Dovre 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 Dovre. Other villages in Dovre include Dombås and Hjerkinn. The municipality is bordered on the north by Oppdal municipality (in Trøndelag county), on the east by Folldal, on the south by Sel and Vågå, and on the northwest by Lesja. The highest peak in the municipality is Snøhetta at a height of 2286 m. The 1364 km2 municipality is the 69th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Dovre is the 252nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,466. The municipality's population density is 1.8 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 9.6% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Dovre was established in 1861 when it was separated from the municipality of Lesja. Initially, the new municipality had 2,537 residents. On 1 January 1970, the three western farms at Bergsengseter (population: 11) were transferred from Dovre to the neighboring Folldal Municipality.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Dovre farm since the first Dovre Church was built there. The name belongs to a group of Scandinavian toponyms that the Swedish linguist Elof Hellquist has derived from a Proto-Norse *đuƀra-, and linguists have further derived them from the old Proto-Indo-European root - (cf. PIE, "deep" ), a root that is also attested in German Topel ("forested valley") and Old Slavic dublŭ ("hole"). There are several place names in Denmark, Norway and Sweden that are identified as related to Dovre: The name has also been given to giants in Scandinavian legends. The name has been given to the giant Dofri, at Dovrefjell, who was helped by Harald Fairhair and in return assisted him all his life. In Närke, the Dovra lakes were attributed to the giantess Dovra who wept for her husband.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 11 July 1986. The official blazon is "Argent, a muskox sable". This means the arms have a field (background) has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The charge is a muskox that is black with yellow horn. It is displayed statant to dexter. The muskox is an animal typical for the northern parts of Canada, Alaska, and Greenland. It is not native to Norway, but in 1932, ten muskoxen were released near Dovre. The number has increased to around 300 (in 2013), and the animal is thus a typical symbol for the municipality. The arms were designed by Einar Skjervold. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Dovre. It is part of the Nord-Gudbrandsdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar. Dovre Church (Dovre kirke) was built in 1736. The bell tower was added early in the 19th century. It was built based upon designed by Jesper Mikkelson Rusten. It was constructed of wood and has protected status. Eystein Church (Eysteinskirka) in Dovre was built in 1969 as a church for pilgrims and travelers on the Pilgrim's Route. The church lies near the juncture of the boundaries of Innlandet and Trøndelag counties. Eystein Church is built of concrete using stone and sand brought from the Hjerkinn. The plans for the church were designed by architect Magnus Poulsson (1881-1958).

History

People have lived at Dovre for about 6,000 years. In the Stone Age, they were primarily hunters and fishermen. Approximately 2,000 years ago, the first farms were developed at this location. Dovre is mentioned in Heimskringla (The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway) by Snorri Sturluson. In 1021, King Olaf laid hold of all the best men, both at Lesja and Dovre, and forced them either to receive Christianity or suffer death, if they were not so lucky as to escape. The Pilgrim's Route (Old King's Road) between Oslo and Trondheim in the 16th century passed through the Gudbrandsdal valley. After leaving the Lågen river valley (downriver from present day Dombås) the road passed over the Dovrefjell mountains into the present-day municipality of Dovre. The heavy stream of annual pilgrims who visited the shrine of St. Olaf in Trondheim prior to the Protestant Reformation resulted in the construction of mountain stations along the route where the pilgrims could find food and shelter. In speaking of this route, Gjerset quotes Peder Claussøn Friis as writing: "But in the winter people of high estate, as well as members of the court, travel mostly this way, because however high and deep the snow may fall, it blows together on the high mountains and becomes so hard men and horses can walk on it. The bonder run over it on skis and snowshoes. There are three stations: Drivstuen, Herdekinn, and Fogstuen built on this same mountain in order that travelers may find lodging there....at the stations there are implements and dry wood, so that the traveler may build themselves fire, and not suffer from cold, when they have to remain over night, and cannot find the way across the mountain." The Battle of Kringen (Slaget ved Kringen) took place in August 1612, just downstream of Dovre, where the Scottish force stayed on 24 August 1612.

Government

Dovre 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 Vestre Innlandet District Court and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Dovre 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 mayors of Dovre (incomplete list):

Geography

The municipality is a very mountainous area. Most of the residents live in the lower valley areas along the Gudbrandsdalslågen river. The Dovrefjell, Rondane, Smiubelgen, and Sunndalsfjella mountains are all partially located within the municipality.

National Parks

Climate

The Dovre area is in a valley at fairly high altitude and isolated from the sea by mountain ranges, giving some rain shadow effect for Dovre. Dovre, with the town Dombås, has a subarctic climate (Dfc) with sparse precipitation. The driest season is late winter and spring, and the wettest season is summer. April on average sees just 18 mm precipitaiton, while the wettest months July and August get almost four times as much.

International relations

Dovre has sister city agreements with the following places:

Notable people