Upper Telemark

{{Short description|District in Telemark, Norway}}

{{Infobox settlement

| name = Upper Telemark

| other_name = Øvre Telemark (Norwegian)

| settlement_type = District

| image_skyline = File:Summer landscape Telemark (2690578882).jpg

| image_caption = Vinje with the Totak lake

| image_map = File:Øvre Telemark prosti.svg

| map_caption = Note that the municipality Nome overlaps both Upper Telemark and Grenland.

| coordinates = {{coord|59.9000|8.4000|source:wikidata|display=title, inline}}

| seat_type = Biggest city

| seat = Notodden

| population_demonym = Teledøl
Telemarking{{Cite web |title=Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn |url=https://www.sprakradet.no/sprakhjelp/Skriverad/navn-pa-steder-og-personer/Innbyggjarnamn/ |publisher=Språkrådet |language=Norwegian}}

| population_footnotes = {{Cite web |last=Statistisk sentralbyrå |author-link=Statistics Norway |title=Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M) |url=https://www.ssb.no/en/statbank/table/06913/ |language=Norwegian}}

| population_total = 50984

| population_as_of = 2022

| population_density_km2 = auto

| area_total_km2 = 12468

| area_footnotes = {{Cite web |last=Statistisk sentralbyrå |author-link=Statistics Norway |title=09280: Area of land and fresh water (km²) (M) |url=https://www.ssb.no/en/statbank/table/09280/ |language=Norwegian}}

| subdivision_type = Country

| subdivision_name = Norway

| subdivision_type1 = County

| subdivision_name1 = Telemark

| subdivision_type2 = Region

| subdivision_name2 = Østlandet

}}

Upper Telemark ({{langx|no|Øvre Telemark}}) is a traditional district in Telemark county in Norway. The area includes the inland areas of Telemark. More than two-thirds of the total area of Telemark—more than {{convert|10000|km2}}—belong to the traditional region of Upper Telemark. Conversely, the area of "Lower" Telemark refers to the more densely populated, flatter coastal area of Grenland and traditionally also includes Central Telemark. Upper Telemark has a varied and often scenic landscape, with many hills, mountains, valleys and lakes.

Upper Telemark was originally known simply as Telemark and is named for the Thelir (Old Norse: Þilir), the ancient North Germanic tribe that inhabited what is now called Upper Telemark and Numedal in the Migration Period and the Viking Age. Upper Telemark is known for its folk traditions within music, clothing, handcrafts, food and architecture. The region is also distinctly marked by its dialect of Norwegian.

The district is also conventionally divided into Vest-Telemark and Aust-Telemark, with Vest-Telemark consisting of Vinje, Tokke, Seljord, Fyresdal, Kviteseid, and Nissedal. Aust-Telemark always consists of Hjartdal, Notodden, and Tinn, but more recently Midt-Telemark and Nome are also usually included as well.

Whereas Lower Telemark was traditionally dominated by the burghers of the cities, Upper Telemark was for centuries dominated by a close-knit "aristocracy of officials" comprised by a handful of families which monopolized the state and church offices in the region, notably the families Paus, Blom, Ørn, and Morland.{{Cite book |last=Nygaard |first=Jon |title=«...af stort est du kommen». Henrik Ibsen og Skien |publisher=Senter for Ibsen-studier |year=2013 |isbn=9788291540122 |pages=68 & 74 |language=no}}