Eidskog
Encyclopedia
Eidskog is a municipality
in Hedmark
county
, Norway
. It is part of the traditional region
of Glåmdal
. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skotterud
. Eidskog was separated from the municipality of Vinger
in 1864.
The municipality is located at the southern end of Hedmark county. It is bordered to the north by the municipality of Kongsvinger
and in the west by Aurskog-Høland
, Nes
og Sør-Odal
. Eidskog borders on Sweden
, both to the east and south.
form of the name was Eiðaskógr. The first element is the plural
genitive case
of eið which means "path between two lakes". The last element is skógr which means "wood
s". Thus "the woods with the many eiðs". (In old times people travelled in small boats on the lakes and the rivers, but they had to drag the boats over the eids.)
is from modern times. They were granted on 12 September 1986. The arms show a gray background with a Black Grouse
, a common inhabitant of the many forest
s in the municipality. Forestry
is also one of the main sources of income in the area.
in Norway and Arvika
in Sweden. Eskoleia
, the route through Eidskog, was (and continues to be in the form of Riksvei
2) one of the most important traffic arteries between Norway and Sweden. The name was already in use during the saga
period and became, after the canonization
of Saint Olaf
and important pilgrim’s route from Europe
to Nidaros
. At Midtskog , today called Matrand, a stave church
was raised in the 12th century. Today, Eidskog church is built on the same site and was constructed in 1665.
The way through Eidskog was also militarily important and many times through history has been the point of Swedish strikes into Hedmark. To defend against these assaults, a number of fortifications were built in the vicinity, including ones at Magnor
and Matrand, but the chief fortification was Kongsvinger Fortress
.
The last Swedish attack through Eidskog was in 1814 when Major General
Carl Pontus Gahn
on July 31 crossed the border and marched against Kongsvinger. His forces were stopped at Lier outside Kongsvinger on August 2 by troops led by Lieutenant Colonel
Andreas Samuel Krebs (1769-1818) and retreated to Eidskog. On August 4, Krebs followed after to drive Swedish troops off Norwegian territory. The two forces met in the Battle of Matrand
which was the bloodiest battle of the war and ended with a Norwegian victory.
Later in 1814, Norway was joined in union with Sweden and the confrontations at the Eidskog border ended.
The Soot Canal
, constructed in 1849, has Norway's oldest sluice
gates. It was the work of Engebret Soot
(1786–1859). It was built to allow timber to be transported (floated) to the Halden
sawmill
s. The canal was 1.5 kilometre (0.93205910497471 mi) long and had 16 locks
which extended from Lake Skjervangen
at 185 metres (607 ft) above sea level up to Lake Mortsjølungen at 201 metres (659 ft) above sea level.
The route through Eidskog became an important connection between the two countries; this was strengthened with the opening of the Grenseban railway in 1862, which connected Christiania
to Stockholm
.
Eidskog became an independent municipality in 1864 when it was separated from Vinger municipality. The new municipality then had 6,920 inhabitants.
Municipalities of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...
in Hedmark
Hedmark
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Akershus. The county administration is in Hamar.Hedmark makes up the northeastern part of Østlandet, the southeastern part of the country. It includes a long part of the borderline with Sweden, Dalarna County and Värmland County. The...
county
Counties of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. It is part of the traditional region
Districts of Norway
The country Norway is historically divided into a number of districts. Many districts have deep historical roots, and only partially coincide with today's administrative units of counties and municipalities. The districts are defined by geographical features, often valleys, mountain ranges, fjords,...
of Glåmdal
Glåmdal
Glåmdalen is a traditional district in Hedmark county in Eastern Norway. It comprises the municipalities of Eidskog and Kongsvinger. The regional center is the city of Kongsvinger...
. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skotterud
Skotterud
Skotterud is the administrative centre of Eidskog municipality, Norway. Its population is 1,361....
. Eidskog was separated from the municipality of Vinger
Vinger
Vinger is a traditional district and a parish as well as being a former municipality in Kongsvinger in Hedmark, Norway.The parish of Vinger was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 ....
in 1864.
The municipality is located at the southern end of Hedmark county. It is bordered to the north by the municipality of Kongsvinger
Kongsvinger
is a town and is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger....
and in the west by Aurskog-Høland
Aurskog-Høland
Aurskog-Høland is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bjørkelangen.- Name :...
