Røldal

Røldal is a village in the municipality of Odda in Hordaland county, Norway. The village lies in the Røldal valley along the Storelva river on the north end of the lake Røldalsvatnet. Røldal is located about 35 kilometres (22 mi) southeast of the town of Odda. Røldal was formerly part of the independent municipality of Røldal from 1838 until 1964 when it became a part of Odda municipality. The 13th-century Røldal Stave Church is located here.

The village is located at the junction of the European route E134 highway and the Norwegian National Road 13. The E134 highway follows a historic route that connects Eastern and Western Norway, passing right through Røldal. It is located near the borders of three counties: Hordaland, Rogaland (to the south), and Telemark (to the east). The 0.66-square-kilometre (160-acre) village has a population (2013) of 359, giving the village a population density of 544 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,410/sq mi).

Demonyms are røldøl within; røldøling is used in Odda.

Røldal (municipality)

Røldal is a former municipality in the southeastern corner of Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until 1964 and it is located in the eastern part of the present-day municipality of Odda. The administrative centre was the village of Røldal, where the Røldal Stave Church was located. The municipality encompassed the Røldalen valley and some small side valleys, as well as a large area up on the vast Hardangervidda plateau. Historically, Røldal was an important trade and transportation route between Eastern and Western Norway.

History

Historically, the Røldal area was part of the parish of Suldal (to the south), with Røldal being an annex to the main parish. Suldal and Røldal each had their own churches, but they shared a priest since Røldal was a sparsely populated area and could not support their own priest. Suldal was located in Stavanger county and Røldal was located in Søndre Bergenhus county.

This arrangement was not a problem until 1837 when the formannskapsdistrikt law was passed. The law called for each parish to become a municipality led by a self-governing council. It also said that each municipality must be within one county, not two. Therefore Suldal and Røldal had to be divided and starting on 1 January 1838, Røldal became its own municipality. The sparsely-populated municipality existed until 1 January 1964 when Røldal (population: 676) was merged into the neighboring municipality of Odda (population: 9,487).