Romsdal

Coordinates: 62°40′N 7°50′E / 62.667°N 7.833°E / 62.667; 7.833
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the valley, see Romsdalen.
Romsdal highlighted in red

Romsdal is a

Sandøy Municipality (now part of Ålesund Municipality) and the old Fræna Municipality (now part of Hustadvika Municipality). It is named after the valley of Romsdalen, which covers part of Rauma Municipality.[1]

The largest town is

Molde, which is also the seat of Møre og Romsdal County Municipality. Åndalsnes is a town located near the mouth of the river Rauma in Rauma Municipality. The Rauma Line railway comes from Dombås and terminates at Åndalsnes.[2]

Naming

The

Romsdal Fjord, again derived from the name of the river Rauma, i.e. "The Dale of Rauma". The name Rauma is itself a mystery, but a tantalizing clue may be found in the works of the Gothic historian Jordanes. He mentions a tribe called "Raumii", which might be the origin of both the landscape Romerike (o.no raumariki) and the river Rauma.[3]

The Norwegian comedy group KLM (named after the surnames of the three comedians Trond Kirkvaag, Knut Lystad and Lars Mjøen), in their feuilleton series Brødrene Dal (The Brothers Dale – as in 'valley'), named their three protagonists after the valleys Gausdal, Romsdal, and Brumunddal.

Geography

The valley of Romsdalen, through which the

Trollveggen (Troll Wall), is the tallest vertical cliff in Europe. Norway's most famous hair-pin road is Trollstigen, or "Troll's Trail", which leads to the south out of Åndalsnes to the Norddalsfjorden and Tafjorden.[4][5]

The Rauma river originates in Lesjaskogsvatnet, a lake with outlets at both ends, in the adjacent mountain municipality of Lesja. A dam was constructed by the Lesja Iron Works in the 1660s to improve transportation obstructed the Rauma and caused the water to flow both west to the Rauma and eastward into the river Lågen.[6]

History

Legendary history

According to legend, Romsdal is an eponym after Raum the Old, son of the equally eponymous Nór who appears in Hversu Noregr byggðist as the legendary founder of Norway. Jøtunbjørn the Old was the son of Raum the Old and Bergdis, a giant's daughter. He inherited Raumsdal (modern: Romsdal) from his father, and was himself the father of King Raum, who was the father of Hrossbjörn, who was the father of Orm Broken-shell, who was the father of Knatti, who had two sons: Thórolf and Ketill Raum (in one version, Thórolf and Ketill Raum are sons of Orm). According to legend, among Thórolf's descendants came some of the first settlers of Iceland.[7]

The

king of Dublin. Aud went eventually to Iceland where she began that country's shift to Christianity.[8]

9th century

Before

fiefdom. He is likely to have resided on or nearby the important township of Veøya, Romsdal's Viking Age hub for commerce and communication. The legend says Ragnvald was the one to cut the hair of Harald Fairhair after he became king over all of Norway.[9]

Ragnvald Eysteinsson was the father of several sons. With Ragnhild Rolfsdatter, he had the sons: Tore (Thorir Ragnvaldsson) who inherited the earldom after his father's death and Hrolf Ganger (Hrólfr Ragnvaldsson). Although historians are quite divided its accuracy in this regard, the

Earls of Orkney.[10]

12th century

In 1122, while staying as a guest at the village of

Eystein I was taken ill and died. His body was taken in impressive funeral procession to burial at Nidaros.[11]

At

St. Peter, was constructed over an ancient site of pagan worship.[12]

17th century

During the 1600s, Romsdal market (Romsdalsmarkedet) was opened as a trading center at Devold on the Rauma river upstream from Åndalsnes. The market was moved from Devold to Veblungsnes in 1820. This was an important outlet for the ironworks at Lesja, providing an outlet for their products as well as a source of supplies. Molde later inherited the role as the principal market town for the region.[citation needed]

A Scottish mercenary force landed in Romsdal at Isfjorden on its way to Sweden. The incursion was stopped at the Battle of Kringen.[13]

In the 1658

Trondheim, the Treaty of Copenhagen in 1660 restored that province to Norway. The few months of experience with Swedish taxation and conscription left such a bitter taste that it strengthened Norwegian unity and patriotism, making resistance to Swedish invasions of Norway stronger over the next 80 years.[14]

20th century

After the

British troops landed in Åndalsnes as a part of a pincer movement to retake the key mid-Norwegian city of Trondheim.[15]

See also

References

  1. Store norske leksikon
     (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  2. ^ "Raumabanen" (PDF). Norwegian National Rail Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  3. Store norske leksikon
    (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  4. Store norske leksikon
    (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  5. Store norske leksikon
    (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  6. Store norske leksikon
    (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  7. ^ "Fundinn Noregr". Heimskringla. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  8. Store norske leksikon
    (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  9. Store norske leksikon
    (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  10. Store norske leksikon
    (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  11. Store norske leksikon
    (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  12. ^ "Veøy gamle kirke". Kirken i Molde. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  13. Store norske leksikon
    (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  14. Store norske leksikon
    (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  15. ISBN 9781135273774
    .

62°40′N 7°50′E / 62.667°N 7.833°E / 62.667; 7.833

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