Lærdalen

Norwegian Bokmål thumb|A view of Lærdalen by Jutlamannen. Etymology From nb Lærdal en place name definite singular suffix, literally “the Lærdal”. The base name nb Lærdal continues Middle Norwegian gmq-mno Lærdall, from Old Norse non Læradalr, probably reduced from earlier non *Lærardalr. The first element is the genitive of a lost river name non *Lærr, while the second is non dalr valley, dale. The origin of the river name is uncertain. Pronunciation nb /¹læːrˌdɑːlən/ [ˈlæ̀ːˌɖɑː.lə̌n] nb ɑːlən 3 nb Lær da len Proper noun nb proper noun Lærdalen; nb valley mun:suf/Lærdal county/Vestland c/Norway, a valley in nb Lærdal municipality extending inland from the head of nb Lærdalsfjorden, through which nb Lærdalselva flows. nb E16 går gjennom Lærdalen. The E16 runs through Lærdalen. nb 1 April 1884 Fridtjof Nansen Aftenposten 78 A https://www.bokselskap.no/boker/skiturfortellinger/nansen_2 Tidlig den næste Morgen (Onsdag) var jeg atter paa Skierne, og nu gik det paa et maadeligt Føre opigjennem Lærdalen. Early the next morning (Wednesday) I was back on my skis, and now I proceeded on rather mediocre snow conditions up through Lærdalen. https://web.archive.org/web/20260908133715/https://www.bokselskap.no/boker/skiturfortellinger/nansen_2 8 September 2026 nb 10 June 2021 Landbruksdirektoratet Lærdal https://www.landbruksdirektoratet.no/nb/jordbruk/miljo-og-klima/jordbrukets-kulturlandskap/utvalgte-kulturlandskap-i-jordbruket/dette-er-de-utvalgte-kulturlandskapene/laerdal Lærdalen er ekskursjonsområde for ulike studiesteder og fagmiljøer. Lærdalen is used as a field-study area by various educational institutions and professional communities. https://web.archive.org/web/20260908211049/https://www.landbruksdirektoratet.no/nb/jordbruk/miljo-og-klima/jordbrukets-kulturlandskap/utvalgte-kulturlandskap-i-jordbruket/dette-er-de-utvalgte-kulturlandskapene/laerdal 8 September 2026 Usage notes nb Lærdalen specifically denotes the valley, while nb Lærdal normally denotes the municipality or the broader historical district in modern Bokmål usage. The valley has steep mountain sides and a broad, flat lower valley floor. nb Lærdalselva runs westward through it to nb Lærdalsfjorden, and the E16 follows the valley as an important route between eastern and western Norway. The historically frequent spelling Leirdal of the underlying name nb Lærdal is etymologically misleading and is unrelated to nb leire clay. The modern proper noun nb Leirdalen denotes a different valley in Lom municipality and should not be treated as an alternative spelling of nb Lærdalen. See also nb Leirdalen valley in Lom municipality, Innlandet References Lærdal 12 60 https://runeberg.org/ngardnavne/12/0082.html Askheim, Svein, “Lærdalen”, Store norske leksikon, updated 27 September 2022. “Lærdal”, Landbruksdirektoratet, published 10 June 2021, updated 8 July 2025.