Lesja
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| Missing image Lesja_kart.png Image:Lesja_kart.png | ||
| County | Oppland | |
| Landscape | Gudbrandsdalen | |
| Municipality | NO-0512 | |
| Administrative centre | Lesja | |
| Mayor (2003) | Per Dag Hole (Sp) | |
| Official language form | Neutral | |
| Area - Total - Land - Percentage | Ranked 22 2,259 km² 2,168 km² 0.70 % | |
| Population - Total (2004) - Percentage - Change (10 years) - Density | Ranked 325 2,209 0.05 % -11.7 % 1/km² | |
| Coordinates | Template:Coor dm | |
| www.lesja.kommune.no Data from Statistics Norway (http://www.ssb.no/english/municipalities/0512) | ||
Lesja is a municipality in the county of Oppland, Norway. It is bordered in the north by the municipalities of Nesset, Sunndal and Oppdal, in the east by Dovre, in the south by Vågå and Lom, in the south-west by Skjåk, and to the west by Rauma.
Lesja is highly mountainous, and lies on the east-west watershed draining both east to the Rauma river and west to the Gudbrandsdalslågen river. The largest part (82%) of the community area is over 900 meters (3000 feet) above sea level. The most populated areas lie between 500 and 650 meters (1700 to 2200 feet) along the Gudbrandsdalslågen river and highway E136. The higher elevations serve as summer farms (seter or sæter) for grazing dairy cattle and goats.
Commerce and industry
The community is primarily agricultural. Recent censuses show over 40% of the occupations in the community in farming.
Rail service is provided by the Raumabanen, connecting with the Dovrebanen at Dombås in Dovre and extending to the terminus in Åndalsnes on the Fjord in Møre and Romsdal County.
As Lesja is located in a mountain region, comprising the south portion of the Dovrefjell range, north of Jotunheimen National Park and west of Rondane National Park, tourism and outdoor sports such as skiing are also important.
History
~1015 - Lesja is mentioned in the Heimskringla (The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway) by Snorri Sturluson. The account of King Olaf's (A.D. 1015-1021) conversion of Dale-Gudbrand to christianity is popularly recognized.
1029 – King Olaf's success was short-lived, for in 1029 the Norwegian nobles, seething with discontent, rallied round the invading Knut the Great, and Olaf had to flee. To avoid engaging a fleet of 25 ships, 400 of King Olav’s men and 100 loyal peasant farmers from Romsdal built a road up from the Romsdalfjord to Lesja municipality. Using this road, his men fled across Gudbrandsdal. There he was not warmly received since he had killed King Thorer of Gudbrandsdal, so he went on to Hedmark. From there he proceeded to Sweden and on to Russia. On his return a year later he fell at the Battle of Stiklestad.
1659 to 1812 – Lesjaverk (Lesja Iron Works) was an important Norwegian iron works.
1710 to 1773 - Jakob Bersveinson Klukstad, who was born in Lom but spent most of his career on Klukstad farm in Lesja, was the foremost Norwegian sculptor and painter. His work can still be seen in churches at Lesja, Skjåk and Heidal.
1867 - The Lesja area in the Gudbrandsdalen was source of numerous emigrants to America: “...during the great famine of 1867; a year memorable in the annals of Northern Europe, when, in consequence of an early and heavy frost in summer, the crops were destroyed, and desolation and death spread over vast districts. The lichen and the bark of the birch tree, mixed with a little flour, became the food of the people after the cattle had been eaten up and nothing else was left. The year following a strong tide of emigration set out for America.” (Reference: Du Chaillu)
1940 - After the German invasion of April 1940, while King Haakan and the Norwegian government were moving from Elverum to the west coast, the King and Crown Prince Olaf arrived in Otta on the night of April 13th. The prime minister and his colleagues, who were then in Lesja, were summoned and a communiqué, ending “God save Norway,” and urging resistance to the unprovoked attack was issued. They now intended to relocate to the west coast, but the Germans had dropped paratroopers higher in the Gudbrandsdalen, at Dombås, cutting off the rail route. It was not until the evening of the 21st that the King was able to travel by road from Otta to Lesja on the east-west watershed and then down the narrow Romsdal to Åndalsnes. (Reference: Greve)
References
- East Norway & its Frontier by Frank Noel Stagg, 1956.
- Årsskrift for Lesja historielag, 2000 (in Norwegian)
- The Land Of The Midnight Sun, by Paul B. Du Chaillu; Publisher: George Newnes, Limited; London; 1899. Page 123
- Haakon VII of Norway by Tim Greve and translated by Thomas Kingston Derry, Hippocrene Books, Inc., 1983 ISBN 0-88254-812-3
| Municipalities of Oppland | Missing image Oppland_vapen.png Oppland coat of arms |
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Dovre | Etnedal | Gausdal | Gjøvik | Gran | Jevnaker | Lesja | Lillehammer | Lom | Lunner | Nord-Aurdal | Nord-Fron | Nordre Land | Ringebu | Sel | Skjåk | Søndre Land | Sør-Aurdal | Sør-Fron | Vang | Vestre Slidre | Vestre Toten | Vågå | Østre Toten | Øyer | Øystre Slidre | |