The municipality is named after the old Skjåk farm, since the first church was built here. The first element is skeið which means "a running track for horse racing" and the last element is akr which means "field" or "acre". Prior to 1889, the name was written "Skiaker", then from 1889-1910 it was spelled "Skiaaker", from 1911-1920 it was "Skjaak", and since 1921 it has been written in its present form, "Skjåk".
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 31 March 1989. It shows four silver-colored acanthus leaves on a blue background. This was picked to symbolize growth and strength. These symbols are found in many historic artifacts from around the area.
Ancestry
Number
40
26
8
History
Skjåk has historical roots back to the Viking Age and has a rich cultural heritage. An ancient route of travel between east and west went from Skjåk up through the Raudal valley and down through the Sunndal valley to Stryn on an arm of the Nordfjord. For example, in 1197, according to King Sverre'ssaga, Bishop Nikolaus is reported to have sent a group of baglers from Oppdal over the mountains to Stryn on Nordfjord, via Raudal.
Geography
Skjåk is the westernmost municipality in the valley of Ottadalen. It is bordered to the north by the municipality of Norddal, Rauma, and Lesja, in the east and southeast by Lom, in the south by Luster and in the west by Stryn and Stranda. The municipality lies along the Otta river between the mountainous areas of Breheim and Reinheim. Bismo is the modern population center and the location of the majority of industry and shopping as well as the municipal administration. The community is at the meeting point between Gudbrandsdalen and the mountains between the eastern parts of Norway and the west coast. The municipality lies on a historically significant traffic artery between Stryn and Nordfjord, Geiranger, and Sunnmøre and the more easterly Ottadal municipalities of Lom and Vågå. Of the total area, is used for agriculture; for forestry; is covered by water ; and the rest is mountains and other non-arable land. Virtually the entire long valley floor is continuously, but sparsely, built up. Skjåk serves as a point of entry to the mountain areas just west; hunting and fishing are also popular tourist activities.
Climate
Nestled in a deep valley, the populated regions of Skjåk are rain shadowed and as a result are actually one of the most arid places in Europe with annual precipitation of about per year, but it avoids a steppe climate by being too cold and having precipitation too spread out. This gives Skjåk a rare dry-summer subarctic climate, thanks to low overall precipitation levels in summer. In addition, one side of the valley, solsida, has a southern exposure, whereas baksida gets very little sun. Agriculture has been enabled by elaborate irrigation systems for hundreds of years, so the area is green and productive rather than desert-like.
