Lom, Norway

The prestegjeld (parish) of Lom was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1866, the western district of Lom (population: 2,691) was separated and established as the new municipality of Skiaker. Afterwards, the remaining part of Lom had 3,299 residents. The boundaries of Lom have not changed since that time.[5]

Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Lom by country of origin in 2017[10]

Ancestry	Number
Somalia	31
Germany	18
Eritrea	17

An ancient trade route passed up from Sunnmøre through Lom and Skjåk and down the Gudbrandsdalen valley into Eastern Norway. The trade consisted of fish and salt heading inland, and grain heading to the coast.

The Saga of Olaf Haraldson relates that St. Olaf commented as he first looked down on Lom, "What a pity to have to lay waste to such a beautiful valley." In the face of such a clear motivation, the residents of the valley converted (it has since been a recurring discussion whether he looked to Lom or the neighbouring municipality Skjåk, at the time a part of Lom.) St. Olafs-stuggu, a building where St. Olaf is reported to have spent a night in 1021, can still be found here. The building is part of the Presthaugen District Museum.

Lom Stave Church, which is located in Fossbergom, is believed to have been built in 1158, making 2008 the 850th anniversary. It was enlarged in 1634, with further addition of two naves in 1667. It is believed that the church was originally surrounded by a circumambulatory passage, like many other Norwegian stave churches, but that this passage was removed when the two side wings were added. A few Runic inscriptions can be still be seen in the church. The church also contains numerous paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries with religious motifs. Many of the paintings were made by local artist Eggert Munch, a distant relation of the famous Edvard Munch. The church also contains numerous examples of local woodcarving, as seen in the elaborate acanthus scrolls adorning the pulpit. Carved dragon figures on the roof are old symbols of protection against evil. It is still in use as the local church.

The Garmo Stave Church, which was built around 1150, has been relocated from Lom municipality and is now at Maihaugen in Lillehammer. It was replaced with a new Garmo Church.

During the 1940 Norwegian Campaign German prisoners of war were kept by the Norwegian Army at Lom prisoner of war camp. Lom was bombed twice by the German Luftwaffe in April 1940.[11]

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.[12] The municipality falls under the Vestre Innlandet District Court and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

River Bøvra in Lom

Lom is the "gateway" to the Jotunheimen Mountains and to Jotunheim National Park. The municipality contains the two highest peaks in Norway, Galdhøpiggen at 2,469 metres (8,100 ft) and Glittertind at 2,464 metres (8,084 ft), which lie within the park.

Lom is bordered on the northwest by the municipality of Skjåk, in the north by Lesja, in the east and southeast by Vågå, in the south by Vang all in Innlandet county. In the southwest, it is bordered by Luster municipality in Vestland county. The main village of Fossbergom is situated in the Ottadalen valley at an elevation of 382 metres (1,253 ft) above sea level.

Agriculture has long been important in Lom. The natural environment and history of this mountainous region also make Lom a tourist destination.

Knut Hamsun, 1939

• Jakob Klukstad (1705 in Lom – 1773), a Norwegian wood carver and painter
• Knut Hamsun (1859 in Lom – 1952), a novelist, winner of the 1920 Nobel Prize in Literature. His childhood home can be seen 12 kilometers to the east of Lom center
• Erland Frisvold (1877 in Lom – 1971), a politician and Army colonel
• Olav Aukrust (1883 in Lom – 1929), a poet and teacher, used Nynorsk. There is a memorial to him near the church
• Jørgine Boomer (1887 in Bøverdalen – 1971), a Norwegian-American rags-to-riches hotel manager
• Carl Gustav Sparre Olsen (1903–1984), a Norwegian violinist and composer, buried in Lom
• Tor Jonsson (1916 in Lom – 1951), a poet and author and winner of The Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature. His childhood cottage is on the sunny-side road Solsidevegen
• Anstein Gjengedal (born 1944 in Lom), the Chief of Police of Oslo from 2000-2012
• Arne Brimi (born 1957), a Norwegian chef and food writer
• Vidar Johansen (born 1953), a Norwegian jazz musician, music arranger and composer; since 2015 lives on a mountain farm in Lom
• Morten Schakenda (1966 – 2022), a Norwegian cook

Lom stave church from a different viewpoint.

• Lom Stave Church
• Jotunheim National Park
• Norsk Fjellmuseum, the Norwegian Mountain Museum and information center for Jotunheim National Park
• Lom District Museum in Presthaugen – an open-air museum
• Fossheim Stone/Mineral Center
• County Route 55 (known as the Sognefjellsvegen) from Lom over the Sognefjell (the highest mountain pass in Northern Europe)
• Knut Hamsun's cottage located at Garmostrædet
• The Sagasøyla Column in Bøverdalen
• Steinahøfjellet 1,711 m (5,614 ft)
• Lom's irrigation canals

• Bjørn Turtums gammeldansorkester

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lom, Norway.

Look up Lom in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway (in Norwegian)
• Oppland travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Jotunheimen National Park