Ål

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Ål kommune
—  Municipality  —

Coat of arms

Buskerud within
Norway
Ål within Buskerud
Coordinates (city): 60°40′32″N 8°34′37″E / 60.67556°N 8.57694°E / 60.67556; 8.57694Coordinates: 60°40′32″N 8°34′37″E / 60.67556°N 8.57694°E / 60.67556; 8.57694
Country Norway
County Buskerud
District Hallingdal
Municipality ID NO-0619
Administrative centre Ål
Government
 - Mayor (2003) Torleif T. Dalseide (V)
Area (Nr. 85 in Norway)
 - Total 1,171 km2 (452.1 sq mi)
 - Land 1,081 km2 (417.4 sq mi)
Population (2004)
 - Total 4,656
 - Density 4/km2 (10.4/sq mi)
 - Change (10 years) -3.6 %
 - Rank in Norway 207
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Official language form Nynorsk
Norwegian demonym Åling[1]
Website www.aal.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Ål is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hallingdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ål.

The parish of Aal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The area of Hol was separated from the municipality of Aal in 1877 to become a separate municipality.

Contents

[edit] General information

[edit] Name

The Old Norse form of the name was Áll. The name is identical with the word áll which means "ditch" or "gully". In 1921, the spelling of the name was changed from "Aal" to "Ål".[2]

[edit] Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 30 November 1984. The arms show three silver diamond shapes in a vertical line on a red background. The designs are taken from an old and common pattern used in hand-woven tapestries in the area. They also symbolize the three churches in the municipality: Ål, Torpo, and Leveld.[3][4]

[edit] Attractions

  • The Torpo stave church (built around 1190 - 1200) is located in Torpo
  • Ål Bygdamuseum is built around the old Leksvol farm, and is very typical for the area. The buildings go back to the 17th century. In later years the museum have made additional installments, Øvre tunet, Stølen, and Husmannsplassen were a stone cottage is reconstructed, similar to those used in the mountain sæter.


[edit] Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Ål:[5]

[edit] References

[edit] External links