Lillehammer

Lillehammer kommune
Municipality
Lillehammer
Coat of arms Oppland within Norway
Lillehammer within Oppland
Coordinates: 61°7′N 10°28′E / 61.117°N 10.467°E / 61.117; 10.467Coordinates: 61°7′N 10°28′E / 61.117°N 10.467°E / 61.117; 10.467
Country	Norway
County	Oppland
District	Gudbrandsdal
Administrative centre	Lillehammer
Government
• Mayor (2012)	Espen Johnsen
Area
• Total	477 km2 (184 sq mi)
• Land	450 km2 (170 sq mi)
Area rank	211 in Norway
Population (2016)
• Total	27,476
• Rank	33 in Norway
• Density	56/km2 (150/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	5.0 %
Demonym(s)	Lillehamring[1]
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code	NO-0501
Official language form	Bokmål
Website	lillehammer.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Lillehammer (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈlɪl̥əhɔmɔr]) 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 2016 Winter Youth Olympics.^[2] Before Oslo's withdrawal from consideration, it was included as part of a bid to host events in the 2022 Winter Olympics if Oslo were to win the rights to hold the Games.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) was named after the old Hamar (Norse Hamarr) farm, since the first church was built there. The name is identical with the word hamarr (rocky hill). To distinguish it from the nearby town and bishopric, both called Hamar, it began to be called "little Hamar": Lilþlæ Hamar and Litlihamarr, and finally Lillehammer. It is also mentioned in the Old Norse sagas as Litlikaupangr ("Little Trading Place").^[3][4]

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms was granted in 1898 and shows 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]

History

Lillehammer Church

The area has been settled since the Norwegian Iron Age; it is also mentioned as a site for council in 1390. Lillehammer 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.

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

Lillehammer was the site of the Lillehammer affair in 1973, wherein operatives of the Israeli Mossad shot and killed a Moroccan waiter they mistakenly thought was Ali Hassan Salameh, who was involved in the Munich Massacre.

Lillehammer is known as a typical venue for winter sporting events; it was host city of the 1994 Winter Olympics, and the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics, and was part of a joint bid with applicant host city Oslo to host events part of the 2022 Winter Olympics until Oslo withdrew its bid on 1 October 2014.

Education

A number of schools are located in Lillehammer including the Hammartun Lower Secondary School. Lillehammer High School, Mesna High School and Vargstad High School are the three public high schools in Lillehammer, in addition to the private Norges Toppidrettsgymnas. Lillehammer University College is situated just north of the town itself.

Lillehammer is also the home of the Nansen Academy - the Norwegian Humanistic Academy. The Nansen Academy is an educational institution for adult students with varied political, religious, and cultural backgrounds. The Academy was founded on the core principles of humanism and aims at strengthening the knowledge of these principles.

The 14th World Scout Jamboree was held from July 29 to August 7, 1975 and was hosted by Norway at Lillehammer.

Geography

Lillehammer is situated in the lower part of Gudbrandsdal, at the northern head of lake Mjøsa, and 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. To the northwest is the mountain Spåtind.

Climate

By Norwegian standards, Lillehammer has an inland climate, with the Scandinavian mountain chain to the west and north limiting oceanic influences. The record high of 34 °C was recorded in June 1970. The record low of -31 °C was recorded in December 1978 and Januar 1979, and the same low was recorded in January 1987. Recent decades have seen warming. There have been no overnight air frost in August since 1978, and the coldest recorded temperature after 2000 is -26.2 °C in January 2010. The current weather station Lillehammer-Sætherengen became operational in 1982; extremes are also from two earlier weather stations in Lillehammer.

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.

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.

Attractions

Storgata shopping area

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

• Maihaugen, centrally located in Lillehammer, is the largest open-air museum in Norway, with 185 buildings, mostly from Lillehammer and the valley of Gudbrandsdalen.
• Garmo stave church (built around 1150)
• 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 indoor museum at Maihaugen.
• Lillehammer Art Museum
• Hafjell (Ski resort 15 km (9 mi) from Lillehammer, host of slalom and super-G in the Olympic games 1994)
• Kvitfjell (Ski resort 55 km (34 mi) from Lillehammer, host of downhill in the Olympic games 1994)
• The art museum, "Flygelet" -> "The Grand Piano"
• The PS Skibladner is the world's oldest paddle steamer in scheduled service, launched in 1856. Summer sailings around lake Mjøsa: Lillehammer, Moelv, Gjøvik, Hamar, and Eidsvoll.
• The ski jump at Lysgårdsbakkene.
• Sjusjøen is a skiing destination with forest and mountain terrain only 20 kilometres (12 miles) away (east) from the centre of Lillehammer in the municipality of Ringsaker.
• The Sambandets Utdanning og Kompetansesenter is an army unit located in the camp Jørstadmoen 3–4 km (2–2 miles) northwest of Lillehammer.
• The rock carvings at Drotten, Fåberg, west of Gudbrandsdalslågen about 1.5 km (0.9 mi) above Brunlaug bridge.

