Oppland     Oppland fylke is located in southern Norway, and is one of two fylke in Norway that does not border on the sea (the other being Hedmark). This inland fylke contains large mountain regions - substantial portions of the Jotunheimen, Rondane and Dovrefjell mountain regions lie in Oppland fylke. In fact, 80% of the county lies 600 meters - 1,968 feet - or more above sea level. There are more than 200 mountains in Oppland that are more than 2,000 meters - 6,562 feet - high, including two of Northern Europe's tallest mountains Galdhøpiggen (2,469 meters - 8,100 feet) and Glitretind (2,451 meters - 8,041 feet).     There are two major valleys in Oppland: Gudbrandsdalen and Valdres, and farming there is focused primarily on raising cattle and sheep. The southern part of the fylke, on the other hand, is more flat, with larger farms that focus on growing crops.     In the southern part of the fylke, along the shore of Lake Mjøsa, lie the two cities of Lillehammer and Gjøvik. The former became known all over the world in 1992 when the winter olympics were held in Lillehammer.     Until 1756, Oppland was part of Akershus amt (the old word for fylke). In 1757, the area that is today Oppland fylke and Hedmark fylke was separated out and became Opplandenes amt. 24 years later, in 1781, this amt was divided in two, creating Kristians amt and Hedemarken amt. On 01 January 1918 Kristians amt was renamed Oppland fylke and Hedemarken amt was renamed Hedmark fylke.

1. Genealogy organizations

DIS-Oppland is a local chapter of the Norwegian genealogy organization DIS-Norge. (In Norwegian only).

Vestoppland slektshistorielag is a genealogy organization that covers the western part of Oppland. (In Norwegian only)

Gjøvik og Toten slektshistorielag is the genealogical society for Gjøvik, Vestre Toten and Østre Toten in Oppland county. Among other things, it seeks to register all emigrants from the Toten area in Norway to America from the start in 1846 until our days, and to publish a book or in other forms make the information public.

Gausdal Historielag is a local historical society in Gausdal. (In Norwegian only)

Jevnaker Historical Society has a brief summary of the organization's activities in English.

The Hadeland Lag of America is an organization of descendants of emigrants from the Hadeland area of Oppland County in the United States and Canada. The Lag provides genealogical assistance and seeks to preserve the historical traditions of and strengthen bonds with its home district in Norway.

The Valdres Samband is an organization of emigrant descendants from the Valdres Valley and those interested in its history and culture.

Landings Laget Home page - This bygdelag was founded in 1910 by a group of Norwegian settlers from Land.

Gudbrandsdal Lag National was founded in 1909 and is composed of descendants of immigrants from the Gudbransdal Valley. The lag has many activities, including an annual stevne.

Toten Lag is an organization of descendants of immigrants from Toten. While originally conceived of as a way to get together for people from the same area in Norway, (it was formed in 1910) the lag has evolved into a group with family ties to Toten and the main emphasis is on genealogy and fellowship.

Mjøsen-Oppland Lag - was founded on 07 June 1911 in Minneapolis, MN. This lag looks like it needs a little support, as it does not even have an official web site, and as of 05 April 2002 it's web page has only had 74 visitors! :-(
Perhaps you will be the one that changes this?

The Seven Lag stevne - has been made up through the joint efforts and cooperation of the following lags since 1986: Hadeland, Landingslag, Numedal-Kongsbergslag, Ringerike Drammen Districts, Sigdalslag, Telelag, and Toten.
 
 

2. Oppland resources

Census records

• Oppland census records & more (listed by municipality) from the Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen. You can also search nationwide by going to the Digitalarkivet home page or by using the links below.
• 1663-66 Census for Hadeland deanery from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• 1663-66 Census for Valdres deanery from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• 1663-66 Census: Gudbrandsdalen and Hedemarken from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• 1801 census - Oppland from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• 1865 census - Oppland from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen. Also available at The Norwegian Historical Data Centre (RHD) at the University of Tromsø
• 1875 census - Oppland from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen. Also available at The Norwegian Historical Data Centre (RHD) at the University of Tromsø
• 1900 census - Oppland from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen. Also available at The Norwegian Historical Data Centre (RHD) at the University of Tromsø
• Other Oppland census records from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.

