Øystre Slidre is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Valdres. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Heggenes. Other villages in the municipality include Hegge, Rogne, Volbu, Moane, Skammestein, Beito, and Beitostølen.

The municipality is the 120th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Øystre Slidre Municipality is the 221st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,311. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 2.9% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Østre Slidre, later spelled Øystre Slidre, was established in 1849, when the former Slidre Municipality, created in 1838, was divided into Østre Slidre Municipality, with a population of 2,406, and Vestre Slidre Municipality, with a population of 3,130. On 1 January 1882, a small area of Vang Municipality, with 31 residents, was transferred to the neighbouring Østre Slidre Municipality. On 1 January 1899, a small uninhabited area of Østre Slidre Municipality was transferred to Vestre Slidre Municipality.

Historically, the municipality was part of the former Oppland county. On 1 January 2020, Øystre Slidre became part of the newly created Innlandet county, formed through the merger of Hedmark and Oppland.

On 1 January 2021, the Skjelgrenda area of Vestre Slidre Municipality was transferred to Øystre Slidre Municipality.

Name

The municipality, originally the parish, is named after the old Slidre farm, recorded in Old Norse as , because the old Slidredomen church was built there. The name is probably derived from , meaning "sheath", possibly referring to a long depression near the church. When the municipality and parish were divided in 1849, the word , meaning "eastern", was added to the name. The meaning of Østre Slidre is therefore "the eastern part of Slidre". The municipality was historically spelled Østre Slidre. On 11 September 1925, a royal resolution changed the official spelling to Øystre Slidre, using a local dialect form of the same word.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 17 March 1989. The official blazon is "Plumetty azure and argent" (). This means that the arms have a field, or background, covered with a plumetty pattern in alternating blue and argent tinctures. Argent is usually shown as white, or as silver when metal is used.

The design is intended to resemble tiles made of slate. It refers to the slate industry, which was formerly important in the area, and to the use of slate roofing in Valdres. The arms were designed by Odd Karlberg. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has four parishes, or , within Øystre Slidre Municipality. They are part of the Valdres prosti, or deanery, in the Diocese of Hamar.

Churches in Øystre Slidre MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtHeggeHegge Stave ChurchHegge1216LidarLidar ChurchSkammestein1932RogneRogne ChurchRogne1857VolbuVolbu ChurchVolbu1820

History () is a narrow pass along the mountain Bitihorn where in medieval times people from the Øystre Slidre area dragged their boats through, therefore the name. A bit further into the mountain there is a big lake called Vinstre with a lot of fine trout. As a result of a dispute between people from Valdres and people from Gudbrandsdalen, they could not leave their boats behind. Therefore, they had to resort to dragging their boats through Båtskaret. According to local folklore, the dispute began in medieval times with a young bride being married to an old man and a knight stealing his way over the mountains to rescue her.

Hegge Stave Church was originally constructed around the year 1216 in the village of Hegge. It has been extensively rebuilt and is mostly post-reformation. It contains a fine altarpiece (reredos) carved by Eistein Kjørn from Heidal between 1781 and 1782.

Geography

Øystre Slidre Municipality shares borders with Nord-Aurdal Municipality and Vestre Slidre Municipality in the south; Vang Municipality in the west; Gausdal Municipality, Sør-Fron Municipality, and Nord-Fron Municipality to the east; and up to the Valdresflya plateau at the border of Vågå Municipality in the north. Øystre Slidre Municipality is part of the traditional district of Valdres in central, southern Norway, situated between the Gudbrandsdal and Hallingdal valleys. Øystre Slidre Municipality measures about on a north–south axis and on an east–west axis.

The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Øystre Rasletinden, located as a tri-point on the border with Vågå Municipality, Vang Municipality, and Øystre Slidre Municipality. About 73% of the land is over in elevation. More than 10% of the land is over above sea level. Some of the notable mountains in the municipality include Gråhøe, Store Kalvemellen, Kvernhøe, Rabalsmellen, Raslet, Rundemellen, Skaget, and Skarvemellen. The lowest points lie at above sea level. Lakes and rivers cover of the area. The largest lakes are Vinstre, Yddin, Vangsjøen, Javnin, Olevatn, Nedre Heimdalsvatn, Øyangen, and Sandvatnet/Kaldfjorden/Øyvatnet.

Climate

Government Øystre Slidre 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 Vestoppland og Valdres District Court and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council The municipal council of Øystre Slidre Municipality is made up of 21 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 Øystre Slidre 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:

1849–1853: Tøllev Løken 1854–1855: Endre Rogne

1871–1875: Ole R. Skattebo 1875–1887: Tollef Knudsen Liekren 1888–1891: Knud O. Rogne 1892–1904: Torstein Rogne 1905–1910: G.H. Skattebo 1911–1916: Ole Bustebakke (V) 1917–1925: Knut O. Alfstad (V) 1925–1931: Knut Ekkern (FV) 1931–1941: Gullik K. Hovi (RF) 1941–1945: John O. Mørstad (NS) 1945–1947: Gullik K. Hovi (V) 1948–1955: Haldor Hegge (V) 1956–1959: Knut Bjørnstad (Sp) 1960–1963: Haldor Hegge (V) 1964–1975: Knut Bjørnstad (Sp) 1976–1979: Nils T. Windingstad (Sp) 1980–1991: Knut Bergo (V) 1992–1997: Terje Stenseng (Sp) 1997–1999: Ola Fjelltun (Sp) 1999–2003: Ove Skaret (Ap) 2003–2011: Gro Lundby (Ap) 2011–2019: Kjell Berge Melbybråten (Ap) 2019–2023: Odd Erik Holden (Sp) 2023–present: Bjarne Budal (Ap)

Economy + Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Øystre Slidre by country of origin in 2017AncestryNumber 49 47 39 Because of the rugged landscape, farming is only possible on a small scale, but this is still one of the main sources of income. There are only about of agricultural land in the municipality. About 85% of farmers in the municipality use the high mountain pastures in the summer time.

The winter sports resort of Beitostølen, host to World Cup events in biathlon and cross-country skiing, is located here. It is the biggest tourist area in the municipality, and provides a large fraction of the municipality's income.

Notable people Olav Beito (1901–1989), a linguist and academic Ole Haldorsen Bjelbøle (1879–??), a farmer and politician Torger Hovi (1905–1980), a politician and deputy mayor of Øystre Slidre from 1959–1961 Torleiv Bolstad (1915–1979), a musician and Hardanger fiddle player

References

External links Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway

Beitostølen Resort