Lillehammer

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Lillehammer :: Lillehammer_College

Lillehammer, the gateway to Gudbrandsdalen, is a town and municipality in the county of Oppland, Norway.

The city centre is a well-preserved late 19th c. concentration of wooden houses, which enjoys a picturesque location overlooking the northern part of lake Mjøsa and the river Lågen, surrounded by mountains. The main street is excellent for people-watching, shopping and dining.

Location

Lillehammer is located to the south of Øyer, to the southeast of Gausdal, northeast of Nordre Land and to the north of Gjøvik, all municipalities in Oppland. To the southeast it is bordered by Ringsaker municipality in Hedmark county. Lillehammer has a relatively dry inland climate (1).

Economy

The basis for the city's commerce is its position as the northernmost point of the lake Mjøsa and as the gateway for the Gudbrandsdal landscape, through which the historical highway to Trondheim passes. The Mesna river has provided the basis for several small industries through the years.

One of the major Norwegian rail lines, the Dovrebanen runs from Hamar to the north through Lillehammer on its way up the Gudbrandsdal, to terminate in Trondheim.

The E6 highway passes through Lillehammer.

History

The area has been settled since the Norwegian iron age. It is mentioned in the old sagas as "Litlikaupangr" ('the small trading place') and as "Litlihamarr" ('the small Hamar' - to distinguish it from the town and the bishopric of Hamar). It is also mentioned as a site for council in 1390. It had a lively market by the 1800s, and obtained rights as a merchant city on August 7, 1827, at which point there were 50 registered residents within its boundaries.

Lillehammer was the site of the Lillehammer affair in 1973 where operatives of the Israeli Mossad shot and killed a Moroccan waiter they mistakenly thought was involved in the Munich Massacre.

Lillehammer was host city of the 1994 Winter Olympic Games. It is known for being a predictable venue for winter sporting events.

What to see

In addition to the Olympic site, Lillehammer offers a number of other tourist attractions:

Maihaugen, centrally located in Lillehammer, is the largest open-air museum in Norway, with 185 buildings, mostly from Lillehammer town and the valley of Gudbrandsdal.

Especially attractive are

Garmo stave church (built around 1150)

The art museum, "Flygelet".

The PS Skibladner is the world's oldest paddle steamer in scheduled service, launched in 1856. Summer sailings around lake Mjøsa: Lillehammer, Moelv, Gjøvik, Hamar and Eidsvoll.

The ski jump at Lysgårdsbakkene.

Sjusjøen is a skiing destination with forest and mountain terrain only 20 km away (east) from the centre of Lillehammer in the municipality of Ringsaker.

The Sambandets Utdanning og Kompetansesenter is an army unit located in the camp Jørstadmoen 3-4 km northwest of Lillehammer.

The rock carvings at Drotten, Fåberg, west of Lågen about 1.5 km above Brunlaug bridge.

Famous residents

Sigrid Undset lived in Lillehammer at her home 'Bjerkebæk' from 1919 through 1940. She brought her children with her for her for a short rest, planning on returning to Oslo. However she chose to remain in Lillehammer. She wrote her most famous works there: the three-volume "Kristin Lavransdatter" and the four-volume "Olav Audunssønn". In 1940, because she had expressed strong anti-Nazi sentiments since the early 30s, she fled Lillehammer before the German invasion of Norway reached there. She returned to Lillehammer after the war and died there in 1949. She is buried at the cemetery in Mesnalia.

External links

Cities in Norway | Eurovision host cities | Host cities of the Winter Olympic Games | Municipalities of Norway