The 1,364-square-kilometre (527 sq mi) municipality is the 69th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Dovre is the 252nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,466. The municipality'spopulation density is 1.8 inhabitants per square kilometre (4.7/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 9.6% over the previous 10-year period.[4][5]
View of the Dovrebanen railroad passing theDovre Station
The municipality of Dovre was established in 1861 when it was separated from the municipality ofLesja. Initially, the new municipality had 2,537 residents. On 1 January 1970, the three western farms at Bergsengseter (population: 11) were transferred from Dovre to the neighboringFolldal Municipality.[6]
Dovrefjell mountainsEystein Church (Eysteinskirka) in DovreDovre Church
The municipality (originally theparish) is named after the oldDovre farm (Old Norse:Dofrar) since the firstDovre Church was built there. The name belongs to a group of Scandinavian toponyms that the Swedish linguistElof Hellquist has derived from aProto-Norse*đuƀra-, and linguists have further derived them from the oldProto-Indo-European root*dhub-/dhup - (cf. PIE*dhubrós, "deep"[7]), a root that is also attested in GermanTopel ("forested valley") and Old Slavicdublŭ ("hole"). There are several place names in Denmark, Norway and Sweden that are identified as related toDovre:[8]
Dover a place with steep slopes in Lintrup parish inHaderslev amt.[8]
Dovergaard located among deeply cut banks of a small stream, in Skipdsted parish nearAalborg.[8]
Dover vestergaard, an old farm name, and the bayDoverkil, with hilly terrain, in Ydby parish, nearThisted.[8]
Dover sogn a parish in Hjelmslev hundred in Århus amt. It has a hilly terrain with steep slopes.[8]
Norway
Dovre herred. ONDofrar was originally the name of an old farm and it later became the name for the entire hundred.[8]
Dofrar was the name of a lost farm in Biri hundred, but it survives in the name of a local meadowDåvreænga.[8]
Døvre, where the name is derived fromdofrar andvin ("meadow").[8]
Sweden
Dovra sjöar ("lakes of Dovra"), which are three lakes (Northern/Upper, Middle, and Southern) in afissure valley inNärke.[8]
Ödesdovra, a farm located at the southernmost extension of the valley.[8]
Dovern, a long and narrow inlet of the lakeGlan inÖstergötland, and there is a strait namedDoversund and a farm namedDoverstorp.[8]
The name has also been given to giants in Scandinavian legends. The name has been given to the giantDofri, atDovrefjell, who was helped byHarald Fairhair and in return assisted him all his life.[9] InNärke, the Dovra lakes were attributed to the giantessDovra who wept for her husband.[10]
Thecoat of arms was granted on 11 July 1986. The officialblazon is"Argent, amuskoxsable" (Norwegian:I sølv en svart moskus). This means the arms have afield (background) has atincture ofargent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. Thecharge is a muskox that is black with yellow horn. It is displayedstatantto dexter. The muskox is an animal typical for the northern parts ofCanada,Alaska, andGreenland. It is not native to Norway, but in 1932, ten muskoxen were released near Dovre. The number has increased to around 300 (in 2013), and the animal is thus a typical symbol for the municipality. The arms were designed by Einar Skjervold. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[11][12][13]
Dovre Church (Dovre kirke) was built in 1736. The bell tower was added early in the 19th century. It was built based upon designed by Jesper Mikkelson Rusten. It was constructed of wood and has protected status.[14]
Eystein Church (Eysteinskirka) in Dovre was built in 1969 as a church for pilgrims and travelers on thePilgrim's Route. The church lies near the juncture of the boundaries ofInnlandet andTrøndelag counties. Eystein Church is built of concrete using stone and sand brought from theHjerkinn. The plans for the church were designed by architectMagnus Poulsson (1881-1958).[15]
People have lived at Dovre for about 6,000 years. In theStone Age, they were primarilyhunters andfishermen. Approximately 2,000 years ago, the first farms were developed at this location.
