The 1,191-square-kilometre (460 sq mi) municipality is the 91st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Gausdal is the 157th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,129. The municipality's population density is 5.3 inhabitants per square kilometre (14/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 0.2% over the previous 10-year period.[4][5]
The parish of Gausdal was established as a civil municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1867, a small area of neighboring Øyer Municipality (population: 40) was transferred into Gausdal. In 1879, the municipality of Gausdal was divided into two separate municipalities: Vestre Gausdal in the northwest (population: 2,362) and Østre Gausdal in the southeast (population: 5,911). On 27 July 1956, a small area of Sør-Fron municipality (population: 7) was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Vestre Gausdal. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, the two municipalities of Vestre Gausdal (population: 2,590) and Østre Gausdal (population: 3,942) were merged into a new Gausdal Municipality.[6]
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Gausdalen valley (Old Norse: Gausdalr) since the municipality is located in the valley. The first element is named after the river Gausa which flows through the valley. The river name comes from the verb gjósa which means to "gush", "burst out", or "stream forcefully". The last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale".[7]
Coat of arms
Skeikampen mountain – the outline is the inspiration for the municipal arms.
The coat of arms was granted on 19 September 1986. The official blazon is "Per fessazure and argent, a single stair step section slanting outwards" (Norwegian: Delt av blått og sølv ved enkelt trappesnitt skrått utover). This means the arms have are divided with a line that is divided horizontally in the shape of a stair step that is slanting to the right. The field (background) above the line has a tincture of blue. Below the line, the field has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The arms were designed to mimic the shape of one of the main mountains in the municipality, Skeikampen. The bottom argent part represents the snowy mountain and the top blue part represents the sky. The arms were designed by Inger Line Thallaug. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[8][9][10][11]
The old Follebu Church was built of stone in the early Middle Ages (around 1250). It is unusual in that the chancel and nave were built as one continuous piece.
In the 1880s, there was mining for nickel in the Espedalen valley in the northwest part of the municipality. The search for nickel was taken up again in 2004 by Blackstone Venture, a Canadian company. As of 2006, they are still drilling for mineral samples only.
Geography
An old barn at Torshov farm in Vang to the west. Gausdal resident Abraham Pihl was the architect.
A popular ski area is located on the south slope of Skeikampen mountain.
Western tributaries of the Gudbrandsdalslågen river include the Gausa River, which flows through Gausdalen valley. The lake Dokkfløyvatn is located in the municipality.
The municipal council(Kommunestyre) of Gausdal is made up of 23 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
Note: On 1 January 1962, the municipalities of Vestre Gausdal and Østre Gausdal were merged into Gausdal. The members of the old municipal councils that had been elected from 1960-1963 were combined to form the new council for Gausdal. This was a temporary measure until the next election.
Mayors
The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Gausdal since its establishment in 1962:
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