Nissedal (; ) is a rural municipality in Telemark region of Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional regions of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Treungen. Other villages in Nissedal include Kyrkjebygda and Felle.
The municipality is the 129th largest by area of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Nissedal Municipality is the 304th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of . The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 4.6% over the previous 10-year period. Nissedal Municipality has 2,246 vacation homes, so the population swells during holidays and vacation times.
Nissedal Municipality has been nicknamed the "Telemark Riviera" for its close proximity to Gautefall Alpine Center and for its many campgrounds and outdoor activities. There are a total of 1,750 lakes in the municipality, including Nisser, the seventh-largest lake in Norway, after which Nissedal is named. Gautefall, which is home to Telemark County's largest alpine center, lies adjacent to the municipality. For residents of the Oslo Fjord area, Gautefall is the nearest winter sport destination.
Nissedal's terrain is characterized by roche moutonnée rock formations, mountains, valleys, forests, wetlands, and lakes. Nissedal is a popular destination for outdoor activities such as paddling, fishing, swimming, mountain biking, hiking, kayaking, skiing, boating, and more. It is recognized as one of Norway’s best places for mountain climbing. Nissedal is home to Hægefjell, one of Norway's most popular mountain climbing destinations.
General information Administrative history The formannskapsdistrikt law of 1837 created a system of local government in Norway by establishing each Church of Norway prestegjeld as a civil municipality. On 1 January 1838, Nissedal prestegjeld was established as Nissedal Municipality.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, the Espestøl area (population: 7) of Åmli Municipality in Aust-Agder county was transferred to Nissedal Municipality in Telemark county. Then again on 1 January 1965, the unpopulated Espestøl, Reinefoss, and Espestølstykket areas of Åmli Municipality in Aust-Agder county were transferred to Nissedal Municipality in Telemark county. The borders have not changed since that time.
In 2020, there were many municipal and county mergers across Norway due to the work of the Solberg cabinet. Historically, this municipality was part of Telemark county. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became a part of the newly-formed Vestfold og Telemark county (after Telemark and Vestfold counties were merged). The merger was short-lived, and on 1 January 2024, the merger was undone and this municipality became part of Telemark county once again.
Etymology The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Nissedal valley () since the first Nissedal Church was built in the valley. Nissedal was first mentioned in a written source in the 1300s under the name Nizudal. The current written form first emerged in the 1400s. The first element of the municipal name comes from the local lake Nisser, which was historically spelled Nizir. The first element is the lake name comes from the local river , the old name for the river Nidelva. The last element of the lake name is which means "inland sea" or "large lake". Thus it is "the inland sea that feeds the river Nidelva". The last element of the municipal name is which means "valley" or "dale".
Today, the name Nissedal refers to three geographical areas: 1) Nissedal Municipality, 2) the Nissedal parish in the Church of Norway which includes the villages on both sides of the lake Nisser, and 3) the villages of Nordbygda and Kyrkjebygda that are jointly referred to as "Nissedal village".
Coat of arms The coat of arms was granted on 30 October 1992. The official blazon is "Or, three nisse hats gules" (). This means the arms have a field (background) has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The charge is a set of three nisseluer, traditional red woolen hats often associated with the nisse, which were commonly worn until the late 19th century by farmers and common folk. It is a canting arms, since the name Nissedal has been "translated" into a visual pun with the three woolen hats, in spite of the name having nothing to do with the folkloric nisse. The arms were designed by Halvor Holtskog Jr. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.
Churches The Church of Norway has one parish () within Nissedal Municipality. It is part of the Øvre Telemark prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. Prior to 2012, the churches in the municipality were part of the Nissedal prestegjeld.
Churches in Nissedal MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtNissedalNissedal ChurchKyrkjebygda1764Treungen ChurchTreungen1863Felle ChapelFelle1970
History
The area of Nissedal Municipality has been populated for over 10,000 years. It was likely one of the first areas in Telemark to be inhabited, likely by people migrating from the south and southwest after the Ice Age. Most artifacts retrieved in Nissedal are dated to the Iron Age. However, older traces such as cairns, arrowheads, and stone axes have also been retrieved. Two ancient rock paintings can still be seen on the western shore of Lake Nisser, including paintings at Kvithamar by Fjone and at Trontveit further south. Bronze Age artifacts include swords and keys, while there are large burial mounds found in Fjone ("Kjempehaugane"). The ancient burial mounds have a diameter of 15–20 meters and are dated to the Iron Age.
One of the earliest areas to be populated in Nissedal was the cave Holmevasshelleren, approximately from the lake Holmevatn at Kyrkjebygdheia. Archeological discoveries have dated prehistoric settlements at Holmevasshelleren to Neolithic times, 3800 BCE-6000 BCE. The cave is long, high, and deep.
