Hjartdal Kommune

Pop. 1,613; Area 740 sq. km. (286 sq. mi.)

The valley of Hjartdal is guarded to the south by the Hekse and the Mæle mountains. Looking north the valley seems cultivated in layers, with one Location of Hjartdal in Telemark farm lying over the other. And down in the bottom of the valley Lake Hjartsjå and the Hjartøla River glitter in the sun. The name Hartdal means "Valley of the Red Deer." The emblem for the kommune, appropriately, is a silver-colored red deer on a green background. The main employment is farming and forestry. The township's administrative center is Sauland. The kommune also includes the valley of Tuddal, which stretches north from Sauland up toward Mount Gausta. Both these valleys contain a number of protected historic buildings most still in their original settings.

Bondal is a rural area innermost in Tuddal beneath the western slope of Mt. Gausta. Impressive and beautiful scenery surround many old farm buildings.

Sauland has a church, built in 1857, which is on the sight of a former stave church, and a storehouse built in 1718.

Tuddal has many fine old buildings listed as historical monuments in their original settings. The narrow Tuddal valley stretches in scenic beauty from Sauland and up towards Mount Gausta. The highway through Tuddal which crosses the slopes of Mount Gausta is an attraction in the summer.

Sights to See

The Tuddal District Museum lies in the middle of the village. It has a fine collection of buildings and folk art. The buildings include two cottages from the 1600's, a kitchen hut, storehouses, a complete cotter's farm and a summer mountain farm.

Bøenloftet, the oldest house in Tuddal, was built about 1200.

Telelaget Genealogy

Telelaget's Volunteer Genealogists for Hjartdal

Emigrant Ancestor Database: Hjartdal

Submit your emigrant ancestor information

Bygdebøker for Hjartdal

What's a Bygdebøk?

Gamle sagn om Hjartdølene,1880/1985. M.B.Landstad
Holta, O. H. Hitterdals Boken. Porsgrunn: Brødr Dyrings Boktrykkeri, 1926.
Hjartdalsoga Gard og ætt 1 Tuddal,1987
Hjartdalsoga Gard og ætt 2 Sauland,1992
Hjartdalsoga Gard og ætt 3A, Hjartdal Nordbygda, published around Christmas 2000
Hjartdalsoga Gard og ett 3B Hjartdal Gvammen,1998
".for at finde en blidere skjebne." Utvandringa frå Hjartdal til Amerika,1989.Leif Skoje,Anne Haugen Wagn
Med lokk og lur.Stulshistorikk fra Hjartdalsfjella,1991.Trygve Nes
Haugety og trollskap.Hjartdal i segn og soge,1991.red:Trygve Nes
Hjartdal i bilder,1992.Trygve Nes
Bygningsarv i Hjartdal,1992. Anne Haugen Wagn
Ettesoge fra Øvre Telemark,1997. Olav Høgehaug/Trygve Nes
Vekst og varsemd i 100 år. Hjartdal Sparebank 1898-1998.Anne Haugen Wagn

Links

Norwegian Language

Official Hjartdal kommune Website

Hjartdal Historielag

If you would like to add a link, submit photos of an historic site, or we've missed an important landmark you'd like to have listed in "Sights to See," please email!