Sør-Fron

Sør-Fron kommune
Municipality

Coat of arms

Oppland within
Norway

Sør-Fron within Oppland
Coordinates: 61°34′8″N 9°55′24″E / 61.56889°N 9.92333°E / 61.56889; 9.92333Coordinates: 61°34′8″N 9°55′24″E / 61.56889°N 9.92333°E / 61.56889; 9.92333
Country Norway
County Oppland
District Gudbrandsdal
Administrative centre Hundorp
Government
  Mayor (2003) Aksel Eng (Ap)
Area
  Total 745 km2 (288 sq mi)
  Land 714 km2 (276 sq mi)
Area rank 147 in Norway
Population (2004)
  Total 3,292
  Rank 257 in Norway
  Density 5/km2 (10/sq mi)
  Change (10 years) -5.0 %
Demonym(s) Frøning[1]
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-0519
Official language form Neutral
Website www.sor-fron.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Sør-Fron is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hundorp.

The old municipality of Fron was divided into Sør-Fron and Nord-Fron in 1851. In 1966, they were merged back together again, but that only lasted until 1977 when they separated once again.

General information

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was Frón. The meaning of the name is unknown (maybe "earth" or "land"). Therefore, the meaning of Sør-Fron is "(the) southern (part of) Fron", since the parish and municipality of Fron was divided in 1851. In the 19th century, it was called Søndre Fron (søndre also means south).[2]

See also: Nord-Fron

Coat of arms

The coat of arms is from modern times (1988). The arms show the club that smashed to pieces the statue of the god Thor standing at Hundorp.

Geography

Panoramic view over Sør-Fron from Skutelen

On the north it is bordered by Nord-Fron municipality. On the west, it is bordered by Øystre Slidre. To the south it is bordered by Gausdal and Ringebu. To the east it is bordered by Folldal and Stor-Elvdal municipalities in Hedmark county.

Rondane National Park

Smiubelgen in Rondane National Park

Rondane National Park, which lies partially in Sør-Fron, was the first Norwegian National Park, established in 1962. In 2003, Rondane National Park was enlarged and smaller areas of nature protection were opened or enlarged adjacent to the park.

Villages include Frya, Hundorp, Lia and Harpefoss.

Culture

The famous play Peer Gynt is staged annually at Lake Gålå in a mountainous region of Sør-Fron as part of a festival. The play itself is supposed to have been set in a Norwegian location such as Gålå.

Notable residents

The famous author and playwright Ludvig Holberg spent part of his youth at the parsonage in Sør-Fron, where he was tutored along with his cousin's children. His cousin was then the minister there.

References

  1. "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  2. Rygh, Oluf (1900). Norske gaardnavne: Kristians amt (in Norwegian) (4 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 120.
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