Ringebu Municipality

The prestegjeld of Ringebu was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838, under the formannskapsdistrikt law. In 1864, the northern part of Ringebu Municipality, with a population of 386, was separated to form the new Sollia Municipality. In 1890, Sollia was transferred from Oppland county to Hedmark county. On 1 January 1899, an uninhabited area of Ringebu Municipality, then in Oppland county, was transferred to the neighbouring Sollia Municipality in Hedmark county.

Historically, the municipality belonged to the former Oppland county. On 1 January 2020, Ringebu became part of the newly created Innlandet county, formed by the merger of Hedmark and Oppland.

Name

The municipality, originally the parish, is named after the old Ringebu farm, recorded in Old Norse as Ringabú or Hringabú, since Ringebu Stave Church was built there. The first element was probably derived from ringr, meaning "ring", although the precise sense of the word in this place name is uncertain. The final element is bú, meaning "farm", "estate" or "rural area".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 24 April 1992. The official blazon is "Gules, a three-tongued flame Or" (Norwegian: I rødt en oppvoksende tretunget gull flamme). This means that the arms have a red field, or background, and that the charge is a three-tongued flame. The charge has a tincture of Or, which is usually shown as yellow, or as gold when metal is used.

The three tongues of the flame represent the municipality's three valleys and three parishes: Ringebu, Fåvang and Venabygd. Fire was chosen as a symbol of heat and light, regarded as common needs. The arms were designed by Inge Rotevatn. The municipal flag uses the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The Church of Norway has three parishes, or sokn, within Ringebu Municipality. They form part of the Sør-Gudbrandsdal prosti, or deanery, in the Diocese of Hamar.

The stave church at Ringebu was built around the year 1220 and it is one of fewer than 30 surviving stave churches in Norway and is one of the largest.

About 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) north of the church lies the old Hundorp farm which is the legendary home of Dale-Gudbrand. Dale-Gudbrand is mentioned in the Heimskringla (English: The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway) by Snorri Sturluson. The account of King Olaf's (A.D. 1015-1021) conversion of Dale-Gudbrand to Christianity is popularly recognized.

Ringebu Municipality is bordered to the west by Sør-Fron Municipality, to the southwest by Gausdal Municipality, to the southeast by Øyer Municipality, and to the east and north by Stor-Elvdal Municipality. The highest point in the municipality is the 1,424.06-metre (4,672.1 ft) tall mountain Muen, on the border with Stor-Elvdal Municipality.

The administrative center of Ringebu Municipality is the village of Vålebrua which is located at an elevation of 182 metres (597 ft) above sea level in the valley along the river Gudbrandsdalslågen, but 50% of the area within the municipal borders lies at an elevation greater than 900 metres (3,000 ft) above sea level. From Ringebu, two mountain passes provide road access into the Østerdal valley to the northeast; one of these is closed during the winter. Because these mountain areas reliably provide good snow conditions, the area is a popular tourist destination. The Kvitfjell ski area in Ringebu was expanded to serve as a downhill venue for the 1994 Winter Olympics.

Ringebu Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Gudbrandsdal District Court and the Eidsivating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Ringebu Municipality is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayor (Norwegian: ordfører) of Ringebu Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:

• 1838-1853: Vilhelm Fegth
• 1854-1871: Nils Iversen Elstad
• 1872-1873: Nils Johannessen Jevne
• 1874-1877: John Kristiansen Mæhlum
• 1878-1881: Ole Christian Elstad
• 1882-1883: Nils Iversen Elstad
• 1884-1893: Ole Christian Elstad (H)
• 1894-1897: Simen Kolstad (V)
• 1898-1899: Ole Christian Elstad (H)
• 1899-1910: Simen Kolstad (AD)
• 1911-1913: Jon Nordrum (H)
• 1914-1925: Simen Kolstad (AD)
• 1926-1928: Einar Vestad (Sp)
• 1929-1934: Johan Hustveit (AD)
• 1935-1937: Einar Vestad (Sp)
• 1938-1941: Johan Hustveit (AD)
• 1942-1945: Sigurd Mytting (NS)
• 1945-1959: Asbjørn Haug (Ap)
• 1960-1967: Ole Ringen (V)
• 1968-1985: Birger Sæther (Ap)
• 1985-1995: Erik S. Winther (Ap)
• 1996-2007: Anders A. Fretheim (Sp)
• 2007-2011: Arnhild Baukhol (Ap)
• 2011-2015: Erik Odlo (Sp)
• 2015-present: Arne Fossmo (Ap)

Ringebu has sister city agreements with the following places:

• - Filipstad, Värmland County, Sweden

• Frederik Petersen (1759 in Ringebu, 1825), a painter of portraits
• Jehans Nordbu (1768 in Ringebu, ca.1860), a Norwegian-American immigrant to the US and an early settler in Texas
• Hans Engen (1912 in Ringebu, 1966), a journalist, diplomat and politician, Norwegian ambassador to the United States from 1963 to 1966
• Emil Nyeng (born 1991), a cross-country skier