Øyer

Template:Short description Template:Infobox kommune

Øyer is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tingberg. The two largest villages in the municipality are Granrudmoen and Tretten.

The Template:Convert municipality is the 182nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Øyer is the 180th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 5,161. The municipality's population density is Template:Convert and its population has increased by 1.2% over the previous 10-year period.<ref name="ssb pop">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ssb area">Template:Cite web</ref>

General information

File:Øyer rådhus.JPG

Øyer town hall.

File:Fredrik Borgen - Høstvæte, Hov i Øyer, Gudbrandsdalen - Nasjonalmuseet - NG.M.00532.jpg

Painting of the Hov farm in Øyer by Fredrik Borgen (1895)

The parish of Øier (later spelled Øyer) was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1867, a small area of Øier (population: 40) was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Gausdal. The borders of Øyer have not changed since that time.<ref name="Dag">Template:Cite web</ref>

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Øier farm (Template:Langx / accusative case and dative case) since the first Øyer Church had been located there for centuries. The name comes from the word Template:Lang (nominative case). Two lakes in Norway had the name Template:Lang in Old Norse times (now called Øymark and Øyeren), and these names are derived from the word Template:Wikt-lang which means "flat and fertile land along the edge of the water". This name is probably given to this area because the Gudbrandsdalslågen river widens out in the central part of the municipality and creates two river-lakes (called the Jemnefjorden and Gildbusfjorden). Template:Lang was probably the old name of one (or both) of these "fjords".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Øier. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Øyer.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Coat of arms

File:HegdA07693x (3).jpg

View of a hegd which is the basis for the coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 29 April 1983. The official blazon is "Vert, a wooden staple argent" (Template:Langx). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is a wooden staple Template:Langx or Template:Lang). The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. This is a type of ring or staple that was historically made of wood and it was used to fasten a tree trunk to a rope in order to haul it over the land. Similar devices were used all over Norway, but this particular shape is typical for this area. The arms were designed by Ola T. Rybakken. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms, but the staple design is off-center on the flag.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Om">Template:Cite web</ref> Template:See also-text

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes (Template:Lang) within the municipality of Øyer. It is part of the Sør-Gudbrandsdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar.

**Churches in Øyer**
Parish (Template:Lang)	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Tretten	Tretten Church	Tretten	1728
Øyer	Øyer Church	Tingberg	1725

History

The Black Death reached Norway in the winter of 1349-1350. Øyer was one of the parishes that was most severely impacted. Estimates based on tax payments suggest that between 66 and 75% of all residents died. Many of the farms there became deserted farms (Template:Lang), which remained vacant until the late 17th century. The Tretten Church parish (which had been a separate parish from Øyer) was merged with the Øyer Church parish after the Black Death, because the decimated population of Tretten no longer could maintain their own priest.

Economy

Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Øyer by country of origin in 2017<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Ancestry	Number
Template:Flag	71
Template:Flag	60
Template:Flag	55
Template:Flag	52
Template:Flag	32

Øyer has traditionally been a farming and logging municipality.

Recreation is increasingly important economically. Since it opened in 1989, Øyer's Hafjell Alpine Ski Center has grown to include 15 lifts (with an additional in construction) and 28 runs as well as extensive cross-country skiing runs. It is located about Template:Convert from the town of Lillehammer, making it very accessible to a larger population. Tobogganing, luge, and bobsled racing (on the 1994 Olympic course) are also found in the area.

Government

Øyer Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.<ref name="ks">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Vestre Innlandet District Court and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

Mayors

Template:Incomplete list The mayors (Template:Langx) of Øyer (incomplete list): Template:Div col

1838-1854: Amund Tande
1884-1886: Ole Moe<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1897-1901: Ole Torgersen Gillebo (V)<ref name="ØH">Template:Cite web</ref>
1902-1910: Christian Mageli<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1911-1916: Ole Torgersen Gillebo (V)<ref name="ØH" />
1917-1919: Kristian Bjørnstad<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1920-1922: M. Lunke (Bp)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1923-1925: Ole Torgersen Gillebo (V)<ref name="ØH" />
1926-1931: O. Hageløkken (AD)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1932-1934: John Vedum (Bp)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1935-1941: Tor Mageli (Bp)
1945-1946: Tor Mageli (Bp)
1946-1947: Ole Hageløkken (V)
1948-1955: Erl. Skjønsberg (Bp)
1956-1959: Einar Bræin (V)
1960-1975: Lars Bjerke (Sp)
1976-1979: Geir Korslund (Ap)
1980-1983: Einar Moe (Sp)
1984-1987: Arne Bueie (Ap)
1988–1995: Ola Prestegarden (Sp)
1996-1999: Rigmor Aarø Spiten (Sp)
1999-2007: Ole Hageløkken (Ap)
2007-2015: Mari Botterud (H)
2015–2019: Brit Kramprud Lundgård (Ap)
2019–2023: Jon Halvor Midtmageli (Sp)
2023-present: Anne Marie Sveipe (H)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Template:Div col end

Geography

Øyer municipality is bordered by Ringebu Municipality to the north, Stor-Elvdal Municipality to the east, Ringsaker Municipality to the southeast, Lillehammer Municipality to the south, and Gausdal Municipality to the west. The municipality is divided into two parishes: Øyer in the south and Tretten in the north.

The municipality is located in the Gudbrandsdal valley, through which the Gudbrandsdalslågen river flows. The lake Losna is partially located in the municipality.

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Notable people

File:Frost - Satyricon (2017).jpg

Kjetil Haraldstad, 2017

Anders Lysgaard (1756 in Tretten – 1827), a farmer, sheriff, and representative at the Norwegian Constituent Assembly
Johannes Skar (1837 in Øyer - 1914), a Norwegian educator and folklorist
Matias Skard (1846 at Øyer - 1927), a philologist, educator, psalmist, and essayist
Anton Kraabel (1862 in Øyer – 1934), the 11th Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota in the USA
Simon Johnson (1874 in Øyer – 1970), a Norwegian-American newspaper editor and author
Ottar Grepstad (born 1953 in Øyer), a Norwegian Nynorsk writer
Kjetil-Vidar Haraldstad (born 1973 in Øyer), a drummer in black metal bands Satyricon and 1349

Sport

Ole Stenen (1903 in Øyer – 1975), a Nordic skier and silver medallist at the 1932 Winter Olympics
Erling Jevne (born 1966), a skier who was a team gold and silver medallist at the 1998 Winter Olympics
Roger Hjelmstadstuen (born 1979 in Øyer), a retired snowboarder who competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics
Aleksander Melås (born 1998 in Øyer), a retired Norwegian luger