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Gudbrandsdalen ( or ; ) is a valley and traditional district in the Norway county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland county). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer and the lake of Mjøsa, extending toward the Romsdalen valley. The river Gudbrandsdalslågen (Lågen) flows through the valley, starting from the lake Lesjaskogsvatnet and ending at the lake Mjøsa. The Otta river which flows through Otta valley is a major tributary to the main river Lågen. The valleys of the tributary rivers such as Ottadalen and Gausa (Gausdal) are usually regarded as part of Gudbrandsdalen. The total area of the valley is calculated from the areas of the related municipalities. Gudbrandsdalen is the main valley in a web of smaller valleys. On the western (right hand) side there are long adjacent valleys: Ottadalen stretches from Otta village, Gausdal some from Lillehammer and Heidal some from Sjoa. Gudbrandsdalen runs between the major mountain ranges of Norway including Jotunheimen and Dovrefjell–Rondane.
Together with the Glomma river and the Østerdalen valley, the river Lågen and the Gudbrandsdalen valley form Norway's largest drainage system covering major parts of Eastern Norway. Gudbrandsdalen is home to Dovre Line railway and the European route E6 highway. The valley is the main land transport corridor through Eastern Norway, from Oslo and central eastern lowlands to Trondheim and Møre og Romsdal.
The valley is divided into three parts:
The municipalities within the valley fall under the Gudbrandsdal District Court. Until 2016, the valley was also its own police district. The Gudbrandsdalen district covers about 60% of the former Oppland county.
The invention of the modern, firm, fatty variant of Brunost is commonly attributed to the milkmaid Anne Hov from the rural valley.
The main character in Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt was inspired by a real or legendary person living in the valley in the 18th or 17th century.Meyer, Michael. 1974. Ibsen: A Biography. Abridged edition. Pelican Biographies ser. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. . Ibsen travelled through the valley in 1862 and collected local stories, legends and poems.Østvedt, Einar (1967). Med Henrik Ibsen i fjellheimen. Skien: Oluf Rasmussens forlag. Ibsen also made drawings from his trip, including "Elstad in Gudbrandsdalen".
In July 1789 the Storofsen flood disaster occurred and Gudbrandsdalslågen overflooded. This is the largest flood recorded in Norway and the valley was particularly affected. 61 people perished. About 3000 houses were totally damaged and some thousand livestock drowned. All bridges disappeared. Lågen rose up to above its normal level and covered most of the valley floor. A number of farmers abandoned their damaged farms and settled in Målselv, Troms county. The second largest flood occurred in the summer of 1995 and again the valley floor was largely covered by water. After Storofsen the valley floor upstream from Sel Church changed into bogs and shallow lakes because stone and gravel changed the flow of Lågen. From around 1910 drainage efforts left some of dry farmland on what is still known as the Sel Municipality bogs. The toxic cicuta virosa thrived on those bogs before they were drained and are known in Norwegian as selsnepe (literally Sel turnip). The valley floor in Lesja Municipality (between Dombås and Lora) were originally covered by a shallow lake. Drainage efforts from 1860 abolished the lake and left some of farmland. The central part of the valley is covered by the Losna lake, some deep.
Until the Black Plague settlement expanded and new farms were established at outskirts. Farms with names -gard, -rud, -hus, and -li are mostly from this expansion period. During the High Middle Ages about 40 churches existed, most built in wood except for instances masonry churches in Eastern Gausdal and Follebu Church. Hamar episcopal see was established in 1152 and its jurisdiction included Gudbrandsdalen. Garmo Stave Church and Ringebu Stave Church are examples of ancient wooden churches. Fåvang Stave Church and Vågå Church include parts from older churches. The Black Plague reduced the population in Gudbrandsdal by 50 to 70% during 1349 to 1350. Saksum, Brekkom, Skåbo, Venabygd and other districts were left largely deserted for centuries. Inhabitants from marginal areas presumably relocated to the main valley and other areas with vacant land. A large number of clergy also perished during the plague and churches fell into disrepair. During the 1600s the population again reached the same level as in 1300. During the 1500s the area had about 6000 inhabitants. No census was taken before 1665 and population figures are based on estimates. This resulted in a temporary improvement for the lower classes as crofters became scarce and the poor were able to rent the better farms.
In 1670 to 1725, most of the royal property was sold off to pay for war debts, first to established property holders, but increasingly to peasant proprietors. A freeholders' era began and a new "upper class" of landholders was formed. Storofsa happened in 1789, and is the greatest flood recorded in the Gudbrand Valley; several farms were devastated, and many people died.
From around 1865 the population declined substantially because of emigration to North America. Until 1946 the majority of inhabitants worked in farming.
There was severe fighting in the valley at Tretten and Kvam, as well as in Dombås, during World War II. The Battle of Dombås was an attempt to stop the German advance. British troops engaged German troops in land battles for the first time in World War 2 after many months of Phoney War.Dirk Levsen: Mikrogeschichte als Besatzungsgeschichte. Der deutsche Feldzug durch das Guldbrandsdal und das Romsdal im Frühjahr 1940. Historiographie und museale Präsentation. In Robert Bohn, (Hrsg.): Die deutsche Herrschaft in den "germanischen" Ländern 1940–1945 (= Historische Mitteilungen der Ranke-Gesellschaft, Beiheft 26). Steiner, Stuttgart 1997 . S. 113f.
Lillehammer was the site of the Lillehammer affair in 1973, wherein operatives of the Mossad shot and killed a Moroccan waiter they mistakenly thought was Ali Hassan Salameh, who was involved in the Munich Massacre.
The 1994 Winter Olympics were celebrated at Lillehammer.
The 2016 Youth Olympics were celebrated at Lillehammer.
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