Jostedal
Encyclopedia
Jostedal is a village and a former municipality
in Sogn og Fjordane
county
in Norway
. It is located in the northern part of the present-day municipality of Luster
, about 22 kilometres (13.7 mi) north of Gaupne
. The village of Jostedal currently has around 410 inhabitants (2008).
form of the name was probably Jǫstrudalr. The first element is then the genitive of Jastra (the old name of the river Jostedøla
) and the last element is dalr which means "valley
" or "dale". The river name is probably derived from jǫstr which means "yeast
". The water in the river comes from glaciers, and in summer time the river gets "frothy" or "foamy" due to all of the melting ice and the many waterfalls.
). On 1 January 1963, Jostedal was merged with the neighboring municipality of Luster
. Prior to the merger, Jostedal had a population of 796.
. The Gaupnefjord is an arm of the Lustrafjord, which is an arm of the famous Sognefjord
, the second largest fjord in the world. There are three major glacial lakes in the area: Turnsbergdalsvatn, Nigardsbrevatn, and Tyggevatn (vatn is Norwegian
for lake). Other lakes in Jostdedal include Austdalsvatnet
and Styggevatnet
.
The river Jostedøla
runs through the valley up to its headwater
s at the Jostedalsbreen
glacier
, a plateau glacier which is the Europe
an mainland's largest with an area of 480 square kilometres (185.3 sq mi). Jostedalsbreen National Park
and Breheimen National Park
are located on either side of the Jostedalen valley.
, a tongue of Jostedalsbreen glacier and the museum Breheimsenteret
. There is also a bus connection to the glacier in summer.
The road through Jostedalen offers some of the most magnificent views of the Norwegian fjord
landscape with towering mountains and spectacular waterfall
s. At the end of the road is the breath-taking sight of the blue ice at the mouth of the Nigardsbreen glacial tongue.
Former municipalities of Norway
This is a list of former municipalities of Norway, i.e. municipalities that no longer exist.When the local council system was introduced in Norway in 1837-38, the country had 392 municipalities. In 1958 the number had grown to a total of 744 rural municipalities, 64 city municipalities as well as a...
in Sogn og Fjordane
Sogn og Fjordane
is a county in Norway, bordering Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland. The county administration is in the town of Hermansverk in Leikanger municipality while the largest town is Førde....
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...
in 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 located in the northern part of the present-day municipality of Luster
Luster, Norway
Luster is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative centre is Gaupne. Other villages include Skjolden, Hafslo, Jostedal, and Veitastrond....
, about 22 kilometres (13.7 mi) north of Gaupne
Gaupne
Gaupne is a village which is the administrative center of the municipality of Luster in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The village has a population of 1,075. The village is located along the Gaupnefjord, an arm of the Lustrafjord, about north of the village of Hafslo. The village of...
. The village of Jostedal currently has around 410 inhabitants (2008).
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 probably Jǫstrudalr. The first element is then the genitive of Jastra (the old name of the river Jostedøla
Jostedøla
Jostedøla is a river which runs through the Jostedalen valley in the municipality of Luster in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The Jostedøla river begins from runoff from the great Jostedalsbreen glacier and the lakes Austdalsvatnet and Styggevatnet...
) and the last element is dalr which means "valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
" or "dale". The river name is probably derived from jǫstr which means "yeast
Yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic micro-organisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with 1,500 species currently described estimated to be only 1% of all fungal species. Most reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by an asymmetric division process called budding...
". The water in the river comes from glaciers, and in summer time the river gets "frothy" or "foamy" due to all of the melting ice and the many waterfalls.
History
Jostedal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistriktFormannskapsdistrikt
Formannskapsdistrikt was the name for a Norwegian local self-government districts put into force in 1838. This system of municipality was created in a bill approved by the Storting and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January 1837...
). On 1 January 1963, Jostedal was merged with the neighboring municipality of Luster
Luster, Norway
Luster is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative centre is Gaupne. Other villages include Skjolden, Hafslo, Jostedal, and Veitastrond....
. Prior to the merger, Jostedal had a population of 796.
Geography
The former municipality consisted of Jostedal valley which empties into the Gaupnefjord at GaupneGaupne
Gaupne is a village which is the administrative center of the municipality of Luster in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The village has a population of 1,075. The village is located along the Gaupnefjord, an arm of the Lustrafjord, about north of the village of Hafslo. The village of...
