Oppland


Oppland was until 1 January 2020 a county in Norway bordering to the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration was located in Lillehammer.
Oppland was, together with Hedmark, one of the only two landlocked counties of Norway. Oppland and Hedmark counties were merged on 1 January 2020 to become the new county Innlandet.
Innlandet was one of several names proposed for the new administrative region consisting of Hedmark and Oppland. The two counties were re-merged after being split in 1781. Historically, the region was commonly known as "Opplandene".

Geography

Oppland extended from the lakes Mjøsa and Randsfjorden to the mountains Dovrefjell, Jotunheimen and Rondane. The county was conventionally divided into traditional districts. These are the Gudbrandsdalen, Valdres, Toten, Hadeland and Land.
Oppland included the towns Lillehammer, Gjøvik, Otta, and Fagernes, and Norway's two highest mountains, Glittertind and Galdhøpiggen, Valdres and the Gudbrand Valley being popular attractions. The Gudbrand Valley surrounds the river Gudbrandsdalslågen, and includes the udes the area extending from Jotunheimen down to Bagn at Begna River. It is a well known place for skiing and winter sports. The main population centres in this area were Beitostølen and Fagernes. Eight of the ten highest mountains in Norway are located in the western part of Oppland.

Etymology

In Norse times the inner parts of Norway were called Upplǫnd 'the upper countries'. The first element is upp 'upper'. The last element is lǫnd, the plural form of 'land'.
In 1757 the inner parts of the great Akershus amt were separated, and given the name Oplandenes Amt. This was divided in 1781 into Christians Amt and Hedemarkens Amt. The name/form was changed to Kristians Amt in 1877. In 1919 the name Kristians Amt was changed to Opland fylke, and the form Oppland was settled in 1950.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms were granted in 1989, and it shows two Pulsatilla vernalis.

Municipalities

Oppland County has a total of 26 municipalities:

Districts