Ofoten Municipality
Ofoten Municipality
Ofoten herred | |
|---|---|
 Nordland within Norway | |
 Ofoten within Nordland | |
| Coordinates: 68°26′11″N 17°23′54″E / 68.4363°N 17.3983°E | |
| Country | Norway |
| County | Nordland |
| District | Ofoten |
| Established | 1 Jan 1838 |
| • Created as | Formannskapsdistrikt |
| Disestablished | 1 Jan 1884 |
| • Succeeded by | Ankenes Municipality and Evenes Municipality |
| Administrative centre | Narvik |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Bertheus Normann (1882-1884) |
| Area (upon dissolution) | |
| • Total | 2,998.3 km2 (1,157.7 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 1,893.7 m (6,212.9 ft) |
| Population (1884) | |
| • Total | 4,131 |
| • Density | 1.4/km2 (3.6/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Ofoting[2][3] |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | NO-1853[4] |
Ofoten is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The 2,998.3-square-kilometre (1,157.7 sq mi) municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1884. The municipality included the areas on both sides of the inner part of the Ofotfjorden mostly in what is now Narvik Municipality and Evenes Municipality. The administrative centre of Ofoten was the village of Narvik (which later became a town in 1902). After the municipality was dissolved in 1884, the name Ofoten has been used to refer to the region that once was this municipality.[5]
General information
[edit]
The municipality of Ofoten was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1884, the municipality ceased to exist when it was split into two: Ankenes Municipality (population: 1,734) in the east and Evindnæs Municipality (population: 2,397) in the west.[6]
Name
[edit]The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the local Ofotfjorden (Old Norse: Ófóti) since the fjord is the central feature of the area as well as the name of the whole Ofoten region. The first element of the name has an uncertain meaning. The last element is fótr which means "foot". The oldest form of the name could have been Úffóti. In this case, the first element is úfr which means "Eurasian eagle-owl". The three inner branches of the Ofotfjord might have been compared with the three claws of an owl.[5][7]
Churches
[edit]The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within Ofoten Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Ofoten prestegjeld and the Nordre Salten prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.[8]
| Parish (sokn) | Church name | Location of the church | Year built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ankenes | Ankenes Church | Ankenesstranda | 1867 |
| Evenes | Evenes Church | Evenes | 1800 |
Geography
[edit]The highest point in the municipality is the 1,893.7-metre (6,213 ft) tall mountain Storsteinsfjellet.[1] The municipality was located at the inner part of the Ofotfjorden, along the border with Sweden (to the east and south). To the west was Lødingen Municipality and Tjeldsund Municipality. To the north was Ibestad Municipality and Bardu Municipality (both in Troms county).
Government
[edit]While it existed, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.[9]
Mayors
[edit]The mayor (Norwegian: ordfører) of Ofoten was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who held this position::[10]
- 1838–1844: Johan Klitzing Iversen
- 1844–1846: unknown
- 1846–1848: Johan Klitzing Iversen
- 1848–1852: Peder Slangerup Schjønning
- 1852–1854: unknown
- 1854–1856: Johan Klitzing Iversen
- 1857–1858: Martinius P. Hønich Jensen
- 1859–1866: Johan Christian Dahlsen
- 1867–1872: Hans Olai Christoffersen
- 1873–1875: Johan T.S. Østberg
- 1875–1881: Esten A. Osmark
- 1882–1884: Bertheus Normann
See also
[edit]- List of former municipalities of Norway
- Ofoten - a geographical area within Nordland county
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Høgaste fjelltopp i kvar kommune" (in Norwegian). Kartverket. 16 January 2024.
- ^ "ofoting". Det Norske Akademis ordbok (in Norwegian). Det Norske Akademi for Språk og Litteratur. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
- ^ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
- ^ Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (26 January 2023). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
- ^ a b Thorsnæs, Geir, ed. (13 February 2017). "Ofoten – tidligere kommune". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
- ^ Jukvam, Dag (1999). Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
- ^ Rygh, Oluf (1905). Norske gaardnavne: Nordlands amt (in Norwegian) (16 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 296.
- ^ Statistisk sentralbyrå (1 January 1951). Norges Sivile, Geistlige, Rettslige og Militære Inndeling 1. Januar 1951 (PDF). Norges Offisielle Statistikk (in Norwegian). Oslo, Norge: H. Aschehoug & Co.
- ^ Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ "I glass og ramme". Harstad Tidende. 12 June 1995. p. 13.
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