Lillehammer

The Olympic City

Lillehammer is an inland town, situated at the Northern shores of Lake Mjøsa, the largest lake in Norway.

This is Oppland County, and we are in the region of the Gudbrandsdalen at a distance of 180 kiometres from Oslo.

The town was founded in 1827, and since 1838 it is also a municipality.

It is an administrative centre, as well as a centre for culture and education in the region.

Lillehammer is most known for hosting the 1994 Oympic Winter Games with great success. The population of Lillehammer is 26.300 in January 2011.

Coat of Arms

The Coat of Arms for Lillehammer was granted in 1898, and shows a man skiing down a mountainside , carrying a shield and a spear.

The motiv has an important, historical meaning, as it symbolizes the group of skiers, called the Birkebeiners, that in the year 1205 brought the baby child Haakon, who was the coming king of Norway, to safety in Nidaros ( today the city of Trondheim).

At that time there was a civil war in Norway, and bringing the little prince into safety was an important part of that. The Birkebeiner skiers brought the child from Rena, over the mountains to Lillehammer.

This prince became the most powerful king that Norway have ever had,and this historical journey on ski over the mountains is the reason why Lillehammer, as the only town in Norway, has a skier in it’s Coat of Arms.

Transportation

You can get to Lillehammer in many ways.

This is the railwaystation in the city centre. From here you can travel south to Oslo , where you have connections with trains to Bergen or Kristiansand, to Stockholm or other European cities.

To the North you can take the train to Dombås, from where the railway tracks splits in two directions: You can go west to Åndalsnes (with bus connections to Ålesund and Molde), or you can travel to the north, to Trondheim , Mo i Rana and Bodo .

The main European road, the E6, is passing through Lillehammer, as the most important road between Oslo and Trondheim.

This is also the main road if you are going to

Ålesund, Molde or Kristiansund.

Attractions

In the winter time, you can enjoy all kinds of winter sports here, and Lillehammer is the oldest ski resort in Norway.

In the Sjusjøen area, just outside the town, you have access to more than 350 kilometres of cross country ski trails, and within a short distance you also have the Hafjell Ski Centre.

Because of the Winter Oympics in 1994, Lillehammer has several tourist attractions related to the Olympics. like the Olympic Museum.

The Norwegian Olympic Museum shows the history of all Olympic Games, from ancient times and up to the last one, both summer- and winter games.

The museum has a special exhibition about the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer.

P/P Skibladner and the Maihaugen Museum

Lillehammer the Paddle Steamer Skibladner

From the Lillehammer harbour you can experience a voyage on the P/S Skibladner, the oldest Paddle Steamer in the world, still in scheduled service.

The Skibladner takes you on a round trip to the towns along the shores of Lake Mjøsa: Gjøvik, Hamar , Moelv and Eidsvoll.

And of course, Lillehammer has many other interesting attractions. When you are here, you should visit the old, Garmo stave church, from 1150.

Another popular and interesting attraction is the Maihaugen Museum, the largest open-air museum in Norway, with almost 200 buidings collected from the Gudbrandsdalen Valley.

The museum was founded by Anders Sandvig in 1887, and has many interesting exhibitions every year.

You will find more than 30 different workshops performing different crafts, and you will be able to see many kinds of folk art, like the traditional ”Rosemaling” (Rose Painting), wood carving and textiles.

Hunderfossen Family Park

A Norwegian Troll, resting in the Hunderfossen Family Park: One of the most popular activity attractions in Norway.

Only 13 kilometres north of the town, and easy accessable by car or bus, is the amazing Park, unique in Norway, and extremely popular for visitors of all ages.

We recommend you to visit the interesting website of the

Hunderfossen Family Park

From the Hunderfossen Family Park's own website we quote:

Guarded by a 14 meter high troll, and behind the gates of the 37 meter tall fairy tale castle the treasure of the Norwegian folk stories is kept safe in Hunderfossen Family park. Step insde and be a part of the fairy tales yourself.

In the unique and mysterious atmosphere of Hunderfossen Family Park you will meet the prince and the princess, the King and the Queen, trolls and many other odd characters from the old Norwegain folk stories.

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