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Valdres

Field	Value
name	Valdres
settlement_type	District
image_skyline	Sør-Aurdal, Valdres.JPG
image_caption	View over Begnadalen from Lærskogen, with the large woodland ranging all over to Randsfjorden on the left and Hedalsfjella in the right background.
image_map	Valdres-Map.svg
map_caption	Administrative map of municipalities in Valdres.
seat_type	Urban Center
seat	Fagernes
area_total_km2	5406
population_total	18012
population_as_of	2010
population_demonym	Valdris
population_density_km2	auto
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	Norway
subdivision_type1	County
subdivision_name1	Innlandet
subdivision_type2	Region
subdivision_name2	Austlandet

Valdres () is a traditional district in central, southern Norway, situated between the districts of Gudbrandsdalen and Hallingdal. The region of Valdres consists of the six municipalities of Nord-Aurdal, Sør-Aurdal, Øystre Slidre, Vestre Slidre, Vang, and Etnedal. Valdres has about 18,000 inhabitants and is known for its excellent trout fishing and the local dialect. Its main road is E16 and Fylkesveg 51.

Valdres is located approximately midway between Oslo and Bergen . The valley is protected to the west and north by the Jotunheimen mountains and the Valdresflye plateau and to the south by the Golsfjellet mountains in Gol Municipality. The main rivers are Begna and Etna. Historically, Valdres has had an agricultural economy, but tourism has grown in prominence in later years. Beitostølen, a highly developed tourist area for winter tourists and who have hosted FIS Cross-Country World Cup multiple times is located in Valdres.

Etymology

The name of the district comes from the Old Norse stem words völlr (a mountainous plain) and dres (a cleaved road to be ridden on by a horse). Another explanation to the etymology is that Valdres stems from "Valdles", which is from the stem words vald (forest) and les (pasture), i.e. "the valley of pastures in the forest".

Administration

Valdres is located in Innlandet county. It consists of the six municipalities of Nord-Aurdal, Sør-Aurdal, Øystre Slidre, Vestre Slidre, Vang, and Etnedal. The main town in the region is Fagernes, where there also is an airport. European route E16 is the main highway. Valdresbanen, the railroad connection from Oslo, was shut down in 1988 and the tracks are now removed.

Valdres March

Valdres March () is the title of a Norwegian march composed by Johannes Hanssen in the years 1901-1904 and published by Boosey & Hawkes. The main theme is based on the signature fanfare for the Valdres Battalion, which is based on an old cow call. The following second variation includes a halling from Helgelandsmoen, a small village in Hole Municipality in Ringerike. The melody of the trio section was Hanssen's self composed Hardanger fiddle "slått", which is a pentatonic folk tune, above a drone bass line. When the piece was first performed in 1904, the composer played the baritone horn part together with the band of the 2nd Regiment of Norway.

References

"Informasjon om stadnamn". [[Norwegian Mapping Authority.
{{Cite SNL. Valdres. Valdres. 2025-08-25. Thorsnæs. Geir. 2024-11-26
{{Cite SNL. Jotunheimen. Jotunheimen. 2025-08-25. Thorsnæs. Geir. 2024-11-25
{{Cite SNL. Golsfjellet. Golsfjellet. 2025-08-25. Thorsnæs. Geir. 2024-11-25
(1964). "Valdres". Fonna.
{{Cite SNL. dialekter_i_Valdres. dialekter i Valdres. 2025-08-24. Skjekkeland. Martin. 2024-11-25
Go Norway. "Nord-Aurdal". Go Norway.no.
"Kulokken Som Ble Til Marsj".
{{Cite SNL. Johannes_Hanssen. Johannes Hanssen. 2025-08-24. Gundersen. Egil Arnt. 2024-11-26
Ear Floss. "Valdres - Concert Band". Ear Floss.com.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

valdres districts-of-innlandet valleys-of-innlandet

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