Ancient rock paintings from the Bronze Age can be seen at various sites in Nissedal, including by a steep mountain by Trontveit farm on the western side of the lake Nisser. Such paintings are also found by Kvithamar further north. The rock art site at Kvithammaren ("The White Crag") is named for the site where it is painted, namely a white niche in the mountainside, roughly above the surface of Nisser Lake, at the foot of a high cliff. It is easily visible from distance and may have been seen as openings in Earth and a link to the underworld. The other rock painting by Nisser Lake is known as ("The Oven") and is located at the foot of a high escarpment which originally jutted up in front of the panel. This painting depicts a row of human figures, an animal pictograph, and a pattern of zigzag lines. A local clergyman visited the paintings in the early 1800s and claimed the human figures at Ovnen to have been drawn by a monk in the memory of a bridal procession that drowned. Their colloquial name, ("The Monk’s Drawings"), is a reference to this. The paintings at Ovnen are naturally filled in iron oxides.
An ancient archeological monument from the Bronze Age, dating to 1800 BCE-500 BCE, can also be seen by Stolsvasslonene. It is a solar symbol of a sun wheel which is 40-centimeter in diameter. It can be reached by hiking the DNT trail between Uvdalen and Gautefall. It is likely an ancient symbol of fertility and possibly related to the nearby lake.
Heigeitilen, a boundary marker on the border between the three historic parishes of Tørdal, Nissedal, and Treungen, was first mentioned in written sources in 1792. It is likely an ancient marker and can be reached from the Heigeitilløypa trail (Heigeitilstien). It is a Milky Quartz mineral rock.
The Uvdalen valley has been populated since the Stone Age. Protected from the wind by the mountain Heitfjell, the area was likely inhabited for hundreds of years. Archeological surveys here have retrieved various artifacts from the Stone Age, including arrowheads and flint tools. The first written record of inhabitants in Uvdalen dates to 1574, while the last permanent inhabitants left the valley in 1910. The 1733 census indicates that Bjørn Alvson and his wife Torbjørg lived on a farm here with nine cows, 42 sheep, 16 goats, and two horses, among other animals. The 1865 census showed a total population of 24 in Uvdalen. Uvdalen was once home to one of the largest farms in Treungen.
Reinsvasshytta by the lake Reinsvatn was built in 1900 by Amboritius Olsen Lindvig and was Gautefallheia's first cabin.
In the 20th century, a number of dams were constructed at various lakes throughout Nissedal. Constructed by Sveinung Solli in 1900, the dam Bjønntjønndammen above the Bjønntjønnfossen waterfall was in use until the 1960s. It is located by Bjønntjønn ("Bear Lake") in the valley known as Bjønntjønndalen. The dam by nearby Mjåvatn, Mjåvassdammen, was also constructed around the year 1900 and was in use until the late 1960s. Another dam was constructed by Holmevassosen at the lake Holmevatn at Kyrkjebygdheia in 1965.
Economy
Important industries in Nissedal are farming, forestry, fur farming, power supply and tourism. Forestry has been the most important industry in Nissedal since the 1600s. Berry collection was an important industry in the 1920s and 1930s, when berries were exported from Nissedal to Great Britain.
In recent years, tourism and the construction of vacation homes have become an important industry and largely replaced the fur farming industry. There were 2200 vacation homes in Nissedal in 2016, compared to a permanent population of 1476 inhabitants.
Hydropower remains an important industry in Nissedal. Aust-Agder Kraftverk has produced electricity here since 1919. Agder Energi has five stations in Treungen and Skagerak Energi has facilities in Fjone.
Two grocery stores are located in Treungen: SPAR and Coop Prix.
Culture
The Treungenfestival is an annual music festival attracting over 12,000 visitors per year.
Z Museum is located in Treungen and has exhibits of veteran cars and an over 1000-year-old wooden boat. The museum also has Norway's biggest collection of ancient telephones.
An additional museum, Sputnik Museum, is located nearby on the property of country music singer Sputnik (Knut T. Storbukås) in Bostrak. He was awarded Artist of the Year in 1990 by Dagbladet and is listed in the Guinness Book of Records. His collection of over 36 silver, gold, diamond, and platinum records are among the exhibits at the museum. The museum is notable for having a rocket placed on its rooftop.
Government Nissedal 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 Øvre Telemark District Court and the Agder Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Nissedal 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 Nissedal Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1838–1842: Hans Nielsen 1843–1843: Rasmus Nielsen Bakka 1844–1849: Niels Rasmussen Tvedt, Jr. 1850–1851: Hans Jacobsen Wiig 1852–1856: Paul Christiansen Grimstvedt 1857–1857: John Rasmussen Fjone 1858–1861: Niels Rasmussen Bakka 1862–1869: Olaus Halvorsen Bakka 1870–1870: Ole Nielsen Bakke