Other records (Some links may not include information for this county):

• Tax lists, Tax censuses, and lists of landed property rent from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• Military rolls from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• Church registers from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• Emigration records from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• Probate registers from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen. See also Skifteregister - (Probate registers) at The Norwegian Historical Data Centre (RHD) at the University of Tromsø (Very few are available online).
• Fire assessment registers from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• Citizenship (Borgerskap) records from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• Other records from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• The Digital Inn from Digitalarkivet at the University of Bergen.
• 1886 Matrikkelen from The Norwegian Historical Data Centre (RHD) at the University of Tromsø
• 1950 Matrikkelen from Dokumentasjonsprosjektet (in Norwegian only).
• Arkivnett Oppland has a variety of records available online, but most of the web site is in Norwegian. However, the Census records and Parish records databases are available in English. Unfortunately, there are not many records entered into these databases yet.

 
 
 
• See also Oppland kilder from the web site Slektshistoriske kilder 1500-1900 from the Norwegian genealogy organization DIS-Norge. This web site has extensive links to various genealogy databases for each fylke in Norway. (In Norwegian with some English).

 

Bygdebooks

• Oppland bygdebooks is a list I have made of the bygdebooks that cover various areas in Oppland.

 

LDS Family History Library online catalog

• The LDS Family History Library Catalog is now on the Internet. The link is to the "Place search" page of the web site. In addition, don't forget the International Genealogical Index (IGI) and the other databases available on the LDS web site. To make your search a little easier, I have created a list of clerical districts in Oppland.

3. Oppland regions and 'kommuner'

4. Oppland maps

Small interactive map of Norway - shows where Oppland is located. Click on Oppland and you can see a small map of Oppland showing the 'kommune' (municipalities) of this 'fylke'.

Large map of Oppland from the NORWAY LIST Web Site. Kommune names are underlined.

5. Oppland genealogy query pages

Oppland queries from Rootsweb.com's "Norway Message Board"

Slektsbiblioteket Queries is a new and very promising Norway query page.

Slektsforskerbasen from the Norwegian genealogy organization DIS-Norge (in English).

[email protected] mailing list archives is another often overlooked resource. You can search the archive to find out if others are researching the same families or places in Norway, and then contact them.
 

6. Oppland museums

Hadeland folkemuseum - founded 1913, is a regional museum for Jevnaker, Lunner and Gran. The open-air museum consists of 25 houses from the area and mainly from the 18th and 19th century. The archives of the museum with local historical literature, records from the area and a large collection of photographs. The archives are well equipped to help genealogists.

Hadeland Glassverk - the skills of glass-blowing have been carefully nurtured over the past 240 years producing a unique attribute in Norwegian cultural history

Maihaugen Open Air Museum tells the story of people in the Gudbrandsdalen Valley the last 300 years, of life between the wars in the inland town of Lillehammer and of homes and domestic environments in the 20th century.

Norwegian Olympic Museum in Lillehammer presents the history of the Olympic Games, from their origin in ancient Greece in the year 776 BC up to the present day.

Valdres Folkemuseum - founded in 1901, this open air museum is the fourth largest open air museum in Norway, covering an area of 10 square kilometers which displays 95 old houses and more than 20,000 items.
 

7. Miscellaneous Oppland web sites

Welcome to Kaldor Farm is a great genealogy page. Located near Lillehammer, this web page has lots of information, including pictures, and information on Lee Kaldor's campaign to become governor in North-Dakota!

Genealogy database for Fåberg and Lillehammer is a great resource created and made available on the Internet by Richard Fauskrud in Lillehammer.

Trollpark a park where the trolls have been recreated. The Troll King (Dovregubben) ruled over the region now known as the Realm of the Mountain King (the huge Dovre mountain range in the heart of Norway)

Velkommen til Gausdal is in Norwegian, but if you click on "Severdigheter" you will see a map of Gausdal and links to some nice photos of various places in Gausdal.

Welcome to the Lillehammer area - Lillehammer's official tourism web site.

Slekter fra Ringebu og Gudbrandsdalen is the web site of Tor Onshus. His ancestors are from various places in Gudbrandsdalen including Øyer, Sør-Fron, and Nord-Fron.