Area rank 157 in Norway Area 708 km² Local time Sunday 12:33 PM | County Telemark Administrative centre Kviteseid Demonym(s) Kvitseiding Population 2,622 (2004) | |
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Weather 1°C, Wind NE at 3 km/h, 54% Humidity | ||
Kviteseid is a municipality in Telemark county in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kviteseid. The parish of Hvideseid was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt).
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Map of 3850 Kviteseid, Norway
The main industries of the municipality are forestry, agriculture, tourism, and hydroelectric power. The Telemark Canal goes through Kviteseid. There are also several ski resorts in Kviteseid. Vrådal is one of them.
Within the municipality of Kviteseid, one finds the little village of Morgedal, also known as the "Cradle of Modern Skiing" ("Skisportens vugge") and home of Sondre Norheim. Here, the Olympic Flame was lit for the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, and 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer.
Name
The Old Norse form of the name was Hvítiseið. The first element is the genitive case of Hvítir which means "the white one" (probably an older name of Kviteseidvatn) and the last element is eið which means "path between two lakes". Prior to 1889, the name was written "Hviteseid".
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted in 1987. The arms show an old black-colored lock on a gold/yellow background. It was chosen to symbolize safety.
Geography
The municipality borders Seljord to the northwest; Nome to the east; Drangedal, Nissedal, and Fyresdal to the south; and Tokke to the west. The highest point is Sveinsheia at 1,141 metres (3,743 ft) above sea level.