, Nes
Nes, Akershus
Nes is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Årnes.-Name:...
og Sør-Odal
Sør-Odal
Sør-Odal is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Odalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skarnes....
. Eidskog borders on Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, both to the east and south.
Name
The Old NorseOld Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
form of the name was Eiðaskógr. The first element is the plural
Plural
In linguistics, plurality or [a] plural is a concept of quantity representing a value of more-than-one. Typically applied to nouns, a plural word or marker is used to distinguish a value other than the default quantity of a noun, which is typically one...
genitive case
Genitive case
In grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...
of eið which means "path between two lakes". The last element is skógr which means "wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
s". Thus "the woods with the many eiðs". (In old times people travelled in small boats on the lakes and the rivers, but they had to drag the boats over the eids.)
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-armsCoat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
is from modern times. They were granted on 12 September 1986. The arms show a gray background with a Black Grouse
Black Grouse
The Black Grouse or Blackgame is a large bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, breeding across northern Eurasia in moorland and bog areas near to woodland, mostly boreal...
, a common inhabitant of the many forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s in the municipality. Forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
is also one of the main sources of income in the area.
History
The name Eidskog is ancient and was used for the region between today’s KongsvingerKongsvinger
is a town and is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger....
in Norway and Arvika
Arvika
Arvika is a locality and the seat of Arvika Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden with 14,184 inhabitants in 2005.-Geography:The town of Arvika is situated at Kyrkviken, a bay of Glafsfjorden, Sweden's only inland fjord, a remnant of the time following the last ice age .The area is hilly with the...
in Sweden. Eskoleia
Vinger Royal Road
Vinger Royal Road was the historical name of an ancient route in southern Norway. Historically Eskoleia was one of the most important traffic arteries between Norway and Sweden. It provided an established road leading both north and south from the Swedish border.After the canonization of Saint...
, the route through Eidskog, was (and continues to be in the form of Riksvei
Norwegian national road
Norwegian national road , are roads thus categorized by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration which also maintains them...
2) one of the most important traffic arteries between Norway and Sweden. The name was already in use during the saga
Saga
Sagas, are stories in Old Norse about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, etc.Saga may also refer to:Business*Saga DAB radio, a British radio station*Saga Airlines, a Turkish airline*Saga Falabella, a department store chain in Peru...
period and became, after the canonization
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
of Saint Olaf
Olaf II of Norway
Olaf II Haraldsson was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. Enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral...
and important pilgrim’s route from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to Nidaros
Nidaros
Nidaros or Niðarós was during the Middle Ages, the old name of Trondheim, Norway . Until the Reformation, Nidaros remained the centre of the spiritual life of the country...
. At Midtskog , today called Matrand, a stave church
Stave church
A stave church is a medieval wooden church with a post and beam construction related to timber framing. The wall frames are filled with vertical planks. The load-bearing posts have lent their name to the building technique...
was raised in the 12th century. Today, Eidskog church is built on the same site and was constructed in 1665.
The way through Eidskog was also militarily important and many times through history has been the point of Swedish strikes into Hedmark. To defend against these assaults, a number of fortifications were built in the vicinity, including ones at Magnor
Magnor
Magnor is a village in the municipality of Eidskog, Norway, not far from the Swedish border. Its population is 961. It is known as a production site for glass, made at Magnor Glassverk and aluminium, made at Hydro Aluminium....
and Matrand, but the chief fortification was Kongsvinger Fortress
Kongsvinger Fortress
Kongsvinger Fortress is located in the city and municipality of Kongsvinger in the county of Hedmark, Norway. It is situated on a hill west and north of the Glomma river, standing astride the ancient Vinger Royal Road, which connected Norway and Värmland, Sweden as well as on the north-south...
.
The last Swedish attack through Eidskog was in 1814 when Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Carl Pontus Gahn
Carl Pontus Gahn
Carl Pontus Gahn was a Swedish military officer who participated in the Russo-Swedish War in Finland in 1788-1789, the Finnish War campaign in Norway in 1808 and the unsuccessful invasion of Norway at Eidskog in 1814 where he was imprisoned...
on July 31 crossed the border and marched against Kongsvinger. His forces were stopped at Lier outside Kongsvinger on August 2 by troops led by Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Andreas Samuel Krebs (1769-1818) and retreated to Eidskog. On August 4, Krebs followed after to drive Swedish troops off Norwegian territory. The two forces met in the Battle of Matrand
Battle of Matrand
The Battle of Matrand was a military battle on 5 August 1814 between Norwegian and Swedish forces as part of the Swedish-Norwegian War of 1814...
which was the bloodiest battle of the war and ended with a Norwegian victory.