Dovre is mentioned inHeimskringla (The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway) bySnorri Sturluson. In 1021, KingOlaf laid hold of all the best men, both atLesja and Dovre, and forced them either to receiveChristianity orsuffer death, if they were not so lucky as to escape.[17]
ThePilgrim's Route (Old King's Road) betweenOslo andTrondheim in the 16th century passed through theGudbrandsdal valley. After leaving theLågen river valley (downriver from present dayDombås) the road passed over theDovrefjell mountains into the present-day municipality of Dovre. The heavy stream of annualpilgrims who visited the shrine ofSt. Olaf in Trondheim prior to theProtestant Reformation resulted in the construction ofmountain stations along the route where the pilgrims could findfood and shelter. In speaking of this route, Gjerset quotesPeder Claussøn Friis as writing:
But in thewinter people of high estate, as well as members of thecourt, travel mostly this way, because however high and deep thesnow may fall, it blows together on the high mountains and becomes so hard men andhorses can walk on it. Thebonder run over it onskis andsnowshoes. There are three stations: Drivstuen,Herdekinn, and Fogstuen built on this same mountain in order that travelers may find lodging there....at the stations there are implements and dry wood, so that the traveler may build themselvesfire, and not suffer from cold, when they have to remain over night, and cannot find the way across the mountain.
— Knut Gjerset,The History of the Norwegian People[18]
TheBattle of Kringen (Slaget ved Kringen) took place in August 1612, just downstream of Dovre, where theScottish force stayed on 24 August 1612.
Themunicipal council(Kommunestyre) of Dovre is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by politicalparty.
The municipality is a very mountainous area. Most of the residents live in the lower valley areas along theGudbrandsdalslågen river. TheDovrefjell,Rondane,Smiubelgen, andSunndalsfjella mountains are all partially located within the municipality.
Rondane National Park, which lies partially in Dovre, was the firstNorwegian National Park, established on 21 December 1962. In 2003, Rondane National Park was enlarged and smaller areas of nature protection were opened or enlarged.
Dovre National Park lies primarily in Dovre, although part lies inFolldal municipality. It was established in 2003. Dovre National Park covers an area of 289 square kilometres (112 sq mi) and the altitude varies from thetree line at 1,000 metres (3,281 ft) to the peak ofStorhøe. The park is located between Rondane National Park, which lies to its southeast, and Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park on its northwest.
Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park was founded in 2002 and encompasses part of the former Dovrefjell National Park area (as founded in 1974). It is 1,693 square kilometres (654 sq mi) and encompasses areas in Dovre as well as in adjacent Lesja municipality plus areas inTrøndelag andMøre og Romsdal. It includes the wholeDovrefjell mountain range.
The Dovre area is in a valley at fairly high altitude and isolated from the sea by mountain ranges, giving some rain shadow effect for Dovre. Dovre, with the town Dombås, has a subarctic climate (Dfc) with sparse precipitation. The driest season is late winter and spring, and the wettest season is summer. April on average sees just 18 millimetres (0.71 in) precipitaiton, while the wettest months July and August get almost four times as much.
Climate data for Dombås 1991-2020 (Nordigard, 638 m)[42]
^Ringe, Don (2006). "Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic".A Linguistic History of English. Vol. I. Oxford. p. 62.ISBN9780199284139.
^abcdefghijklBrevner, Erik (1942). "Sydöstra Närkes Sjönamn".Skrifter utgivna av Kungliga Gustav Adolfsakademien för folklivsforskning, 9. Uppsala. pp. 81–86.
^Ellis Davidson, H.R. (1969).Scandinavian Mythology. London: The Hamlin Publishing Group. p. 117f.ISBN9780600342809.
^Larson, Karen K. (1948).A History of Norway. Princeton University Press.ISBN978-0-691-05127-7.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
^Gjerset, Knut (1915).The History of the Norwegian People. New York: The MacMillan Company.ISBN978-1-4326-3238-0.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)