Lillehammer (town)
Lillehammer | ||
---|---|---|
Region Eastern Norway | | |
County | Innlandet | |
District | Gudbrandsdalen | |
Municipality | Lillehammer Municipality | |
Established as | ||
Kjøpstad | 7 Aug 1827 | |
Area | ||
• Total | 11.45 km2 (4.42 sq mi) | |
Elevation | 197 m (646 ft) | |
Population (2021)[2] | ||
• Total | 21,111 | |
• Density | 1,844/km2 (4,780/sq mi) | |
Demonym | Lillehamring | |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) | |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) | |
Post Code | 2609 Lillehammer |
Lillehammer (Norwegian pronunciation:
The 11.45-square-kilometre (4.42 sq mi) town has a population (2021) of 21,111 and a population density of 1,844 inhabitants per square kilometre (4,780/sq mi).[2]
The
History
The village of Lillehammer is located at the northern end of Norway's largest lake, Mjøsa. There have likely been settlements here since the Iron Age and the market here was mentioned in Håkon Håkonson's saga in 1390. Tradition states that it was here in Lillehammer where the birkebeiners Torstein Skjevla and Skjervald Skrukka joined up with the King's son (and future King), Haakon, in 1205 before they traveled to Østerdalen (an event which is commemorated in March every year to this day). Since medieval times, the Lillehammer Church has been located here.[5]
The village was granted
The 1994 Winter Olympics were held in Lillehammer. In preparation for this, new sports facilities were built and existing cultural buildings and roads were upgraded throughout the town and surrounding areas.
Self-Government
After the passage of the formannskapsdistrikt law on 1 January 1838, the town was granted local self-government rights (along with all local municipalities in Norway). Prior to this time, there was no local government structure in Norway. Under this new law, the town could elect a town council. On 1 January 1906, a small adjacent area of the neighboring municipality of Fåberg (population: 140) was annexed by the town to make room for more expansion as the town grew. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the town of Lillehammer (population: 5,905) was merged with Fåberg Municipality (population: 13,381) to form a new, larger Lillehammer Municipality.[6]
Etymology
The town was named after the old Hamar farm (
See also
References
- ^ In the Norwegian language, the word by can be translated as "town" or "city".
- ^ a b c Statistisk sentralbyrå (1 January 2021). "Urban settlements. Population and area, by municipality".
- ^ "Lillehammer, Lillehammer". yr.no. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
- ^ "Lillehammer awarded 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games".
- ^ a b Herberg, Kari B. "Lillehammers historie". Lillehammer kommune (in Norwegian). Retrieved 6 July 2022.
- ^ Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå.
- ^ Rygh, Oluf (1900). Norske gaardnavne: Kristians amt (in Norwegian) (4 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 219.
- ^ "Lillehammers historie" (in Norwegian). Lillehammer kommune. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 4 January 2009.