The Gudbrandsdal valley is a valley and landscape in the Norwegian fylke of Oppland. The valley is oriented in North-North west direction from Lillehammer at the Lake Mjøsa, extending 230 km toward Romsdal. The large river Gudbrandsdalslågen flows along the valley bottom, starting from Lesjaskogsvatnet and ending in lake Mjøsa.

The landscape consists of the municipalities of Lesja, Skjåk, Lom, Vågå, Sel, Nord-Fron, Sør-Fron, Ringebu, Øyer, Gausdal, and Lillehammer.

History

Gudbrandsdal is shaped by the recent ice age and rivers from the present glacial areas in Jotunheimen and Dovre.

1015 - Gudbrandsdalen is mentioned extensively in the Heimskringla (The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway) by Snorri Sturlson. The account of King Olaf's (A.D. 1015-1021) conversion of Dale-Gudbrand to christianity is popularly recognized.

1349 to 1350 – The Black Plague halved the population in Gudbrandsdalen. This resulted in a temporary improvement for the lower classes as crofters became scarce and even the poor were able to rent the better farms in the bottom lands.

1537 - During the reformation the Church was subordinated to the “lendmenn” or sheriff. Church property was appropriated by the crown and the King became the biggest Gudbrandsdalen land-owner.

1612 - Gudbrandsdalen, at Kringen, was the location of the battle where local peasants in 1612 defeated the Scottish mercenary army led by Captain George Sinclair. The legends of this battle lives on to this day, including the story of how the peasant girl Prillar-Guri lured the Scots into an ambush by playing of the traditional ram's horn.

1670 to 1725 – Most of the royal property was sold off to pay for war debts, first to established property holders, but increasingly to peasant proprietors. A freeholder’s era began and a new “upper class” of land holders was formed.

Towns

• Lillehammer
• Ringebu
• Otta

Mountain areas close to the valley

• Jotunheimen
• Rondane
• Dovre

Named for Gudbrandsdal

• Gudbrandsdalsost

External links

• The Battle of Kringen, 1612
• The Scottish Expedition in Norway in 1612