On 1 January 2020, the neighboring counties of Oppland andHedmark were merged to form the newInnlandet county. Both Oppland and Hedmark were the only landlocked counties ofNorway, and the new Innlandet county is the only landlocked county in Norway. The two counties had historically been one county that was divided in 1781. Historically, the region was commonly known as "Opplandene". In 1781, the government split the area into two:Hedemarkens amt and Kristians amt (later renamedHedmark and Oppland). In 2017, the government approved the merger of the two counties. There were several names debated, but the government settled onInnlandet.[7][8]
InNorse times the inner parts of Norway were calledUpplǫnd which means 'the upper countries'. The first element isupp which means 'upper'. The last element islǫnd which is the plural form of 'land'.
In 1757, the inner parts of the greatAkershusamt were separated and given the nameOplandenes Amt. This was divided in 1781 intoChristians Amt (named after the kingChristian VII) andHedemarkens Amt. The name/form was changed toKristians Amt in 1877 after an official spelling reform that changedch tok (see alsoKristiania,Kristiansand andKristiansund). In 1919, the nameKristians Amt was changed (back) toOplandfylke, and the spellingOppland was approved in 1950.