Later in 1814, Norway was joined in union with Sweden and the confrontations at the Eidskog border ended.
The Soot Canal
Soot Canal
The Soot Canal, constructed in 1849, has Norway's oldest sluice gates. It was the work of Engebret Soot . It was built to allow timber to be transported to the Halden sawmills. The canal was 1.5 km long and had 16 locks which extended from Lake Skjervangen at 185 m above sea level up to Lake...
, constructed in 1849, has Norway's oldest sluice
Sluice
A sluice is a water channel that is controlled at its head by a gate . For example, a millrace is a sluice that channels water toward a water mill...
gates. It was the work of Engebret Soot
Engebret Soot
Engebret Soot is known as the father of the Halden Canal in Norway. He constructed locks and canals for the transport of both watercraft and timber.-Biography:...
(1786–1859). It was built to allow timber to be transported (floated) to the Halden
Halden
is a both a town and a municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The seat of the municipality, Halden is a border town located at the Tista river delta on the Iddefjord, the southernmost border crossing between Norway and Sweden.-History:...
sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
s. The canal was 1.5 kilometre (0.93205910497471 mi) long and had 16 locks
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
which extended from Lake Skjervangen
Skjervangen
Skjervangen is a lake in the municipality of Eidskog in Hedmark county, Norway....
at 185 metres (607 ft) above sea level up to Lake Mortsjølungen at 201 metres (659 ft) above sea level.
The route through Eidskog became an important connection between the two countries; this was strengthened with the opening of the Grenseban railway in 1862, which connected Christiania
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
to Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
.
Eidskog became an independent municipality in 1864 when it was separated from Vinger municipality. The new municipality then had 6,920 inhabitants.
Attractions
- Soot CanalSoot CanalThe Soot Canal, constructed in 1849, has Norway's oldest sluice gates. It was the work of Engebret Soot . It was built to allow timber to be transported to the Halden sawmills. The canal was 1.5 km long and had 16 locks which extended from Lake Skjervangen at 185 m above sea level up to Lake...
- the first lockLock (water transport)A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
constructed in Norway, used for log floatingLog drivingLog driving is a means of log transport which makes use of a river's current to move floating tree trunks downstream to sawmills and pulp mills.It was the main transportation method of the early logging industry in Europe and North America... - Grenselosmuseet - museum on the route for escape to SwedenHolocaust in NorwayIn the middle of the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, there were at least 2,173 Jews in Norway. At least 775 of these were arrested, detained, and/or deported. 742 were murdered in the camps, 23 died as a result of extrajudicial execution, murder, and suicide during the war; bringing the total...
during the World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis... - Oppistun Børli - poet Hans Børli’s home
- Morokulien - memorial to the long lasting peace with Sweden
Notable residents
- Hans BørliHans BørliHans Børli was a Norwegian poet and writer, who besides his writings worked as a lumberjack all his life. He was born in Eidskog, in South-Eastern Norway, close to the Norwegian border to Sweden. He was buried at Eidskog Church.-Biography:Hans Børli was raised on a small farm in a road-less area...
, poetPoetA poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary... - Ivar SkulstadIvar SkulstadIvar Arne Skulstad is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party.He was born in Eidskog as a son of an industrial laborer and a shop worker...
, politicianPoliticianA politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, member of the Storting for Hedmark County - Wilhelm BrennaWilhelm BrennaWilhelm Brenna is a retired Norwegian ski jumper.In the World Cup he finished once among the top 15, with a thirteenth place from Kuopio in March 1997. He became world junior champion in the normal hill the same year. He finished third overall in the Continental Cup in the 1998/99...
, junior world champion ski jumperSki jumpingSki jumping is a sport in which skiers go down a take-off ramp, jump and attempt to land as far as possible down the hill below. In addition to the length of the jump, judges give points for style. The skis used for ski jumping are wide and long...
External links
- Municipal fact sheet from Statistics NorwayStatistics NorwayStatistics Norway is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876.Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every year on its web site. All releases are published both in Norwegian and English...
- Culture in Eidskog on the map