. The Gaupnefjord is an arm of the Lustrafjord, which is an arm of the famous Sognefjord
Sognefjord
The Sognefjord is the largest fjord in Norway, and the second longest in the world. Located in Sogn og Fjordane county, it stretches inland to the small village of Skjolden...
, the second largest fjord in the world. There are three major glacial lakes in the area: Turnsbergdalsvatn, Nigardsbrevatn, and Tyggevatn (vatn is Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
for lake). Other lakes in Jostdedal include Austdalsvatnet
Austdalsvatnet
Austdalsvatnet is a lake in the northwestern part of the municipality of Luster in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It is located in the Breheimen mountain range at the end of the Austdalsbreen glacier, just north of the lake Styggevatnet. It is about east of Lodalskåpa and Brenibba, in the...
and Styggevatnet
Styggevatnet
Styggevatnet is a glacier lake from the glacier Jostedalsbreen in the municipality of Luster in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The lake lies just southeast of the lake Austdalsvatnet. The lake is regulated by a dam and it empties into the river Jostedøla...
.
The river Jostedøla
Jostedøla
Jostedøla is a river which runs through the Jostedalen valley in the municipality of Luster in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The Jostedøla river begins from runoff from the great Jostedalsbreen glacier and the lakes Austdalsvatnet and Styggevatnet...
runs through the valley up to its headwater
Source (river or stream)
The source or headwaters of a river or stream is the place from which the water in the river or stream originates.-Definition:There is no universally agreed upon definition for determining a stream's source...
s at the Jostedalsbreen
Jostedalsbreen
Jostedalsbreen is the largest glacier in continental Europe. It is situated in Sogn og Fjordane county in Western Norway. Jostedalsbreen lies in the municipalities of Luster, Balestrand, Jølster, and Stryn. The highest peak in the area is Lodalskåpa at a height of .Jostedalsbreen has a total area...
glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
, a plateau glacier which is the 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...
an mainland's largest with an area of 480 square kilometres (185.3 sq mi). Jostedalsbreen National Park
Jostedalsbreen National Park
Jostedalsbreen National Park is a national park in Norway that encompasses the largest glacier on the European mainland, Jostedalsbreen. The park was established by royal decree on 25 October 1991, and then in 1998, it was enlarged to the northwest...
and Breheimen National Park
Breheimen National Park
Breheimen National Park is a national park that was established in 2009. The park is located in the municipalities of Skjåk and Lom in Oppland county and in Luster in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway...
are located on either side of the Jostedalen valley.
Transportation
The route through Jostedal, Norwegian highway 604, brings one directly to the foot of NigardsbreenNigardsbreen
Nigardsbreen is a glacier arm of the large Jostedalsbreen glacier. Nigardsbreen lies about north of the village of Gaupne in the Jostedalen valley, Luster, Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It is located just west of the Jostedøla river....
, a tongue of Jostedalsbreen glacier and the museum Breheimsenteret
Breheimsenteret
The Breheimsenteret was a museum and one of the three visitors centers for Jostedalsbreen National Park. Opened in 1993, it was located near the Jostedøla river in the village of Jostedal, about north of Gaupne and about east of the Jostedalsbreen glacier in the municipality of Luster in Sogn...
. There is also a bus connection to the glacier in summer.
The road through Jostedalen offers some of the most magnificent views of the Norwegian fjord
Fjord
Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...
landscape with towering mountains and spectacular waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
s. At the end of the road is the breath-taking sight of the blue ice at the mouth of the Nigardsbreen glacial tongue.
Notable residents
- Kåre ØvregardKåre ØvregardKåre Øvregard is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party.He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Sogn og Fjordane in 1977, and was re-elected on two occasions....
(born 1933) - politicianPoliticianA politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making... - Kristen ØyenKristen ØyenKristen Øyen is a Norwegian forester.He was born in Jostedal, and graduated from the Norwegian College of Agriculture in 1964. From 1984 to 2001 he was the director of the Norwegian Institute of Land Inventory. In 2006 he released a work on the history of the Norwegian Institute of Land Inventory:...
(born 1938) - forester
External links
- http://www.jostedal.com
- 1905 Map of Jostedal Municipality