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Folldal

Folldal kommune
Municipality
Coat of arms of Folldal kommune
Coat of arms
Official logo of Folldal kommune
Hedmark within
Norway
Folldal within Hedmark
Folldal within Hedmark
Coordinates: 62°11′57″N 10°2′7″E / 62.19917°N 10.03528°E / 62.19917; 10.03528Coordinates: 62°11′57″N 10°2′7″E / 62.19917°N 10.03528°E / 62.19917; 10.03528
Country Norway
County Hedmark
District Østerdalen
Administrative centre Folldal
Government
 • Mayor (2003) Eva Tørhaug (Ap)
Area
 • Total 1,275 km2 (492 sq mi)
 • Land 1,257 km2 (485 sq mi)
Area rank 73 in Norway
Population (2004)
 • Total 1,739
 • Rank 354 in Norway
 • Density 1/km2 (3/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years) -9.3 %
Demonym(s) Folldøl
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-0439
Official language form Neutral
Website www.folldal.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Folldal is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Østerdalen. It is bordered on the north by Oppdal and Tynset municipalities, in the east by Alvdal municipality, in the south by Stor-Elvdal, Sør-Fron and Sel municipalities, and in the west by Dovre municipality. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Folldal. Mining at the Folldal mines was the main industry for Folldal's residents from the 18th century until the last mine related operation in 1993. The new municipality of Folldal was separated from Alvdal in 1914.

The first element is the river name Folla and the last element is dal which means "valley" or "dale". The meaning of the river name is unknown (perhaps "the broad one").

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted in 1988. The arms show a gold-colored pickaxe on a red background. This was chosen to represent mining and agriculture in the municipality.

Mining has been important to Folldal’s development from the 18th century to the present. The Folldal works (Folldal Verk) was founded in 1748. Folldal’s main copper mine, Gammelgruva, also opened in 1748. The mine employed up to 550 people. Until the 1878 ore was transported by horse-drawn vehicles to the Lovise smelter located in neighboring Alvdal municipality. From 1878 to 1906 there was a lull in operations. Operations were restarted in 1906 with ore was transported by a 34 km long cable car (Northern Europe's longest) to the smelter. The main mine played out and was closed in 1941. Smelting continues using ore from several other deposits in the area until 1968. Then the mining and ore dressing moved to Tverrfjellet at Hjerkinn, in Dovre municipality, approximately 30 km from Folldal. The business was closed in 1993.


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