606
  Somalia 1,209
  Eritrea 1,164
  Syria 817
  Denmark 743
  Iraq 714
  Sweden 698
  Germany 660
  Bosnia-Herzegovina 624
  Thailand 574
  Afghanistan 560
  Netherlands 495
  Iran 495
  Russia 466
  Philippines 376
  Vietnam 365
  Kosovo 330

Districts

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Cities

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Parishes

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Villages

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Former municipalities

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See also

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References

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  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. ^ Projected population - Statistics Norway[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ Statistics Norway - Church of Norway.
  6. ^ Statistics Norway - Members of religious and life stance communities outside the Church of Norway, by religion/life stance. County. 2006-2010
  7. ^ Magnus Newth; Ingvill Dybfest Dahl (21 February 2017). "Dette er Norges nye regioner" [These are Norway's new regions]. Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  8. ^ "Hedmark og Oppland blir ett fylke" [Hedmark and Oppland become one county] (in Norwegian). NRK. 21 February 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  9. ^ "Gråhøe". Kartverket. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Norgeskart". www.norgeskart.no. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  11. ^ Formannskapsdistrikt Original spellings of counties and municipalities in parentheses.
  12. ^ "Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents, by immigration category, country background and percentages of the population". SSB. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
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