Coat-of-Arms for Hole County.

HALVDAN SVARTE ("Halvdan The Black") who lived during the 800s got married to Ragnhild, who was the daughter of  Sigurd Hjort.  At that time King Sigurd Hjort was the owner of the beautiful Stein farm.  The berserk *  Håke initially killed Sigurd Hjort and subsequently kidnapped his daughter Ragnhild.  Halvdan Svarte saved Ragnhild and married her.  King Halvdan Svarte ended his life in 860 by going through the ice on Randsfjorden with his men, his horse and sledge.  His body - or some part thereof -  was possibly buried at Stein farm on Halvdanshaugen ("The Mound of Halvdan").  The archaeologists are very eager to further explore the interior of the burial mound.

• Berserk:  A special group of warriors with clothes made of bearskin, renowned for their fearlessness and wild temper.

 SIGURD HALVDANSON SYR lived during the 1000s.  He was the great-great grandchild of Harald Hårfagre (900-940).  Although a king, Sigurd Syr was mainly interested in agricultural matters, which was quite exceptional for a king at that time.  His nickname - Syr - meant:  The one who is digging in the field.  He was known as a peaceful and very wise man.  Sigurd Syr married the widow Åsta, who had a little son  -  Olav - today known as Olav the Saint.  Åsta and Sigurd Syr were the parents of  Harald Hårdråde.

Their royal headquarters probably was at  Stein - we do not know that for sure.

 OLAV DEN HELLIGE (St. Olav or Olav Haraldsson) reigned from 1015 to 1030.  His mother was the above-mentioned Åsta and his stepfather was King Sigurd Syr.  However, Olav Haraldsson's real father was Harald Grenske, who had been killed in 995.  His widow, Åsta, gave birth to Olav at the same year, but we do not know for sure if Olav was born at Harald Grenske's place in Vestfold or in Hole.  Åsta  returned to the home of her childhood  - her father was Gudbrand Kula -  and  married King Sigurd Syr.  Olav Haraldsson is one out of four saints in Norwegian history and world known.

The story tells that Olav and his men once were caught in a storm on Tyrifjorden.  King Olav prayed to God and promised to build a church to God's honour if he could save them from the storm.  A beautiful medieval church is lying on Bønsnes today, but  we can not tell for sure whether the oldest part of it is dated from 11^th, 12^th or 13^th Century.

 HARALD HÅRDRÅDE reigned from 1046 to 1066 and was the half brother of Olav Haraldsson.  He was born at King Syr's farm.  As a king he was known for his tough rule.  He was only 15 years old when he fought in the battle of Stiklestad in 1030 and experienced the death of his half brother.

 The four crowns in the coat-of-arms for Hole symbolize the rich history of Hole.  Even more kings have been living in the region.  One of the most famous is Harald Hårfagre ("Harald with the beautiful hair"), the son of Halvdan Svarte.  He wowed that he would neither cut nor wash, nor comb his hair before he was the king of a united kingdom - that means the South of Norway.  He eventually succeeded in his plans.  At that time the Northern regions of Norway was unknown to most people.

 Translated into English by Petter Næssan 03.01.2001.