Vestvågøy
| Vestvågøy kommune | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Municipality | |||
 View of Ballstad in Vestvågøy | |||
| |||
 Vestvågøy within Nordland | |||
| Coordinates: 68°13′17″N 13°47′04″E / 68.22139°N 13.78444°E / 68.22139; 13.78444Coordinates: 68°13′17″N 13°47′04″E / 68.22139°N 13.78444°E / 68.22139; 13.78444 | |||
| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Nordland | ||
| District | Lofoten | ||
| Established | 1963 | ||
| Administrative centre | Leknes | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor (2015) | Remi Solberg (Ap) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 424.55 km2 (163.92 sq mi) | ||
| • Land | 406.93 km2 (157.12 sq mi) | ||
| • Water | 17.62 km2 (6.80 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | #233 in Norway | ||
| Population (2017) | |||
| • Total | 11,294 | ||
| • Rank | #104 in Norway | ||
| • Density | 27.8/km2 (72/sq mi) | ||
| • Change (10 years) | 5.1% | ||
| Demonym(s) | Vestvågøyværing[1] | ||
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) | ||
| ISO 3166 code | NO-1860 | ||
| Official language form | Neutral | ||
| Website | vestvagoy.kommune.no | ||
Data from Statistics Norway | |||
Vestvågøy is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Lofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Leknes. Some of the villages in the municipality include Ballstad, Borg, Bøstad, Gravdal, Knutstad, Stamsund, Tangstad, and Valberg. With over 10,800 inhabitants, Vestvågøy is the most populous municipality in all of the Lofoten and Vesterålen regions in Nordland county.
The Lofotr museum in Borg, Vestvågøy shows a reconstructed Iron Age Viking chieftain's residence, with a house measuring 80 metres (262 ft), built of stone and turf.
The 425-square-kilometre (164 sq mi) municipality is the 233rd largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Vestvågøy is the 104th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 11,294. The municipality's population density is 27.8 inhabitants per square kilometre (72/sq mi) and its population has increased by 5.1% over the last decade.[2]
Contents
1 General information
1.1 Name
1.2 Coat-of-arms
1.3 Churches
2 Geography
2.1 Climate
3 Government
3.1 Municipal council
4 Transportation
5 International relations
5.1 Twin towns – Sister cities
6 Media gallery
7 Notable residents
8 References
9 External links
General information
The municipality of Vestvågøy was created on 1 January 1963 when the old municipalities of Borge, Buksnes, Hol, and Valberg were all merged. Initially, it had 12,288 residents. The borders have not changed since.[3]
Name
The municipality is named after the island of Vestvågøya. The Old Norse name of the island was Lófót (see Lofoten) - but when Lofoten became the name of the whole archipelago, the old name was replaced with Vestvågøy. Vestvågøy can be broken down into three parts: vest-våg-øy which can be roughly translated as west-bay-island.
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 7 September 1984. The arms show two dried codfish in white on a blue background. This was chosen since the municipality is one of the main Norwegian exporters of (dried) cod or stockfish and has been since the Middle Ages.[4]
Churches
The Church of Norway has five parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Vestvågøy. It is part of the Lofoten prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
| Parish (Sokn) | Church Name | Location of the Church | Year Built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Borge | Borge Church | Bøstad | 1986 |
| Knutstad Chapel | Knutstad | 1915 | |
| Buksnes | Buksnes Church | Gravdal | 1905 |
| Hol | Hol Church | Leknes | 1806 |
| Stamsund | Stamsund Church | Stamsund | 1937 |
| Valberg | Valberg Church | Valberg | 1889 |
Geography
Utakleiv beach.
Vestvågøy municipality is among the most scenic in Norway. It encompassed the whole island of Vestvågøya with the Norwegian Sea to the north and the Vestfjorden to the south. The island has rugged cliffs and peaks facing the southeastern coast. Towards the northwest, however, the land is flat, with extensive farmlands. Most people are found in the town of Leknes and in its "twin town" Gravdal, where Nordland Hospital is located. Along the southeastern coast, one finds picturesque fishing villages like Ballstad and Stamsund, where the Hurtigruten (coastal ferry) stops.
The coastline is dominated by high mountains, such as the 671-metre (2,201 ft) tall Skottinden, and on the west coast also sandy white beaches. Utakleiv the most romantic beach in Europe, according to the British newspaper The Times, and the neighbouring Hauklandsstranden is ranked by the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet as the best beach in Norway.
