Årdal

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Årdalen valley (Old Norse: Árdalr) since it is the central geographical feature of the municipality. The first element is the genitive case of the word á which means "river" or "creek" (referring to the Utla river). The last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale". Prior to the 1917 Norwegian language reform law, the name was spelled with the digraph "Aa" (Aardal), and after this reform, the letter Å was used instead (Årdal).[7]

The coat of arms was granted on 9 August 1957. The official blazon is "Gules, three barrulets dancetty Or" (Norwegian: På raud botn ein gull trillingstreng med ormeband-skurd). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is three zig-zag lines running horizontally across the escutcheon. The charge has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The local economy at the time of the creation of the arms was mainly based on heavy industry, which needed a lot of electricity. The zig-zag lines in the arms symbolize both the electrical power and the industries. The zig-zag design also symbolizes the ormeband-skrud which is more or less translated as a "worm-ribbon ornament" which is a design of dragons and lindworms that were depicted in the ornamentations in the ancient Norwegian wooden stave churches in the area.The arms were designed by Hallvard Trætteberg, after an original idea by Magnus Hardeland. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[8][9][10]

Lærdal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The original municipality was identical to the Lærdal parish (prestegjeld) including the sub-parish (sokn) of Aardal. In 1863, the sub-parish of Aardal (population: 1,791) was separated from Lærdal and became a municipality of its own. The spelling was later changed to Årdal. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the Muggeteigen, Luggenes, and Bergmål farms (population: 11) were transferred from Årdal to Lærdal.[11][12]

All municipalities in Norway are 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.[17] The municipality falls under the Sogn og Fjordane District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal.

The two mountains on each side of the valley are named Hjelledalstind (left) and Falketind (right)

The municipality is situated at the inner part of the Årdalsfjorden, one of the beginning branches of the Sognefjorden and is a gateway to the mountain areas called Jotunheimen and Hurrungane, including the mountains Falketind, Store Austanbotntind, and Store Skagastølstind.

There are two urban areas in Årdal: Årdalstangen and Øvre Årdal, with a total population of approximately 5,700. There are also smaller village areas throughout the municipality: Naddvik (Vikadalen), Nundalen, Indre Offerdal, Ytre Offerdal, Seimsdalen, Fardalen, Avdalen, Utladalen, Vetti, and Vettismorki.[3]

Årdal is bordered to the north and west by the municipality of Luster, to the east by Vang (in Oppland county), and to the south by Lærdal.

Årdal became a symbol of modern Norway after World War II. In the course of a few years, Årdal was transformed from a scarcely populated rural community into a small town situated around the aluminium plant Årdal og Sunndal Verk. Construction of the aluminium plant at Årdal started in 1941. The purpose was to build a large aluminium industry as a part of the German war effort. The Norwegian State confiscated the unfinished plant in Årdal in 1945 at the end of the war. The plant was finished by the government and production started in 1948.

At Årdal, the aluminium factory produced semi-finished aluminium that went on to be transformed into various products in other factories. During the early years most of the aluminium was exported. The car and airplane industries were big aluminium consumers. Some finished products were made in Norway, such as Høyang kitchen equipment, kettles, and pans.

In 1986, Årdal og Sunndal Verk was merged with Norsk Hydro under the name Hydro Aluminium AS.[37]

The Church of Norway has two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Årdal. It is part of the Sogn prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Gunvor Eldegard, 2008

• James O. Davidson (1854 in Årdal – 1922), an American politician, 21st Governor of Wisconsin
• Sigurd Eldegard (1866 in Årdal – 1950), a Norwegian actor, playwright and theatre director [38]
• Andreas Bjørkum (1932 in Årdal – 2014), a Norwegian philologist, specialized in dialectology
• Karl Seglem (born 1961 in Årdalstangen), a jazz musician, composer and producer
• Gunvor Eldegard (born 1963 in Årdal), a Norwegian politician, Mayor of Årdal, 2003-2005
• Odd Einar Nordheim (born 1972 in Årdal), a singer and musician known from The Voice and Stjernekamp
• Beate S. Lech (born 1974), a jazz singer, composer and lyricist; brought up in Øvre Årdal
• Tommy Øren (born 1980 in Årdalstangen), a retired Norwegian footballer with over 240 club caps

The group called Årdal Sogelag concerns itself with local history.

The Valdres Express stops in Øvre Årdal and has its end stop in Årdalstangen. The bus line originates from Oslo.

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway (in Norwegian)
• Årdal kommune (in Norwegian)
• Årdalsportalen (in Norwegian)
• Tindevegen (in Norwegian)
• Opplev Utladalen (in Norwegian)
• Årdal Sogelag—a historical society (in Norwegian)
• Avdalen farm in Utladalen (in Norwegian)