Lillehammer

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Lillehammer kommune
—  Municipality  —

Coat of arms
Oppland within
Norway
Lillehammer within Oppland
Coordinates: 61°7′48″N 10°25′57″E / 61.13°N 10.4325°E / 61.13; 10.4325Coordinates: 61°7′48″N 10°25′57″E / 61.13°N 10.4325°E / 61.13; 10.4325
Country Norway
County Oppland
District Gudbrandsdal
Administrative centre Lillehammer
Government
 • Mayor (2011) Espen Johnsen (Ap)
Area
 • Total 477 km2 (184 sq mi)
 • Land 450 km2 (170 sq mi)
Area rank 211 in Norway
Population (2011)
 • Total 26,639
 • Rank 33 in Norway
 • Density 56/km2 (150/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years) 5.0 %
Demonym Lillehamring[1]
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-0501
Official language form Bokmål
Website www.lillehammer.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

About this sound Lillehammer (help·info) (literally "Little Hammer") is a town and municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. As of May 2011, the population of the town of Lillehammer was 26,639 . The city centre is a late 19th century concentration of wooden houses, which enjoys a picturesque location overlooking the northern part of lake Mjøsa and the river Lågen, surrounded by mountains. Lillehammer hosted the 1994 Winter Olympics and will host the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics.[2]

Contents

[edit] Name

The municipality is named after the old Hamar farm (Old Norse: Hamarr), since the first church was built there. The word hamar means a "steep rock". In order to distinguish it from the nearby town and the bishopric of Hamar, it was often called Lilþlæ Hamar or Litlihamarr meaning "the small Hamar". It is also mentioned in the Old Norse sagas as Litlikaupangr meaning "the small trading place".[3][4]

[edit] Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms was granted in 1898. The arms show a birkebeiner, carrying a spear and a shield, who is skiing down a mountainside. It symbolizes the historical importance of when the Birkebeiners carried the to-be-King Haakon from Lillehammer to Rena on skis.[5]

[edit] History

The area has been settled since the Norwegian Iron Age. It is also mentioned as a site for council in 1390. It had a lively market by the 1800s, and obtained rights as a merchant city on 7 August 1827, at which point there were 50 registered residents within its boundaries.

The town of Lillehammer was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838.

Further information: formannskapsdistrikt

The rural municipality of Fåberg was merged into the municipality of Lillehammer on 1 January 1964.

Olympic ski jump

Lillehammer was the site of the Lillehammer affair in 1973 where operatives of the Israeli Mossad shot and killed a Moroccan waiter they mistakenly thought was involved in the Munich Massacre.

Lillehammer was host city of the 1994 Winter Olympics. It is known for being a typical venue for winter sporting events. Lillehammer will host the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics.

In 2005, the popular British automotive show Top Gear aired its "Winter Olympics special", an episode of various Olympic event-themed challenges involving cars, set in the surrounding area of Lillehammer.

[edit] Education

A number of schools are located in Lillehammer including the Hammartun Lower Secondary School Lillehammer High School, Mesna High School, Vargstad High School are the three high schools in Lillehammer.

[edit] Geography

Lillehammer is located to the south of the municipality of Øyer, to the southeast of Gausdal, northeast of Nordre Land, and to the north of Gjøvik, all in Oppland county. To the southeast, it is bordered by Ringsaker municipality in Hedmark county. Lillehammer has a relatively dry inland climate. To the northwest is the mountain Spåtind.

[edit] Climate

Climate data for Lillehammer
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) −6
(21)		 −4
(25)		 1
(34)		 6
(43)		 13
(55)		 18
(64)		 19
(66)		 17
(63)		 12
(54)		 7
(45)		 0
(32)		 −4
(25)		 7
(45)
Daily mean °C (°F) −9
(16)		 −7.5
(18.5)		 −3.5
(25.7)		 1.5
(34.7)		 8
(46)		 13
(55)		 14
(57)		 12.5
(54.5)		 8
(46)		 4
(39)		 −3
(27)		 −7
(19)		 4.3
(39.7)
Average low °C (°F) −12
(10)		 −11
(12)		 −8
(18)		 −3
(27)		 3
(37)		 8
(46)		 9
(48)		 8
(46)		 4
(39)		 1
(34)		 −6
(21)		 −10
(14)		 −1.5
(29.3)
Precipitation mm (inches) 46
(1.81)		 35
(1.38)		 40
(1.57)		 37
(1.46)		 58
(2.28)		 77
(3.03)		 89
(3.5)		 90
(3.54)		 86
(3.39)		 85
(3.35)		 68
(2.68)		 50
(1.97)		 761
(29.96)
Avg. precipitation days 16 13 13 11 14 16 18 17 16 16 16 16 182
Source: World Weather Information Service[6]

[edit] Economy

The basis for the city's commerce is its position as the northernmost point of the lake Mjøsa and as the gateway for the Gudbrandsdal region, through which the historical highway to Trondheim passes. The Mesna river has provided the basis for several small industries through the years, but Lillehammer is now all but industry-less.

