Etnedal

Etnedal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Valdres. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bruflat.

The 459 km2 municipality is the 216th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Etnedal is the 315th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,239. The municipality's population density is 2.8 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 11.4% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
Etnedal was created as a new municipality on 1 January 1894 by merging the eastern valley area of Nordre Etnedal (population: 362) from the neighboring Nordre Aurdal municipality and the Søndre Etnedal area (population: 1,331) from the neighboring municipality of Søndre Aurdal. On 1 January 1979, there was a border adjustment in an unpopulated area where part of Etnedal was transferred to Nord-Aurdal and another part of Nord-Aurdal that was transferred to Etnedal.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Etnedalen valley (Etnardalr) since it was a central geographic feature of the municipality. The first element is the genitive case of local Etna river Etn. The meaning of the river name is uncertain but it is possibly derived from which means to "push forward" or from  which means to "eat". The last element is which means "valley" or "dale". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Etnedalen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Etnedal, removing the definite form ending -en.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted by royal decree on 14 July 1989. The official blazon is "Azure, an arched bridge Or" (På blå grunn ei gull kvelvingsbru). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is an arched bridge. The bridge 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 arms were designed to symbolize the old Lunde bridge (Lundebru) which is one of the best preserved stone bridges in Norway. The bridge is now a national monument. It is also Northern Europe's largest dry stone-arch bridge. The bridge was built in 1829 on the Old King's Road connecting the cities of Oslo and Bergen. A portion of the king's road was refurbished and turned into a footpath in 1992 and is now a natural and cultural walking path. The arms were designed by Ivar Aars. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway has two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Etnedal. It is part of the Valdres prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar.

Geography
Etnedal is part of the traditional district of Valdres in central, southern Norway, situated between the Gudbrandsdal and Hallingdal valleys. Valdres also includes the municipalities Nord-Aurdal, Sør-Aurdal, Øystre Slidre, Vestre Slidre, and Vang. Etnedal is bordered to the east by Nordre Land Municipality, to the south by Sør-Aurdal Municipality, and on the west and north by Nord-Aurdal Municipality.

The river Etna flows through the municipality, then into Nordre Land municipality and then down into Randsfjorden. The mountain Spåtind lies in the northern part of the municipality.

Government
Etnedal Municipality is 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. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Vestre Innlandet District Court and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Etnedal is made up of 15 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Etnedal:


 * 1894–1900: Arild Huitfeldt Siewers
 * 1900–1901: Nils Hagaseth
 * 1901–1904: Erik Thon
 * 1904–1907: Aslak E. Bruflat
 * 1907–1913: Engebret Espelien
 * 1913–1919: Nils Nielsen
 * 1919–1922: Carl Christian Wishman
 * 1922–1925: Ole E. Bruflat (V)
 * 1925–1928: Martin Lundstein (V)
 * 1928–1931: Ole E. Bruflat (V)
 * 1931–1934: Engebret Haug
 * 1934–1937: Ole E. Bruflat (V)
 * 1937–1940: Torleiv Hodne (Ap)
 * 1940–1945: (Vacant due to the war)
 * 1946–1959: Iver K. Haug (V)
 * 1960–1967: Nicolai Hestekind (H)
 * 1968–1974: Ole Fløgum (Ap)
 * 1975-1975: Kristian Midthus (Sp)
 * 1976–1979: Alfred Steinset (KrF)
 * 1980–1983: Knut Engelien (Sp)
 * 1984–1999: Odd Byfuglien (Sp)
 * 1999–2014: Jan Arild Berg (Sp)
 * 2014–2019: Toril Grønbrekk (Ap)
 * 2019–present: Linda Mæhlum Robøle (Sp)

Economy
Occupations in the municipality include animal husbandry and logging, but there is also some industry and tourism.

Notable people

 * Sigurd Lybeck (1895 in Etnedal – 1975), a Norwegian writer, featured Jens von Bustenskjold
 * Iacob Dybwad Sømme (1898 in Etnedal – 1944), a Norwegian ichthyologist and resistance member
 * Ingjerd Thon Hagaseth (born 1967), a Norwegian politician and deputy mayor of Etnedal
 * Ingebjørg Saglien Bråten (born 1999 in Etnedal), a Norwegian ski jumper