Lom is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Fossbergom. Another village area in Lom is Elvesæter.

The municipality is the 38th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Lom Municipality is the 271st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,215. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 6.3% over the previous 10-year period.

Lom Municipality is famous for its extensive history. Lom Stave Church, one of the few remaining stave churches in Norway, is located here. It's also notable for being located in the midst of several of the highest mountains in Northern Europe.

General information

The prestegjeld (parish) of Lom was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1866, the municipality was divided. The western district (population: 2,691) became the new Skiaker Municipality and the eastern district (population: 3,299) remained as a smaller Lom Municipality. The boundaries of Lom Municipality have not changed since that time.

Historically, the municipality was part of the old Oppland county. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became a part of the newly-formed Innlandet county (after Hedmark and Oppland counties were merged).

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Lom farm since the first Lom Stave Church was built there. The Old Norse form of the name was (nominative case) and (dative case). The name is derived from the plural form of which means "clearing" or "meadow".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 6 February 1987. The official blazon is "Azure, three shovels argent palewise in fess" (). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is three vertical spades lined up horizontally. The charge has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. These spades () were historically used to scoop water from the irrigation channels typical for the area. The area is one of the driest in Norway, but the soil is good for agriculture. It thus needs irrigation. In the 17th century, a system was developed in which melting water from the mountains was transported to the area using wooden channels or aqueducts. The water was further divided using irrigation channels. The arms were designed by Einar H. Skjervold. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has three parishes () within Lom Municipality. It is part of the Nord-Gudbrandsdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+ style="font-size:medium"|Churches in Lom Municipality

!Parish ()!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built

|-

|rowspan="1"|Bøverdalen||Bøverdal Church||Galdesanden (Bøverdalen)||1864

|-

|rowspan="1"|Garmo||Garmo Church||Garmo||1879

|-

|rowspan="1"|Lom||Lom Stave Church||Fossbergom||c. 1160

|}

History

{| style="float:left; margin-right:1em;" class="wikitable sortable"

|+ Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Lom by country of origin in 2017

|-

!Ancestry!!Number

|-

| || 31

|-

| || 18

|-

| || 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 to Christianity (it has since been a recurring discussion whether he looked towards the present-day Lom Municipality or the neighbouring Skjåk Municipality since at the time both were considered to be 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 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 Municipality. 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.

Government

Lom 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 Gudbrandsdal District Court and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Lom Municipality is made up of 17 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 mayor () of Lom Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:

  • 1838–1844: Ole J. Staff
  • 1845–1848: Mr. Strømsøe
  • 1848–1851: Ole J. Staff
  • 1851–1853: Ola G. Kvåle
  • 1854–1857: Julius Aars
  • 1858–1861: Ola G. Kvåle
  • 1862–1865: Rolv S. Blakar
  • 1866–1869: Ola G. Kvåle
  • 1870–1873: Rolv S. Blakar
  • 1874–1879: Gunder Lindsøe
  • 1880–1889: Sevald R. Blakar
  • 1890–1893: Rasmus K. Nordal
  • 1894–1897: Gregor Kvåle
  • 1898–1901: Olav O. Aukrust
  • 1902–1907: Rasmus K. Nordal
  • 1908–1910: Olav O. Aukrust
  • 1911–1913: Kristen Kjæstad
  • 1914–1916: Rasmus K. Nordal
  • 1917–1922: Rasmus Elvesæter
  • 1923–1925: Halvor Offigsbø
  • 1926–1928: Rasmus Elvesæter
  • 1929–1931: Hallvard Holm
  • 1932–1934: Jonas Galde
  • 1935–1940: Hans Bruøygard
  • 1941–1945: Paal O. Aukrust (NS)
  • 1945–1945: Hans Bruøygard (Ap)
  • 1946–1951: Jo Kveum (Ap)
  • 1952–1955: Paal O. Aukrust (Bp)
  • 1955–1969: Jo Kveum (Ap)
  • 1970–1971: Steinar Bruøygard (Ap)
  • 1972–1975: Jon P. Kolden (Ap)
  • 1976–1983: Kristen Brandsar (Sp)
  • 1984–1987: Steinar Bruøygard (Ap)
  • 1988–1991: Jarmund Øyen (Ap)
  • 1992–1995: Erik Frisvold (Sp)
  • 1996–1999: Jarmund Øyen (Ap)
  • 1999–2003: Magnar Mundhjeld (LL)
  • 2003–2011: Simen Bjørgen (Sp)
  • 2011–2023: Bjarne Eiolf Holø (Sp)
  • 2023–present: Kristian Frisvold (LL)

Geography

thumb|right|upright|River Bøvra in Lom

Lom Municipality is the "gateway" to the Jotunheimen Mountains and to Jotunheim National Park. The municipality contains the two highest peaks in all of Norway, Galdhøpiggen at and Glittertinden at , which both lie within the park. Galdhøpiggen is the highest mountain in the municipality (and all of Scandinavia). Summers are often sunny with daytime temperatures typically ranging from to . The large mountain areas in Lom are much colder and have more precipitation; snowy weather is possible even in summer at altitudes above . Agriculture has for centuries used irrigation.

Economy

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

Notable people

140px|thumb|Knut Hamsun, 1939

  • Jakob Klukstad (1705 in Lom – 1773), a wood carver and painter
  • Knut Hamsun (1859 in Lom – 1952), a novelist and winner of the 1920 Nobel Prize in Literature; his childhood home can be seen east of Lom
  • Erland Frisvold (1877 in Lom – 1971), a Norwegian politician and Army colonel
  • Olav Aukrust (1883 in Lom – 1929), a poet and teacher who 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 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 to 2012
  • Arne Brimi (born 1957), a chef and food writer
  • Vidar Johansen (born 1953), a jazz musician, music arranger and composer; he lives on a mountain farm in Lom since 2015
  • Morten Schakenda (1966 – 2022), a cook

Attractions

right|thumb|[[Lom Stave Church ]]

  • 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,
  • Lom's irrigation canals

See also

  • Bjørn Turtums gammeldansorkester

References

  • Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
  • Jotunheimen National Park