Vinje

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Vinje farm (Old Norse: Vinjar) since the first Vinje Church was built there. The name is the plural form of the word vin which means "meadow" or "pasture".^[8]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 16 November 1990. The official blazon is "Azure a billy goat argent" (Norwegian: På blå grunn ein sølv geitebukk). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a billy goat. The billy goat has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The color blue and the goat were chosen based on an old poem written by Aasmund Olavsson Vinje. The poem is called Blåmann (literal translation"}]],"parts":[{"template":{"target":{"wt":"lit","href":"./Template:Lit"},"params":{"1":{"wt":"blue man"}},"i":0}}]}">lit. 'blue man') which is about a goat named Blåmann. This was also chosen to represent the importance of sheep and goat farming in the mountainous municipality. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.^{[9][10][11][12][13]}

Churches

The Church of Norway has four parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Vinje. It is part of the Øvre Telemark prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Vinje is made up of 25 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayor

The mayors (Nynorsk: ordførar) of Vinje (incomplete list):

The Arts

• Sveinung Svalastoga (1772 in Rauland – 1809), a rosemåling painter, poet, and woodcarver
• Myllarguten (Torgeir Agundson Øygarden) (1801–1872), a folk musician and master fiddler
• Aasmund Olavsson Vinje (1818–1870), a poet and journalist who used Nynorsk
• Rikard Berge (1881 in Rauland – 1969), a folklorist, museologist, biographer, and editor
• Tarjei Vesaas (1897–1970), a poet and novelist
• Aslaug Vaa (1889 in Rauland – 1965), a poet and playwright
• Aslak Brekke (1901–1978), a vocalist using stev and a folk singer
• Dyre Vaa (1903–1980), a sculptor and painter whose works are found in Oslo and Vinje
• Anne Lofthus (1932–2003), a ceramic artist and art teacher
• Guri Vesaas (born 1939), a writer and translator of children's books
• Stein Versto (born 1957), a poet, novelist, translator, and folk musician
• Aasmund Nordstoga (born 1964), a musician, singer, composer, and TV presenter
• Sven Erik Kristiansen (born 1969), a musician and former vocalist in the black metal band Mayhem
• Arve Moen Bergset (born 1972), a traditional folk singer, hardanger fiddler, and classical violinist
• Odd Nordstoga (born 1972), a folk singer, musician, actor and editor^[36]
• Ingebjørg Bratland (born 1990), a folk singer, kveder, and artist

Public Service

• Paul Peterson Paus (1625-1682), a cleric, political activist, and poet
• Olav Aslakson Versto (1892 in Rauland – 1977), a politician
• Einar Skinnarland (1918–2002), a Norwegian resistance fighter during WWII and dam builder
• Aslak Versto (1924-1992), a politician
• Olav Vesaas (born 1935), a journalist, biographer, and publisher
• Olav Versto (1950–2011), a journalist and editor
• Astrid Versto (born 1953), a journalist and diplomat

Sport

• Olav Jenssen (born 1962), a discus thrower who competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics
• Knut Tore Apeland (born 1968), a former Nordic combined skier and two-time team silver medallist at the 1992 & 1994 Winter Olympics
• Terje Håkonsen (born 1974), a snowboarder