Gjøvik

Gjøvik kommune
—  Municipality  —
Coat of arms Oppland within Norway
Gjøvik within Oppland
Coordinates: 60°52′44″N 10°31′19″E
Country	Norway
County	Oppland
District	Toten
Administrative centre	Gjøvik
Government
• Mayor (2005)	Bjørn Iddberg (Ap)
Area
• Total	672 km2 (259 sq mi)
• Land	630 km2 (240 sq mi)
Area rank	165 in Norway
Population (2010)
• Total	28,807
• Rank	28 in Norway
• Density	44/km2 (110/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	2.8 %
Demonym	Gjøvikenser Gjøvikensar
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code	NO-0502
Official language form	Bokmål
Website	www.gjovik.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

 Gjøvik is a town and a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Gjøvik.

In 1861, the village of Gjøvik in the municipality of Vardal was granted town status and was separated from Vardal to form a separate municipality. On 1 January 1964, the neighboring rural municipalities of Biri, Snertingdal, and Vardal were all merged into the municipality of Gjøvik.

General information

Name

The town is named after the old Gjøvik farm (Old Norse: Djúpvík) since the town is built on its ground. The first element is djúpr which means "deep" and the last element is vík which means "inlet".

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 2 September 1960. The arms show a white swan (Cygnus cygnus). The boat, Skibladner (also called "the white swan of Mjøsa") has its home harbour in Gjøvik.

The former coat-of-arms, adopted in 1922, was a linden tree, with the statement Vis et voluntas (meaning "Force and will") on the lower part of the shield. The runner up to the somewhat irrational choice of a swan was a so called "potpourri" vase, the most significant design of the glassworks that was the funding industry of the town.

See also: Coats-of-arms of Eide and Høylandet

Geography

Gjøvik is one of the three towns bordering on Lake Mjøsa, Norway's biggest lake, along with Hamar and Lillehammer. The town administration of Gjøvik also covers the rural districts of Biri, Snertingdal, and Vardal. The municipal population is 28,807 (2010). About 16,000 people live in the urban area proper.

Gjøvik is bordered on the north by Lillehammer municipality, in the south by Østre Toten and Vestre Toten, and in the west by Søndre Land and Nordre Land. Across Lake Mjøsa to the east lies Ringsaker municipality in Hedmark county.

The highest point is Ringsrudåsen with a height of 842 metres (2,762 ft).

Gjøvik panorama

Economy

Gjøvik owes much of its early growth to a glassworks, which was established there in 1807. In the early 19th century, there was considerable immigration there from Valdres and Vestlandet, aiding Gjøvik’s growth. It was granted a town charter in 1864. Later, O. Mustad & Son became one of the world's largest manufacturers of fish hooks.

Today, it is the center of regional trade, industry, agriculture, services, and education. Gjøvik University College specializes in information security, engineering and medical services. Gstud is the local student organization at the university college.

Gjøvik is the northern terminus for the Gjøvikbanen railway line.

The local paper is the Oppland Arbeiderblad.

In June 2011, Bryan Adams held a concert at the town's outdoor public soccer arena. It is one of two big concerts held in Gjøvik's history, the other being Toto.

Attractions

Park at the Gjøvik farm

• The world’s largest arena excavated in rock can be found in Gjøvik.
• The Gjøvik Olympic Hall (Norwegian: Fjellhallen), was one of the sites of the Lillehammer Winter Olympics ice hockey games in 1994.
• Gjøvik farm
• Gjøvik glassworks
• Eiktunet cultural-history museum
• The world's oldest paddle steamer still on a regular schedule, the PS Skibladner

Notable residents

• Eldar Vågan, head of comedic rockabilly band Vazelina Bilopphøggers
• Paul Olaf Bodding (1865–1938), missionary to India
• Kjell Ola Dahl (born 1958), author
• Gro Hammerseng (born 1980), handball player
• Harold Harby (1894–1978), Los Angeles, California, City Council member, born in Gjøvik

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Norway

Twin towns — sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Gjøvik:

• - Álftanes, Greater Reykjavík Area, Iceland
• - Gävle, Gävleborg County, Sweden
• - Næstved, Region Sjælland, Denmark
• - Rauma, Länsi-Suomi, Finland
• - Stoughton, Wisconsin, United States

External links

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
• Oppland travel guide from Wikitravel
• Tourist information
• Gjøvik University College
• Gstud - Student society in Gjøvik
• GSR: Gjøvik Student Radio – Online radio voluntarily run by Gstud