leikegøta

Vang in Valdres is the place where eastern Norway

meets western Norway. When you are travelling

from east to west through Vang, the scenery

changes drastically. Lowland and rolling hills

turn into wild mountains and fjords. Even the

climate changes from dry to wet and from cold to

milder temperatures. Many travellers have felt the

experience of this change as they make their way

through Vang, the last chance to rest before crossing

the mountain. This route has a long history as the

main connection between east and west since the

Danish King built the King’s Road in the late 18th

century. This made it possible to cross the mountain

with horse and carriage. The road later lead tourists

to the mountains, and Vang became popular as a

destination among the upper class of society and

foreigners. Today, the main attractions are alpine

peaks and good skiing conditions, but also the

closeness to nature and peace from everyday life.

Remains of settlements from several thousand

years ago were found in Vang. This is because the

ice from the ice age 8-9000 years ago melted here

first. The farmers have mostly been relying on the

nature through the years, though with some income

from travellers. The importance of farming is visible

in the immediate landscape in Vang and you can

see that the land is divided in to parcels stretching

from the lake and up to the mountains. The parcels

were arranged so that every farm had access to the

different recourses found in the big landscape, from

fish to farmland, the forest and up to the mountain.

VANG IN VALDRES

In the transition between the parcels we often find

a clear trail called “gøte”. The gøte has been used by

the farmers as a transportation route within their

parcel and is often lined with stones. Though the

property lines and ways of farming is in a process

of changing today, the parcels and the gøte are still

visible and remain an important part of the cultural

landscape.

Vang has today around 1600 inhabitants and is

facing the problem of depopulation that is common

in rural areas in Norway. A firm called Innovangsjon

SA is taking an initiative to turn this tendency,

with a goal of showing Vang as an attractive place

to live and work and a belief in the future of the

place among the mountains. Their ability to

initiate successful projects has been internationally

recognized.

valdres