Editing Hjartdal (section)

==General information==
The [[List of municipalities of Norway|municipality]] of ''Hierdal'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see [[formannskapsdistrikt]]). In 1860, the Gransherad area of eastern Hjartdal (population: 1,310) was separated to become part of the new [[Gransherad Municipality]]. Also in 1860, the [[administrative centre]] of the municipality was moved from [[Hjartdalsbygda]] to [[Sauland]]. On 23 January 1905, a small, unpopulated area of Hjartdal was transferred to the neighboring [[Seljord Municipality]].<ref name="Dag">{{Cite web |last=Jukvam |first=Dag |year=1999 |title=Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen |url=http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/90/rapp_9913/rapp_9913.pdf |publisher=[[Statistics Norway|Statistisk sentralbyrå]] |language=no |isbn=9788253746845}}</ref>

===Name===
The municipality (originally the [[prestegjeld|parish]]) is named after the valley name, Hjartdalen ({{langx|non|Hjartdalr}}) since the first [[Hjartdal Church]] was built there. The first element is the old name for the local river [[Hjartdøla]]. The old river name is likely derived from the word {{wikt-lang|non|hjǫrtr}} which means "[[red deer]]". The last element is {{wikt-lang|non|dalr}} which means "[[valley]]" or "dale". Prior to the 20th century, the name was often spelled ''Hierdal'', a [[Corruption (linguistic)|corruption]] of the original name. In the 20th century, the spelling was standardized to ''Hjartdal'', bringing back more of the original spelling.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rygh |first=Oluf |url=https://www.nb.no/items/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2006120600018 |title=Norske gaardnavne: Bratsbergs amt |date=1914 |publisher=W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri |edition=7 |location=Kristiania, Norge |pages=297–298 |language=no |authorlink=Oluf Rygh}}</ref>

===Coat of arms===
The [[coat of arms]] was granted on 17 February 1989. The official [[blazon]] is ''"[[Vert (heraldry)|Vert]], a deer [[statant|at bay]] [[argent]]"'' ({{langx|no|På grøn grunn ein ståande sølv hjort}}). This means the arms have a green [[field (heraldry)|field]] (background) and the [[charge (heraldry)|charge]] is a [[red deer]] (''Cervus elaphus'') standing [[statant|at bay]]. The deer has a [[tincture (heraldry)|tincture]] of [[argent]] which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. They are [[canting arms]] because the name of the municipality is derived from the word for deer, a common animal in the rural municipality. The color green was chosen to represent the forests in the area. The arms were designed by Svein G. Carlsen. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen |url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Hjartdal |access-date=2023-08-16 |publisher=Heraldry of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Hjartdal, Telemark (Norway) |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/no-08-27.html |access-date=2023-08-16 |website=Flags of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1989-04-14 |title=Godkjenning av våpen og flagg |url=https://lovdata.no/dokument/LF/forskrift/1989-02-17-116 |access-date=2023-08-16 |website=Lovdata.no |publisher=Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet |language=no}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Hjartdal kommune, våpen |url=https://foto.digitalarkivet.no/fotoweb/archives/5003-Kommunev%C3%A5pen/Kart%20og%20tegninger%20og%20segl/he10081205030402.tif.info#c=%2Ffotoweb%2Farchives%2F5003-Kommunev%25C3%25A5pen%2F%3Fq%3Dhjartdal |access-date=2023-08-16 |website=Digitalarkivet |publisher=Arkivverket |language=no}}</ref> {{See also|Coat of arms of Gjemnes|Coat of arms of Hitra|Coat of arms of Voss}}

===Churches===
The [[Church of Norway]] has one parish ({{lang|no|sokn}}) within the municipality of Hjartdal. It is part of the [[Øvre Telemark prosti]] ([[deanery]]) in the [[Diocese of Agder og Telemark]].

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ style="font-size:medium"|'''''Churches in Hjartdal'''''
!Parish ({{lang|no|sokn}})!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built
|-
|rowspan="3"|Hjartdal||[[Hjartdal Church]]||[[Hjartdalsbygda]]||1809
|-
|[[Sauland Church]]||[[Sauland]]||1863
|-
|[[Tuddal Church]]||[[Tuddal]]||1796
|}