Vinstra


Vinstra is the name of both a small town and a river in Gudbrandsdalen. The town lies in Nord-Fron municipality in Innlandet County, Norway. It is the administrative centre of Nord-Fron, and has 2 553 inhabitants as of 2014.

The place

The town has rail connections via the Dovre railroad and has a high school. Highway E6 goes through the town of Vinstra. The Vinstra River starts from Lake Vinstre, and comes from the west and flows into Gudbrandsdalslågen in the town of Vinstra. The newspaper Dølen is published in Vinstra.
Vinstra was given the status of town on 1 September 2013, an event that was celebrated for 3 days.

Vinstra and Peer Gynt

Peder Olsen Hågå from Vinstra was the model for the main character in Henrik Ibsen’s dramatic poem Peer Gynt from 1867. In Sødorp's old cemetery stands a monument to Peer Gynt, and each year since 1967 the Peer Gynt Festival has been held on the Peer Gynt farm, Hågå. The farm consists of 15 old buildings, and the rally includes, among other things, an open-air performance of the play. In addition, from Vinstra begins the Peer Gynt Road through Gålå to Lillehammer and the Peer Gynt Seter Road via Rondablikk to Kvam.