Ål

Ål Municipality

*Ål kommune*
Ål Municipality Ål kommune
Municipality
	Flag Coat of arms
	Buskerud within Norway
	Ål within Buskerud
	Coordinates: 60°37′49″N 8°33′40″E / 60.63028°N 8.56111°E
Country	Norway
County	Buskerud
District	Hallingdal
Administrative centre	Ål
Government
• Mayor (2015)	Solveig Vestenfor (Labour Party)
Area
• Total	1,171 km2 (452 sq mi)
• Land	1,081 km2 (417 sq mi)
• Rank	#85 in Norway
Population (2015)
• Total	4,716
• Rank	#207 in Norway
• Density	4/km2 (10/sq mi)
Demonym	Åling
Official language
• Norwegian form	Nynorsk
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-3328
Website	Official website
	Data from Statistics Norway

Ål is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hallingdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ål. The parish of Aal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The area of Hol was separated from the municipality of Aal in 1877 to become a separate municipality.

Geography

80% of Ål municipality is at least 900 meters (3,000 ft) above sea level. The highest point is Raudbergnuten at 1,819 meters (5,968 ft).^[4] Reineskarvet, the significant mountain of Ål has a summit of 1,791 meters (5,876 ft). In the winter, Ål has over 400 kilometers (250 mi) of maintained cross country ski trails.^[5]

Ål borders the municipalities of Hol, Gol, Hemsedal, Nes, Nore og Uvdal, and Lærdal.

The Bergen Line, the rail line between Oslo and Bergen runs through Ål. Ål Station has an elevation of 436 meters (1,430 ft) and is the halfway station on the Bergen Line.

Hallingdalselva runs in the bottom of the main valley, forming Strandafjorden, a long, narrow lake for several kilometers. Ål has several hydroelectric dams. Hallingdalselva runs partly in a tunnel from here to Nes municipality, where it drives a large turbine power plant.

Mountains

General information

Approximately 5,000 inhabitants spread over several smaller villages including Ål, Torpo, Leveld, Vats, Trillhus, Granhagen, Breie and Strand. There is a strong cultural tradition, with folk music being a big part of people's identity. Folkemusikkveka is held every May for a week.

The traditional industry of Ål is mostly small-farming. Many livestock farms are still in operation with small herds of sheep, dairy cattle, and goats. Crop growing is difficult because of the steep valley walls, but wheat, barley, rye, and potatoes have all been grown in the past.

The award-winning local paper Hallingdølen has offices in the village of Ål. It comes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Ål has a Videregående school and a Folkehøyskole for deaf students.

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was Áll. The name is identical with the word áll which means "ditch" or "gully". In 1921, the spelling of the name was changed from "Aal" to "Ål".^[6]

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. The arms were granted on 30 November 1984 and show three silver diamond shapes in a vertical line on a red background. The designs are taken from an old and common pattern used in hand-woven tapestries in the area. They also symbolize the three churches in the municipality: Ål, Torpo, and Leveld.^[7]^[8]

**Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Ål by country of origin in 2020**^[9]
Ancestry	Number
Poland	166
Eritrea	68
Denmark	18
Somalia	16
Sweden	16

Attractions

Torpo Stave Church (built around 1190–1200) is located in Torpo
Ål Bygdamuseum is built around the old Leksvol farm, and is typical of the area. The buildings go back to the 17th century. In later years the museum gained additional buildings, Øvre tunet, Stølen, and Husmannsplassen, where a stone cottage has been reconstructed, similar to those used in the mountain sæter.
Hallingdal feriepark, camping with high ropes course and activities
Ål Skisenter, downhill skiing facility

Notable people from Ål

Hallgrim Berg (born 1945), folk musician and politician
Lars T. Bjella (1922–2013), politician, active in Ål local politics for 25 years
Stein Torleif Bjella (born 1968), songwriter, singer, and guitarist
Nils Terje Dalseide (1952–2018), judge and civil servant
Kristian Hefte (1905–1977), actor
Trond Helleland (born 1962), politician
Odd Hoftun (born 1927), engineer and missionary to Nepal
Eldbjørg Løwer (born 1943), politician
Mikkel Ødelien (1893–1984), scientist, educator and soil researcher
Einfrid Perstølen (1917–2017), psychiatrist and Nynorsk language proponent
Olle Eksell (born Carl Olof Lennart 1918–2007), graphic designer
Ambjørg Sælthun (1922–2012), farmer and politician
Ole Larsen Skattebøl (1844–1929), judge and politician
Embrik Strand (1876–1947), entomologist and arachnologist
Olav Thon (born 1923), real estate developer and billionaire

Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Ål:^[10]

- Sololá, Sololá Department, Guatemala

References

^ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
^ "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
^ Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (26 January 2023). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
^ "Kultur- og helsekommunen Ål". Ål Turistinformasjon (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 12 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
^ "Cross-country". Ål Turistinformasjon. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
^ Knappen, Audun. "Kommunenavn i Buskerud" (in Norwegian). Terra Buskerud. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
^ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". Archived from the original on 15 July 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
^ "Kommunevåpen" (in Norwegian). Ål kommune. Archived from the original on 22 December 2009. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
^ "Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents, by immigration category, country background and percentages of the population". ssb.no. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
^ "Venskap Ål-Sololá" (in Norwegian). Ål kommune. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2009.