[edit] Transport

One of the major Norwegian rail lines, the Dovrebanen, runs from Hamar to the north through Lillehammer on its way up the Gudbrandsdal, to terminate in Trondheim.

European route E6 passes through Lillehammer.

[edit] Attractions

Lillehammer Church

In addition to the Olympic site, Lillehammer offers a number of other tourist attractions:

  • The Norwegian Olympic Museum is the only museum in Northern Europe that shows whole the Olympic history from the ancient times and up to today, including all Summer- and Wintergames. The museum also houses the Norwegian Sports Hall of Fame and a special section about the Lillehammer `94 Olympic Wintergames. The museum is located in the Håkons Hall.
  • The art museum, "Flygelet" -> "The Grand Piano"
  • Sjusjøen is a skiing destination with forest and mountain terrain only 20 km away (east) from the centre of Lillehammer in the municipality of Ringsaker.
  • Nansen Academy - the Norwegian Humanistic Academy - The Nansen Academy is an educational institution for adult students with different political, religious and cultural backgrounds. The Academy is founded on the inheritance of humanism and aims at strengthening the knowledge about this inheritance.

[edit] Sport

[edit] Sportclubs in Lillehammer

[edit] Notable residents

  • Sigrid Undset lived in Lillehammer at her home "Bjerkebæk" from 1919 through 1940. She brought her children with her for a short rest, planning on returning to Oslo. However, she chose to remain in Lillehammer. She wrote her most famous works there: the three-volume Kristin Lavransdatter, the six-volume Sverkholt tales, and the four-volume Olav Audunssønn. In 1940, because she had expressed strong anti-Nazi sentiments since the early 1930s, she fled Lillehammer before the invading German army reached the town. She returned to Lillehammer after the war and died there in 1949. She is buried at the cemetery in Mesnali, a nearby village.
  • Toki Wartooth, rhythm guitar player for the fictional death metal band Dethklok was raised in a nearby abandoned village.

[edit] In Popular Culture

The Netflix orginal series, Lilyhammer takes place in Lillehammer. The show stars Steven Van Zandt who plays Giovanni "Johnny" Henriksen, a New York mobster who moves to Lillehammer after being inspired by the 1994 Winter Olympics.

[edit] International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Norway

[edit] Twin towns — Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Lillehammer:[7]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Personnemningar til stadnamn i Noreg" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. http://www.sprakrad.no/nb-no/Sprakhjelp/Rettskrivning_Ordboeker/Innbyggjarnamn/. 
  2. ^ Lillehammer awarded 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games
  3. ^ Rygh, Oluf (1900). Norske gaardnavne: Kristians amt (4 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. pp. 219. http://books.google.com/books?id=DohBAAAAIAAJ.  (Norwegian)
  4. ^ "Lillehammers historie". Lillehammer kommune. http://www.lillehammer.kommune.no/omkommunen/34585/27077:. Retrieved 2009-01-04.  (Norwegian)
  5. ^ "Historiske Linjer". National Archives of Norway. http://www.arkivverket.no/webfelles/kommunevaapen/h_linjer.html. Retrieved 2009-01-04.  (Norwegian)
  6. ^ "Weather Information for Lillehammer". World Weather Information Service. http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/index.php?destination=lillehammer. Retrieved 19 September 2009. 
  7. ^ "Lillehammers vennskapsbyer" (Microsoft Word). Lillehammer kommune. http://www.lillehammer.kommune.no/files/71639/. Retrieved 2009-01-04.  (Norwegian)

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lillehammer
Look up Lillehammer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Summer Youth Olympics
2010: Singapore • 2014: Nanjing • 2018: TBD
Winter Youth Olympics
2012: Innsbruck • 2016: Lillehammer
Sport in Lillehammer
Clubs
Venues
Events
as of 2009, according to Statistics Norway [1]
1. Oslo 876,400
2. Bergen 227,800
3. Stavanger / Sandnes 189,800
4. Trondheim 157,100
5. Fredrikstad / S'borg1 101,700
6. Drammen 96,600
7. Skien / Porsgrunn 86,900
8. Kristiansand 67,500
9. Tromsø 55,100
10. Tønsberg 47,500
11. Ålesund 46,500
12. Haugesund 42,900
13. Moss 41,700
14. Sandefjord 40,800
15. Bodø 36,500
16. Arendal 32,400
17. Hamar 30,000
18. Larvik 23,900
19. Halden 23,000
20. Lillehammer 20,100
21. Harstad 19,500
22. Molde 19,400
23. Kongsberg 18,800
24. Gjøvik 18,700
25. Askøy 18,300
26. Horten 18,200
27. Mo i Rana 17,900
28. Kristiansund 17,000
29. Jessheim 15,300
30. Hønefoss 14,300
31. Narvik 13,900
32. Alta 13,600
33. Elverum 13,500
34. Askim 13,100
35. Ski 12,900
36. Drøbak 12,400
37. Nesoddtangen 11,600
38. Steinkjer 11,500
39. Leirvik 11,400
40. Vennesla 11,400
41. Kongsvinger 11,400
42. Stjørdalshalsen 10,800
1 Sarpsborg.
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