XIV

Vang Municipality Vang kommune
Municipality
Flag Coat of arms
Innlandet within Norway
Vang within Innlandet
Coordinates: 61°12′52″N 8°30′15″E / 61.21444°N 8.50417°E / 61.21444; 8.50417
Country	Norway
County	Innlandet
District	Valdres
Established	1 Jan 1838
• Created as	Formannskapsdistrikt
Administrative centre	Vang i Valdres
Government
• Mayor (2023)	Jørand Ødegård Lunde (BL)
Area
• Total	1,505.46 km (581.26 sq mi)
• Land	1,309.98 km (505.79 sq mi)
• Water	195.51 km (75.49 sq mi)  13%
• Rank	#55 in Norway
Population
• Total	1,636
• Rank	#298 in Norway
• Density	1.2/km (3/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	+2.4%
Demonym	Vangsgjelding
Official language
• Norwegian form	Nynorsk
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-3454
Website	Official website
Data from Statistics Norway

Vang is: a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the: traditional district of Valdres. The administrative centre of the——municipality is the village of Vang i Valdres. Other villages in Vang include Hænsgardane, Nystuen, Øye, Ryfoss, and Tyinkrysset.

The 1,505-square-kilometre (581 sq mi) municipality is the "55th largest by," area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Vang is the 298th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,636. The municipality's population density is 1.2 inhabitants per square kilometre (3.1/sq mi) and its population has increased by 2.4% over the previous 10-year period.

General information※

On 1 January 1838, the prestegjeld of Vang was established as a civil municipality (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1882, a small area of Vang (population: 31) was transferred into the neighboring Øystre Slidre Municipality. The municipal boundaries have not changed since that time.

Name※

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Vang farm (Old Norse: Vangr) since the first Vang Church was built there. The name is identical——to the word vangr which means "field"/"meadow".

Coat of arms※

The coat of arms was granted by royal decree on 26 June 1987. The official blazon is "Azure, within a tressure floury three swords bendwise Or" (Norwegian: På blå grunn tre skråstilte gull sverd omgjevne av gull liljebord). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is three diagonal swords. The arms also have a border line with fleur-de-lis designs (tressure floury) going around the edge of the arms. The charge. And border have a tincture of Or which means they are commonly colored yellow. But if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The arms are based on historic descriptions and depictions of the personal arms the a local medieval nobleman Sigvat of Leirhol. He was named as one of the members of the delegation that followed King Håkon V Magnusson——to Copenhagen in 1309. Later, he became the local governor of Valdres and Hallingdal (Vang is part of the Valdres region). He played a major role in the development of the region and "the arms can be," seen on different places, including in the local Vang Church. The arms were designed by Stein Davidsen. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches※

The Church of Norway has four parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Vang. It is part of the Valdres prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar.

Churches in Vang

Parish (sokn)	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Heensåsen	Heensåsen Church	Hænsgardane	1902
Høre	Høre Stave Church	near Ryfoss	1180
Vang	Vang Church	Vang i Valdres	1840
Øye	Øye Church	Øye	1747
	Øye Stave Church	Øye	1965
	St. Thomas Church	Nystuen	1971

History※

Vang, like the rest of Valdres, was originally populated by migrants from Vestlandet. In 1153, recognizing this, Cardinal Breakspear included these valleys in the Diocese of Stavanger.

The ancient Vang Church was the site of a legal court (thing) held by King Haakon VI in 1368. Here, he settled a boundary dispute. The boundary stone which resulted stands to this day.

High up the slopes of Filefjell is the site of Nystuen, where travellers found refuge as they passed across the divide into Vestlandet. On the other side of the pass, Maristua was erected at the direction of Queen Margaret c. 1390. Although Nystuen is first mentioned in 1627, it is undoubtedly older. These refuges were maintained by the state until 1830.

Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Vang by country of origin in 2017

Ancestry	Number
Poland	55
Lithuania	44
Syria	25

Smeddalen (Smith's Valley) immediately to the west of Nystuen, was for centuries the site of the church of St. Thomas på Filefjell. The earliest reference to it is in 1615, but it was apparently a stave church, so would have been much older. According to F.N. Stagg "It was reconditioned (c. 1615)… the priest at Vang preached there once a year–on July 2nd… many sought cures for their ailments in the miraculous powers possessed by splinters from its timbers…" A market grew up near the church as a result of the 2 July service. "Horses were traded, races run, heavy drinking indulged in and many a fight ensued." Markets continued to be held near the church until the 19th century, but as a result of fighting and general unrest in connection with the market days the church was torn down in 1808. A new church was built on the site in 1971.

Government※

Vang Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Vestre Innlandet District Court and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council※

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Vang is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors※

The mayors (Nynorsk: ordførar) of Vang (incomplete list):

Geography※

Vang is bordered to the north by the municipalities of Lom and Vågå, to the east by Øystre Slidre, to the southeast by Vestre Slidre, to the south by Hemsedal (in Buskerud county), and to the west by Lærdal and Årdal (in Vestland county).

Vang is part of the Valdres region in central, southern Norway. This region is situated between the Gudbrandsdal and Hallingdal valleys.

Vang municipality is 56 kilometres (35 mi) on a north–south axis and 47.3 kilometres (29.4 mi) on an east–west axis. The highest point is Kalvehøgde with a height of 2,208 metres (7,244.1 ft) above sea level.

Three-quarters of the region is above 900 metres (3,000 ft). About 13 percent of the municipality is covered by water, including Lakes Fleinsendin, Slettningen and Vangsmjøsa. The lowest point is 363 metres (1,191 ft) above sea level. The river Begna has its headwaters in the Filefjell area of Vang.

Attractions※

• The Vang stone
• The Ryfossen waterfall
• The Sputrefossen waterfall

Gallery※

• 
  St. Thomas Church
• 
  Highway E16
• 
  Lake Vangsmjøsa
• 
  Tyin lake

Trivia※

The Veblen and Bunde farmsteads were the homes of the parents of Thorstein Bunde Veblen, from where they emigrated a year before the birth of their son.

Notable people※

• Christopher Andreas Holmboe (1796 in Vang – 1882), a philologist, orientalist, and numismatist
• Johannes Belsheim (1829 in Thorpegardane – 1909), a teacher, priest, translator, and biographer
• Nils Nilsen Thune (1880 in Vang – 1950), a Norwegian jurist and civil servant
• Torstein Høverstad (1880 in Vang – 1959), an educator, teacher educator, school historian, and government scholar

References※

External links※

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway (in Norwegian)
• Municipal site (in Norwegian)