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Ardal

Årdal kommune
Municipality
Øvre Årdal in early-June 2008
Øvre Årdal in early-June 2008
Coat of arms of Årdal kommune
Coat of arms
Official logo of Årdal kommune
Sogn og Fjordane within
Norway
Årdal within Sogn og Fjordane
Årdal within Sogn og Fjordane
Coordinates: 61°17′29″N 07°47′53″E / 61.29139°N 7.79806°E / 61.29139; 7.79806Coordinates: 61°17′29″N 07°47′53″E / 61.29139°N 7.79806°E / 61.29139; 7.79806
Country Norway
County Sogn og Fjordane
District Sogn
Administrative centre Årdalstangen
Government
 • Mayor (2002) Arild Ingar Lægreid (Ap)
Area
 • Total 976.58 km2 (377.06 sq mi)
 • Land 930.12 km2 (359.12 sq mi)
 • Water 46.46 km2 (17.94 sq mi)
Area rank 108 in Norway
Population (2014)
 • Total 5,496
 • Rank 189 in Norway
 • Density 5.9/km2 (15/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years) -2.4 %
Demonym(s) Årdøl
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-1424
Official language form Nynorsk
Website www.ardal.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Årdal is a municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It is located at the end of the Årdalsfjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Årdalstangen is the administrative center of the municipality. The other main village is Øvre Årdal. The municipality of Årdal was created in 1860 when it was separated from the municipality of Lærdal.

Årdal is a modern industrial community, with ties to the old society of farming and fishing. It is surrounded by dramatic nature with high mountains and waterfalls. The climate is rather mild and with less rain than normal in the west part of Norway. Årdal is a good starting point to explore the wild nature of Jotunheimen National Park, and with summer and winter activities within its boundaries. The Vettisfossen waterfall (highest in Norway) is located within the municipality.

In 2016 the chief of police formally suggested that the police station be closed down.

The Old Norse form of the name was Árdalr. The first element is the genitive case of á which means "river" (referring to the Utla river) and the last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale". Until 1921, the name was written Aardal.

The coat of arms were granted on 9 August 1957. They are red with yellow zig-zag lines. The local economy at the time was mainly based on heavy industry, which needs a lot of electricity. The zig-zag lines in the arms symbolize both the electrical power and the industries. The colors were chosen randomly.


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Wikipedia

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