The official tourist information for the Lillehammer-region provides more information about activities and attractions in the region

Sport

Olympic ski jump

Sports clubs

• Lillehammer Ishockeyklubb (The team competes in Norway's major hockey league, the GET-League.)
• Lillehammer Orienteringsklubb
• Lillehammer Skiklubb
• Lillehammer Fotballklubb
• Roterud Idrettslag

Notable residents

• Atle Antonsen, a Norwegian comic and actor, was born in Lillehammer.
• 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 but 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.

In popular culture

• The Norwegian-American Netflix Original series Lilyhammer takes place in Lillehammer. The show stars Steven Van Zandt, who plays Frank "the Fixer" Tagliano, a New York mobster who moves to Lillehammer through the U.S. Witness Protection Program after being inspired by the 1994 Winter Olympics to relocate to Norway.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Lillehammer:^[8]

• - Autrans, Isère, France
• - Sarajevo, Sarajevo Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• - Hayward, Wisconsin, United States
• - Hørsholm, Region Hovedstaden, Denmark
• - Leksand, Dalarna County, Sweden
• - Oberhof, Thuringia, Germany
• - Oulainen, Oulu Province, Finland
• - Shiozawa, Niigata Prefecture, Japan

Lillehammer has also friendly connections with

• - Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
• - Minakami, Gunma Prefecture, Japan
• - Bujanovac, Serbia
• - Radviliškis, Lithuania^[9]

See also

• European Youth Parliament
• Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2004

References

External links

Look up lillehammer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lillehammer.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Lillehammer.

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
• Oppland travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Lillehammer Tourist Office
• Gudbrandsdalen Region
• Hafjell ski resort 20 km (12 mi) north from Lillehammer
• Kvitfjell ski resort 55 km (34 mi) north from Lillehammer
• Lillehammer University College
• Lillehammer Icehockey Club (Norwegian)
• Olympic Park in Lillehammer
• Pictures from the Olympic games in 1994¨
• Norwegian Olympic Museum

Municipalities of Oppland
Gudbrand Valley Midtdalen Nord-Fron Sør-Fron Ringebu Norddalen Dovre Lesja Lom Sel Skjåk Vågå Sørdalen Gausdal Lillehammer Øyer Valdres Nord-Aurdal Sør-Aurdal Etnedal Vestre Slidre Øystre Slidre Vang Vest- Oppland Gjøvik Hadeland Gran Lunner Jevnaker Land Nordre Søndre Toten Østre Vestre

Most populous urban areas of Norway
As of 1 January 2014, according to Statistics Norway
1. Oslo 942,084 2. Bergen 251,281 3. Stavanger/Sandnes 207,439 4. Trondheim 172,226 5. Drammen 112,123 6. Fredrikstad/Sarpsborg 107,920 7. Porsgrunn/Skien 91,349 8. Kristiansand 59,681 9. Tønsberg 50,372 10. Ålesund 50,345 11. Moss 45,017 12. Sandefjord 42,345 13. Arendal 42,145 14. Haugesund 40,631 15. Bodø 39,384 16. Tromsø 33,319 17. Hamar 26,232 18. Halden 24,707 19. Larvik 23,579 20. Askøy 21,911 21. Kongsberg 20,670 22. Harstad 20,533 23. Molde 20,327 24. Horten 20,036 25. Gjøvik 19,604 26. Lillehammer 19,586 27. Mo i Rana 18,592 28. Kristiansund 18,300 29. Korsvik 16,385 30. Tromsdalen 16,271 31. Jessheim 15,966 32. Hønefoss 15,154 33. Ski 14,446 34. Alta 14,430 35. Elverum 14,326 36. Narvik 14,202 37. Askim 13,822 38. Leirvik 13,717 39. Drøbak 13,445 40. Nesoddtangen 12,428 41. Osøyro 12,296 42. Vennesla 12,242 43. Steinkjer 12,224 44. Grimstad 12,172 45. Arna 11,960 46. Kongsvinger 11,938 47. Råholt 11,828 48. Stjørdalshalsen 11,453