Øystre Slidre


Øystre Slidre is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Valdres. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Heggenes.
The old municipality of Slidre was divided into Øystre Slidre and Vestre Slidre in 1849. The majority of today's residents live in the villages of Heggenes, Rogne, Skammestein, Beito, and Beitostølen.

General information

Name

The municipality is named after the old Slidre farm, since the first church was built here. The name is probably derived from slíðr which means "sheath". The meaning of the name Øystre Slidre is " eastern Slidre"

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted in 1989. The arms show blue and silver tiles made of slate. This recognizes that the slate industry was a formerly important industry in the area. Slate roofing was very common in Valdres.
AncestryNumber
49
47
39

History

Båtskaret is a narrow pass along Bitihorn where in medieval times people from Øystre Slidre dragged their boats through, therefore the name. A bit further into the mountain there is a big lake called Vinstervatnet with a lot of fine trout. As a result of a dispute between people from Valdres and people from Gudbrandsdal, they could not leave their boats behind. Therefore, they had to resort to dragging their boats through Båtskaret. According to local folklore, the dispute began in medieval times with a young bride being married to an old man and a knight stealing his way over the mountains to rescue her.
Hegge Stave Church, at Hegge, was originally constructed in the year 1216 or slightly later. It has been extensively rebuilt and is mostly post-reformation. It contains a fine altarpiece carved by Eistein Kjørn from Heidal between 1781 and 1782.

Geography

Øystre Slidre shares borders with the municipalities of Nord-Aurdal and Vestre Slidre in the south, Vang in the west, Gausdal, Sør-Fron, and Nord-Fron to the east, and up to Valdresflya, at the border of Vågå in the north. Øystre Slidre is part of the traditional district of Valdres in central, southern Norway, situated between the valleys of Gudbrandsdal and Hallingdal. Øystre Slidre is on a north–south axis and on an east–west axis.
The highest point is Øystre Rasletind at a height of above sea level. About 73% of the land is over in elevation. More than 10% of the land is over above sea level. The lowest points lie at above sea level. Lakes and rivers cover of the area. The largest lakes are Vinstri, Yddin, Vangsjøen, Javnin and Olevatn.

Economy

Because of the rugged landscape, farming is only possible on a small scale, but this is still one of the main sources of income. There are only about of agricultural land in the municipality. About 85% of farmers in the municipality use the high mountain pastures in the summer time.
The winter sports resort of Beitostølen, host to World Cup events in biathlon and cross-country skiing, is located here. It is the biggest tourist area in the municipality, and provides a large fraction of the municipality's income.

Notable residents