Flå

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was Flóða sokn (sokn means parish). This is the plural genitive case of flœð meaning "flood" (probably because flooding has been a problem for many farms in the river valley). Prior to 1921, the name was written "Flaa".

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 1 March 1985. The arms show a black bear on a gray/silver background. This was chosen because there used to be many bears in the Vassfaret area. Prior to 1985, the municipality used a logo with a bear walking through the area.^[4][5]

Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Flå by country of origin in 2017^[6]

Ancestry	Number
Poland	28
Syria	28
Thailand	12

Ancient routes went to Vestlandet through Valdres and Hallingdal and down Røldal to Odda. Reflecting this route, Hallingdal and its neighboring valley of Valdres in Oppland to the north were originally populated by migrants from Vestlandet and spoke a western dialect. In recognition of this, Cardinal Nicholas Breakespear, who was in Scandinavia as papal legate in 1153, included Hallingdal in the diocese of Stavanger.^[7]

Flå is the southernmost municipality within Hallingdal and forms the gateway to Hallingdal from the south. Flå is bordered in the north by Sør-Aurdal, in the east by Ringerike, in the south by Krødsherad and Sigdal, in the west by Nore og Uvdal, and in the northwest by Nes. Travelers from the south pass through the 65 m long tunnel Hallingporten on Norwegian National Road 7 (Riksvei 7) just located north of Gulsvik.

Vassfaret is a forested mountain valley bordering Flå. The Norefjell mountain range also includes parts of Flå as well as Nes, Ringerike and Sør-Aurdal municipalities. Lake Krøderen (Krøderfjord) stretches about 41 km north from the village of Krøderen and reaches to Gulsvik. The Hallingdalselva river flows into the lake from the north. The area includes the Vassfaret and Vidalen Conservation area which includes Festningen Nature Reserve and Bukollen Nature Reserve as well as the Inner Vassfaret Conservation area which includes Bringen Nature Reserve.^[8].^[9]

• Kolbjørn Buøen (1895–1975) a Norwegian actor ^[10]
• Fredrik Gulsvik (born 1989) a Norwegian former footballer with over 100 club caps

Bjørneparken is located on Vikberget in Flå. The park is a sanctuary featuring various animals including bears, elk, deer, wolf, and lynx.^[11]

• Bringen Nature Reserve, established 28 June 1985^[12]
• Bukollen Nature Reserve, established 28 June 1985^[13]
• Festningen Nature Reserve, established 28 June 1985^[14]
• Flenten Nature Reserve, established 24 September 1993^[15]
• Stavnselva Nature Reserve, established 13 December 2002^[16]

• Protected areas of Norway

• 
  Vidalen
• 
  Bukollen
• 
  Stavnselva
• 
  Lake Krøderen
• 
  Flå Church
• 
  Hallingporten road tunnel
• 
  Bjørneparken

• Media related to Flå at Wikimedia Commons
• The dictionary definition of Flå at Wiktionary
• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
• Buskerud travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Culture in Flå on the map from Kulturnett.no