Where to Stay in Segalstad bru, Innlandet

Segalstad bru is the administrative village of Gausdal, in the southern part of Innlandet, in south-eastern Norway (Østlandet). The great draw of the district is Aulestad, the home of the writer Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, kept as a museum among the valley farms. A poet lived here.

The valley is rich in old churches too, from Follebu kirke and Østre Gausdal kirke to Vestre Gausdal kirke, marking the long Christian history of this corner of Gausdal.

Aulestad is the famous sight of the district. The old farm was the home of the writer Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and is kept as a museum, the chief draw of Gausdal. A poet's house draws the visitors.

The valley holds a string of historic churches: Follebu kirke, Østre Gausdal kirke and Vestre Gausdal kirke all stand among the farms, while the old Bødalen stavkirke counts among the stave churches once raised in the western reaches of Gausdal. Together they carry the long heritage of this part of Innlandet.

Segalstad bru grew as a crossing and gathering point in the valley of Gausdal. The bridge that gave the village its name carried the valley road over the river, and the farms around it formed part of the old parish life served by the churches of Follebu kirke, Østre Gausdal kirke and Vestre Gausdal kirke in the southern part of Innlandet. Churches marked the parishes early.

The stave church of Bødalen stavkirke stood among the western farms in the deep past, one of the timber churches of the medieval valley. The district drew fame through its writer. At Aulestad, near Follebu, the poet Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson made his home, and the farm became a place of pilgrimage for readers of his work across the country.

As the modern municipality of Gausdal took shape, Segalstad bru grew into its administrative centre, gathering the offices and services of the valley, and held its place as the working heart of a district known for its churches and for the home of Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson in this corner of south-eastern Norway (Østlandet).

Segalstad bru lies in the valley of Gausdal, in the southern part of Innlandet, in south-eastern Norway (Østlandet). The village sits on the valley floor by the river crossing that gave it its name, the road running on up the dale past Follebu and the farms of the surrounding land. Hills rise on either side.

The wider municipality of Gausdal reaches across the valley and the high country, taking in the church farms of Østre Gausdal kirke and Vestre Gausdal kirke and the upland slopes above Segalstad bru.

Segalstad bru has the dry, continental climate of the inner valleys of Gausdal. Winters run cold and snowy, with frost gripping the river crossing and snow lying long on the church farms around Follebu kirke through the dark of the season. Summers stay short and warm.

The shelter of the surrounding hills keeps the heavy rain off, so Segalstad bru shares the drier weather of the southern part of Innlandet, the long northern daylight warming the valley floor while snow holds late on the higher ground.

Segalstad bru sits on the valley road that runs up through Gausdal. Buses and cars reach the village along the route from the main valley toward the upland, and the centre lies close to the run out to the museum at Aulestad. Most arrive by car.

The road carries the valley traffic past Follebu and the church farms toward the high country, while the wider towns of Innlandet handle the rail and the longer journeys of travellers reaching this part of south-eastern Norway (Østlandet).