In Leknes, the sun (midnight sun) is above the horizon from May 26 until July 17, and in winter the sun does not rise from December 9 until January 4. The midnight sun is best viewed from the western beaches, such as Utakleiv and Eggum.
Climate
| Climate data for Kvalnes, on northern Vestvågøya | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 1.8 (35.2) | 1.4 (34.5) | 2.1 (35.8) | 4.4 (39.9) | 8.6 (47.5) | 12.2 (54) | 14.1 (57.4) | 14.0 (57.2) | 10.8 (51.4) | 7.3 (45.1) | 4.2 (39.6) | 2.5 (36.5) | 7.0 (44.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −0.2 (31.6) | −0.3 (31.5) | 0.4 (32.7) | 2.6 (36.7) | 6.5 (43.7) | 9.5 (49.1) | 11.5 (52.7) | 11.9 (53.4) | 8.9 (48) | 5.7 (42.3) | 2.5 (36.5) | 0.5 (32.9) | 5.0 (41) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −2.5 (27.5) | −2.8 (27) | −2.0 (28.4) | 0.2 (32.4) | 3.8 (38.8) | 7.2 (45) | 9.5 (49.1) | 9.7 (49.5) | 6.9 (44.4) | 3.5 (38.3) | 0.3 (32.5) | −1.8 (28.8) | 2.7 (36.9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 117 (4.61) | 93 (3.66) | 89 (3.5) | 70 (2.76) | 48 (1.89) | 50 (1.97) | 71 (2.8) | 68 (2.68) | 111 (4.37) | 153 (6.02) | 126 (4.96) | 139 (5.47) | 1,135 (44.69) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 16.2 | 14.2 | 15.1 | 11.7 | 8.9 | 9.9 | 11.5 | 11.0 | 15.8 | 18.0 | 18.2 | 17.7 | 168.2 |
| Source: Norwegian Meteorological Institute[5] | |||||||||||||
Government
All municipalities in Norway, including Vestvågøy, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor.
Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Vestvågøy is made up of 33 representatives that are elected to four year terms. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:[6]
| Party Name | Name in Norwegian | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Party | Arbeiderpartiet | 11 | |
| Progress Party | Fremskrittspartiet | 3 | |
| Conservative Party | Høyre | 8 | |
| Christian Democratic Party | Kristelig Folkeparti | 2 | |
| Green Party | Miljøpartiet De Grønne | 1 | |
| Centre Party | Senterpartiet | 5 | |
| Socialist Left Party | Sosialistisk Venstreparti | 2 | |
| Liberal Party | Venstre | 1 | |
| Total number of members: | 33 | ||
Transportation
Main street of Leknes by night
Leknes is the municipal and administrative centre and is situated in the geographical middle of Lofoten, approximately 68 kilometres (42 mi) west of Svolvær and 65 kilometres (40 mi) east of Å. Leknes is the trading and shopping centre of Lofoten, only rivaled by Svolvær. Leknes Airport is for smaller aircraft, with 7 daily scheduled flights to Bodø and some daily flights to Svolvær and Røst with Widerøe airlines. There is a small bus terminal which serves as a hub with bus links to the rest of Lofoten. The Leknes Havn (harbor) is one of Norway's most important and visited harbors for cruise ships.
The coastal steamer has been an important means of communication for a century. It docks in Stamsund twice every night, one heading south towards Bodø the other heading north towards Svolvær.
The European route E10 highway crosses the municipality (and island) with the Sundklakkstraumen Bridge connecting to Vågan in the north and the Nappstraumen Tunnel connecting to Flakstad in the south.
International relations
Steirapollen in September
Twin towns – Sister cities
Vestvågøy is twinned with:
Skeiða- og Gnúpverjahreppur, Iceland[7]
Media gallery
Unstad; Vestvågøy has the largest areas of lowland in Lofoten
View south-west from the summit of Bulitinden
Sundklakkstraumen Bridge
The mountain Skottinden in winter sunshine
Notable residents
Guri Ingebrigtsen (born 1952), politician
References
^ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. Retrieved 2015-12-01..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ Statistisk sentralbyrå (2017). "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2017-09-23.
^ Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå.
^ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". Retrieved 2008-11-30.
^ "eKlima Web Portal". Norwegian Meteorological Institute. Archived from the original on 2004-06-14.
^ "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway. 2015.
^ "Twin municipalities Norway-Iceland" (in Norwegian). Norwegian government. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vestvågøy. |
Nordland travel guide from Wikivoyage
Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway (in Norwegian)
Nordland travel guide from WikivoyageNordland county, Norway | |||||||||||||||||
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