Lillehammer

Lillehammer is located in the eastern part of Norway, 180 kilometres from Oslo.

Facts

• Distance from Oslo Airport Gardermoen: 150 kilometres
• Located at the northern shore of Norway's largest lake, Mjøsa
• Population 25,314 (1 January 2006)
• Lillehammer's total area is 477 square kilometres
• Lillehammer was founded in 1827
• Commercial, administrative, culture and educational centre
• Popular tourist destination - more than 800,000 visitors (guest nights) every year
• World famous for the Olympic Winter Games in 1994
• Lillehammer offers 15,000 jobs, mainly within public and private services
  

Lillehammer lies in the county of Oppland, a county which has a wealth of flora and fauna and a diverse natural environment, with large areas of forests, mountains, watercourses and cultivated land, four national parks and two nature reserves.

The pattern of settlement in the county is uneven, with dense settlements to the north and west of Lake Mjøsa and along the major roads through the long valleys. The population in the municipalities in the north and west of the county is more scattered.

Mjøsa - Norway's largest lake

Lake Mjøsa is the largest lake in Norway, as well as the one of the deepest lakes in Norway and in Europe as a whole, after Hornindalsvatnet in the county of Sogn og Fjordane.

From its southernmost point at Minnesund in Eidsvoll to its northernmost point in Lillehammer it is 117 kilometres long. At its widest, near the town of Hamar, it is 15 kilometres wide. Mjøsa has a surface of 336 square kilometres. The maximum depth of Mjøsa is 443 metres. Lake Mjøsa borders to three counties (Oppland, Akershus and Hedmark) and seven municipalities.

The total length of the shoreline is 273 kilometres. 90 kilometres of the shoreline is covered by forests and 80 kilometres by agricultural land. Most of its shores are dominated by rolling agricultural areas, among them some of the most fertile grainlands in Norway. There are strong traditions for common use of both the lake and the surroundings. Furthermore the area is of great importance for recreation, for local people as well as tourists.

Lillehammer - a modern town with medieval skiing roots

Lillehammer was granted its town charter as recently as in 1827. Nonetheless, its coat of arms bears witness to a stirring medieval deed that changed the course of Norwegian history. Lillehammers heraldic bearing, a Viking on skis, is the only coat of arms in the world to feature a skier.

The skier dates from the early thirteenth century, when Norway was torn by civil war between the Baglere and Birkebeinere, who supported rival claimants to the Norwegian throne.