On 1 January 2020, the neighboring counties of Oppland and Hedmark were merged to form the new Innlandet county. Both Oppland and Hedmark were the only landlocked counties of Norway, and the new Innlandet county is the only landlocked county in Norway. The two counties had historically been one county that was divided in 1781. Historically, the region was commonly known as "Opplandene". In 1781, the government split the area into two: Hedemarkens amt and Kristians amt (later renamed Hedmark and Oppland. In 2017, the government approved the merger of the two counties. There were several names debated, but the government settled on Innlandet.[7][8]
In Norse times the inner parts of Norway were called Upplǫnd which means 'the upper countries'. The first element is upp which means 'upper'. The last element is lǫnd which is the plural form of 'land'.
In 1757, the inner parts of the great Akershusamt were separated and given the name Oplandenes Amt. This was divided in 1781 into Christians Amt (named after the king Christian VII) and Hedemarkens Amt. The name/form was changed to Kristians Amt in 1877 after an official spelling reform that changed ch to k (see also Kristiania, Kristiansand and Kristiansund). In 1919, the name Kristians Amt was changed (back) to Opland fylke, and the spelling Oppland was approved in 1950.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted in 1989, and it showed two Pulsatilla vernalis.
