Editing Hallingdal (section)

==History==
From early on, Hallingdal prospered from trading with [[iron]], produced from local marshlands, and developed trading routes throughout the [[Iron Age]]. In later centuries, Hallingdal farmers traded cattle over the mountains from west to east. As the soil in the valley could be barren, trading was necessary. Ancient routes went to [[Vestlandet|western Norway]] (''Vestlandet'') through [[Valdres]] and Hallingdal and down [[Røldal]] to [[Odda]]. Reflecting this route, Hallingdal and its neighboring valley of Valdres were originally populated by migrants from Vestlandet and spoke a western [[dialect]]. The actual migration routes are hard to map, and the migrants may have intermixed with local hunters from the mountains around the valley. In recognition of this, Cardinal [[Pope Adrian IV|Nicholas Breakespear]], (later Pope Adrian IV) who was in [[Scandinavia]] as [[papal legate]] in 1153, included these two valleys in the [[Ancient Diocese of Stavanger|Diocese of Stavanger]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://snl.no/%C3%A5rsaker_til_dialektvariasjon_i_Noreg|title=årsaker til dialektvariasjon i Noreg|website=snl.no|first=Martin|last=Skjekkeland|access-date=16 July 2015|date=28 April 2014}}</ref>

[[File:Nesbyen, Nes.jpg|thumb|left|[[Nesbyen]] in [[Nes, Buskerud|Nes]] is one of the largest settlements in Hallingdal]]