Vinje (; ) is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vest-Telemark which is part of Øvre Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Åmot. Other villages in the municipality include Arabygdi, Edland, Grunge, Haukeli, Krysset, Møsstrond, Nesland, Øyfjell, Raulandsgrend, and Vinje.
The municipality is the 14th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Vinje Municipality is the 211th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of . The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 2.7% over the previous 10-year period.
General information Administrative history The formannskapsdistrikt law of 1837 created a system of local government in Norway by establishing each town (ladested or kjøpstad) and each Church of Norway prestegjeld as a civil municipality. On 1 January 1838, Vinje prestegjeld was established as Vinje Municipality. In 1860, the northern district of Vinje Municipality (population: 745) was removed from the municipality and merged with the Øyfjell area of Laardal Municipality (population: 243) to form the new Rauland Municipality.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Rauland Municipality (population: ) was dissolved and merged with Vinje Municipality (population: ) to form an enlarged Vinje Municipality.
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 shortlived, and on 1 January 2024, the merger was undone and this municipality became part of Telemark county once again.
Name The municipality is named after the old Vinje prestegjeld. The prestegjeld was named after the old Vinje farm () since the first Vinje Church was built there. The name is the plural form of the word which means "meadow" or "pasture".
Coat of arms The coat of arms was granted on 16 November 1990. The official blazon is "Azure a billy goat argent" (). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a billy goat. The billy goat 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 color blue and the goat were chosen based on an old poem written by Aasmund Olavsson Vinje. The poem is called Blåmann () which is about a goat named Blåmann. This was also chosen to represent the importance of sheep and goat farming in the mountainous municipality. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.
Churches The Church of Norway has four parishes () within Vinje Municipality. It is part of the Øvre Telemark prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.
Churches in Vinje MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtGrungedalGrunge ChurchGrunge1850RaulandMøsstrond ChurchMøsstrond1923Rauland ChurchRaulandsgrend1803Vinje og NeslandNesland ChurchNesland1847Vinje ChurchVinje1796ØyfjellØyfjell ChurchØyfjell1833
History The longstanding local traditions of arts and crafts have been well maintained. Rauland hosts a national academy for arts, crafts, and traditional music. Folk music has always been strong in Vinje. The Myllarguten, Targjei Augundsson lived the last years of his life in Rauland. Vinje has also been home to many rosemåling artists.
Vinje became a site of heavy battles during World War II, at the Battle of Vinjesvingen when Norwegian forces held out for over a month against superior German forces.
Geography
Vinje Municipality is situated on both the Hardangervidda plateau and parts of the Setesdalsheiene mountain plateau. Most of the land area of the municipality is quite high in elevation. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Nupsegga, located on the county border with Ullensvang Municipality in Vestland county.
The European route E134 highway passes through the municipality on its way over the mountain pass to connect Eastern Norway and Western Norway. Vinje Municipality sits along the highway about halfway between Oslo (in the east) and Haugesund (on Norway's west coast). Starting at Haukeli, the Norwegian National Road 9 leads up the steep slopes to Hovden and further south down the Setesdal valley to the southern coastal city of Kristiansand.
The mountain ski resort Haukelifjell is also found nearby. The isolated and sparsely populated area is known for its rugged, mountainous terrain that supports a wide variety of outdoor activities, amongst them hiking, mountain biking, snowboarding, skiing, fishing, and canoeing. The Hardangervidda National Park lies partially in western Vinje. The village of Arabygdi lies on the lake Totak in the western part of Rauland. Its famous attraction is the "Urdbøuri", the largest stone scree in Northern Europe, with huge boulders scattered on the floor of the valley.
The rivers Tokke and Vinjeåi both flow through the municipality. The lakes Holmavatnet, Møsvatn, Songavatnet, Totak, and Vinjevatn are all located in Vinje Municipality as well. The mountains Fitjanuten, Kistenuten, and Vassdalseggi all lie on the municipal and county border in the western part of Vinje.
Nore og Uvdal Municipality (in Buskerud county) is located to the north, Tinn Municipality is located to the east, Seljord Municipality is located to the southeast, Tokke Municipality is located to the south, Bykle Municipality (in Agder county) is located to the southwest, Valle Municipality (in Agder county) is located to the west, and Ullensvang Municipality (in Vestland county) is located to the northwest.
