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Hardangervidda National Park

national park

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 14, 2026
Entity authorityQ1140044 ↗
Source-derived summary

Hardangervidda National Park (English: Hardanger Plateau National Park, Norwegian: Hardangervidda nasjonalpark) is Norway's largest national park, measuring 3,422 square kilometres (1,321 sq mi). It is located in Buskerud, Vestland, and Telemark counties. The park spans from the Uvdalen valley in Numedal in the east and the Røvilseggi mountain ridge in Ullensvang Municipality in the west across the Hardanger mountain plateau (Hardangervidda). Designated as a national park in 1981, today it serves as a popular tourist destination for activities such as hiking, climbing, fishing, and cross-country skiing. The Norwegian Mountain Touring Association (DNT) maintains a comprehensive network of huts and paths across Hardangervidda. The Bergen Line railway and the main Norwegian National Road 7 cross the plateau.

It has the southernmost stock of several arctic animals and plants. Its wild reindeer herds are among the largest in the world. Several hundred nomadic Stone Age settlements have been found in the area, most likely related to the migration of the reindeer. Ancient trails cross the plateau, linking western and eastern Norway; one example is the Nordmannsslepa linking Eidfjord in Hardanger and Veggli in the Numedal valley with Hol and Uvdal.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Hardangervidda National Park” as national park. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Hardangervidda, National and Park.

Editorial reviewMost useful as a place-based finding aid connecting the present description to earlier jurisdictions, maps and built evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1981—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1981-04-10. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Hardangervidda, National and Park providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Hardangervidda National Park”, the useful work is to connect “national park” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1140044. Authority coordinates are 60.133, 7.500. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1981.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Hardangervidda National Park”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Hardangervidda National Park primary sources, Hardangervidda National Park archive and Hardangervidda research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Hardangervidda National Park”?
  2. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
  3. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Hardangervidda National Park” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.