GRAN, NORWAY

is a municipality in the county of Oppland, Norway.
Gran was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Brandbu was separated from Gran January 1, 1897 - but it was again merged with Gran January 1, 1962.

Contents

The name

Coat-of-arms

Geography

Economy

History

What to see

External links

The name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after a farm called ''Gronvin'' in Norse. The first part of the name; ''gron'' is the Norse word for spruce. The second part of the name, ''vin'' refers to an open landscape or meadow. The farm is the location of one of the first churches in the area.

Coat-of-arms

Gran's coat-of-arms is from 1987. It is meant to represent the spires of the medieval Sister Churches which are located in the municipality.

Geography

Gran is part of Hadeland. It is bordered to the north by Søndre Land and Vestre Toten, to the east by Hurdal and Nannestad, to the south by Lunner and Jevnaker, and to the west by Ringerike. Areas of concentrated population include Moen, Brandbu, Gran and Jaren.

Economy

The economy of the municipality was in 2002 of NOK 24,098 in free income per inhabitant, and net debt per inhabitant was NOK 41,835 (also municipal economy, not private). Health care spendings represents about 1/3 of the total budget, which is 7.5 per cent higher than the average for Norway.

History

Granavollen is the site of the Sister Churches (''Søsterkirkene''), two stone churches from the middle ages. They are constructed side by side. The smallest and oldest is the ''Mariakirke'', a single nave church built in the Romanesque style. The neighbouring ''Nikolaikirke'' is a three-aisled basilica, probably inspired by the construction of the Halvardskirke in Oslo. According to local folklore, the churches were built by two sisters. These two detested each other so much they could not share the same church. A more likely explanation however, is that the ''Mariakirke'' was built for the local congregation, while the ''Nikolaikirke'' was the main church for Hadeland parish.

At Tingelstad there is another medieval stone church. It is dated to the 12th century and is called Tingelstad old church. This church has survived even though it has not been in regular use for some 140 years. This is also the location of Hadeland Folkemuseum with a collection of buildings from the area, farm implements as well as a grave mound from the Viking Age and a copy of the 11th century Dynna stone. It also holds an archive of photographs and documents.

What to see

★ Hadeland Folkemuseum

★ Raukr Viking Museum

External links

★ Gran kommune web page