Climate
Government Vinje 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 Vinje Municipality is made up of 25 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
Mayor The mayor () of Vinje Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1838–1840: Rev. Frid2 Ingier 1840–1841: Tallef Vinje 1841–1852: Richard A. Berge 1855–1859: Aslak T. Vinje 1859–1861: Nils Pedersen Brekke 1861–1863: Olav T. Nestestog 1863–1865: Aslak Tovsen Vinje 1865–1869: Aslak Tallefsen Vinje 1869–1872: A.O. Jamsgard 1872–1873: Olav Fetveit 1873–1880: Sv. Bjørnsen Lofthus 1880–1891: Olav T. Nestestog 1891–1893: Tarjei Vesaas 1893–1895: Bjørn Lofthus 1895–1898: Johans Hylland 1898–1899: Aanund Nestestog 1899–1904: Olav A. Hustveit 1905–1908: Johans Hylland 1909–1910: Styrkår S. Særen 1911–1913: Johans Hylland 1914–1919: Bjørn Fetveit 1920–1928: O.K. Bakken 1929–1931: Knut Nordstoga 1931–1932: Aasmund Høgetveit 1932–1934: O.K. Bakken 1935–1937: Harald O. Vågslid 1938–1940: O.K. Bakken 1941–1941: Torgeir Tjønn (NS) 1941–1942: Halvor Berdal (NS) 1943–1943: T. Gårder (NS) 1943–1944: Einar Vaagen (NS) 1945–1945: O.K. Bakken 1946–1947: B. Indrelid (V) 1947–1948: Leiv Fetveit (LL) 1948–1951: Knut T. Vågslid (LL) 1951–1955: B. Indrelid (V) 1955–1959: Knut Tveito (LL) 1960–1971: Aslak Versto (Ap) 1976–1979: Ingvald Godal (Sp) 1980–1987: Aslak Versto (Ap) 1988–1995: Olav Nystog (Ap) 1995–1999: Olav Nordstoga (Sp) 1999–2003: Børre Rønningen (Ap) 2003–2015: Arne Vinje (SV) 2015–present: Jon Rikard Kleven (Sp)
Notable people The Arts
Sveinung Svalastoga (1772 in Rauland – 1809), a rosemåling painter, poet, and woodcarver Myllarguten (Torgeir Agundson Øygarden) (1801–1872), a folk musician and master fiddler Aasmund Olavsson Vinje (1818–1870), a poet and journalist who used Nynorsk Rikard Berge (1881 in Rauland – 1969), a folklorist, museologist, biographer, and editor Tarjei Vesaas (1897–1970), a poet and novelist Aslaug Vaa (1889 in Rauland – 1965), a poet and playwright Aslak Brekke (1901–1978), a vocalist using stev and a folk singer Dyre Vaa (1903–1980), a sculptor and painter whose works are found in Oslo and Vinje Anne Lofthus (1932–2003), a ceramic artist and art teacher Guri Vesaas (born 1939), a writer and translator of children's books Stein Versto (born 1957), a poet, novelist, translator, and folk musician Aasmund Nordstoga (born 1964), a musician, singer, composer, and TV presenter Sven Erik Kristiansen (born 1969), a musician and former vocalist in the black metal band Mayhem Arve Moen Bergset (born 1972), a traditional folk singer, hardanger fiddler, and classical violinist Odd Nordstoga (born 1972), a folk singer, musician, actor and editor. Retrieved 24 August 2020. Ingebjørg Bratland (born 1990), a folk singer, kveder, and artist
Public Service
Paul Peterson Paus (1625-1682), a cleric, political activist, and poet Olav Aslakson Versto (1892 in Rauland – 1977), a politician Einar Skinnarland (1918–2002), a Norwegian resistance fighter during WWII and dam builder Aslak Versto (1924-1992), a politician Olav Vesaas (born 1935), a journalist, biographer, and publisher Olav Versto (1950–2011), a journalist and editor Astrid Versto (born 1953), a journalist and diplomat
Sport Olav Jenssen (born 1962), a discus thrower who competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics Knut Tore Apeland (born 1968), a former Nordic combined skier and two-time team silver medallist at the 1992 & 1994 Winter Olympics Terje Håkonsen (born 1974), a snowboarder
Attractions The home of Myllarguten is now a small museum. (The cotters place Kosi in Arabygdi.) The monument of Myllarguten, the 19th century musician, who played for kings and who inspired Edvard Grieg . It is located on the roadside vis-a-vis Kosi.
References
External links Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway