Telemark

is a coonty in Norawa, borderin Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland an Aust-Agder. The coonty admeenistration is in Skien. Till 1919 the coonty wis kent as *Bratsberg amt*.

## Location
The coonty is locatit in sootheastren Norawa, extendin frae Hardangervidda tae the Skagerrak coast. The coastline extends frae Langesundsfjorden to Gjernestangen at the border tae Aust-Agder. Telemark haes a vera braken an heterogeneous landscape, includin mony hills an valleys.

## Infrastructur
The internaitional road E18 goes through the soothren pairts o Telemark, namely Grenland an the municipality o Kragerø. European route 134, anither important motorwa an the fastest route atween Oslo an Bergen, goes through the municipalities o Vinje, Tokke, Kviteseid, Seljord, Hjartdal an Notodden. RV36, stretchin frae Porsgrunn to Seljord, links the E18 an E134 motorwas.

Telemark is well servit bi railweys. The Sørlandsbanen runs through the traditional destricts o Vestmar an Midt-Telemark, servin the municipalities o Drangedal, Nome, Bø and Sauherad. Grenland is primarily servit bi Vestfoldbanen, but haes connections through Bratsbergbanen which runs atween Skien an Notodden an aw.

Geiteryggen Airport in Skien affers flichts tae Bergen an Stockholm.

Frae Langesund, Kystlink operates ferry services tae Swaden an Denmark.

The main bus lines in the coonty are operatit bi Telemark Bilruter, servin wastren an middle pairts o the coonty, an Nettbuss which serves the middle, eastren an soothren pairts o the coonty. Drangedal Bilruter serves the Vestmar region.

## Population
The lairgest population centres are Skien, Porsgrunn, Notodden, Rjukan an Kragerø. Ither important places are Bø, Fyresdal an Vinje.

## The name
The Norse form o the name was *Þelamǫrk*. The first element is the genitive plural case o *þelir*, the name o an auld Germanic tribe. The last element is *mǫrk* 'firthland, borderland, march'. (See an aw Hedmark and Finnmark.)

Till 1919 the coonty wis cried *Bratsberg amt*. The amt wis namit efter the ferm Bratsberg (Norse *Brattsberg*), syne this was the seat o the *amtmann* ('govrenor'). The first element is the genitive case o *brattr* m 'steep montain', the last element is *berg* n 'mountain'. (The name is referrin tae a steep muntainside ahint the ferm.)

Telemark lent its name tae Telemark skiin, a style inventit bi Sondre Norheim, an the characteristic Telemark landin o ski jumpin.

## Coat-o-airms
The coat-o-airms is frae modren times (1970). It shows an auld type o battle axe, significant for the coonty.

## History
Some historians uised tae believe that Telemark haed been a petty kinrick in the early Viking Age, prior tae the reign o Harald Fairhair. This assertion, housomeivver, is unfoondit. 

The film *[[The Heroes of Telemark]]* is loosely based on the Norse hivy watter sabotage, a raid on a hivy water plant at Rjukan durin Warld War II. Ray Mears made a documentary titled *The Real Heroes of Telemark* as a response tae the inaccuracies o the film, givin an accoont mair focused on the ootdoor skills that wur required for the operation (spendin months in the muntains an remote cabins).

## Destricts
The coonty is conventionally dividit intae traditional destricts. These are Grenland, Vest-Telemark, Midt-Telemark, Øst-Telemark an Vestmar.

## Municipalities

## Freemit airtins
* 
* Hamepage o Telemark Coonty 

## References