Hamarøy
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| Hamarøy kommune | |||
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| — Municipality — | |||
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| Coordinates (city): 68°4′33″N 15°46′56″E / 68.07583°N 15.78222°ECoordinates: 68°4′33″N 15°46′56″E / 68.07583°N 15.78222°E | |||
| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Nordland | ||
| District | Salten | ||
| Municipality ID | NO-1849 | ||
| Administrative centre | Oppeid | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor (2003) | Jan-Folke Sandnes (H) | ||
| Area (Nr. 103 in Norway) | |||
| - Total | 1,031 km2 (398.1 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 921 km2 (355.6 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| - Total | 1,821 | ||
| - Density | 2/km2 (5.2/sq mi) | ||
| - Change (10 years) | -15.4 % | ||
| - Rank in Norway | 342 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Official language form | Neutral | ||
| Norwegian demonym | Hamarøying Hamarøyværing[1] |
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| Website | www.hamaroy.kommune.no | ||
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Hamarøy is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Oppeid. Hamarøy was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt).
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[edit] General information
[edit] Name
The municipality is named after the former island (now peninsula) Hamarøya (Old Norse: Hamarøy), since the first church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of Höm, the former uncompounded name of the island. The last element is øy which means "island". The former name of the island is probably identical with the word höm which means "thigh/leg (of an animal)" because the island (or a part of it) was shaped in the form of an animal's leg.
[edit] Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 19 February 1982. The arms show a lynx (which are common in the area) as a symbol for the rich wildlife in the forests of the municipality.[2]
[edit] Geography
Hamarøy borders the municipality of Tysfjord to the north, Steigen to the west, Sørfold to the south, Vestfjord to the northwest, and the country of Sweden to the southeast. The population is mostly located on a peninsula.
[edit] Nature
Hamarøy is dominated by small fjords, pine, birch, and aspen woodland and forest, and coastal mountains. There are several nature reserves, such as Trollpollen nature reserve dominated by pine and birch[3] located a few kilometers north of Innhavet, Lilandsvatnet wetland area[4], Steinslandsosen estuary[5], and Kvannskogen with old aspen trees with rich lichen flora[6]. The mountain Hamarøyskaftet has long been regarded as nature's own phallic symbol (See picture 1 and picture 2).
[edit] Climate
The warmest temperature ever recorded in Nordland county was 33.1°C on 3 July 1972 in Finnøya, Hamarøy.
[edit] Transportation
While Hamarøy has a low population density, it sees some traffic during the summer months as the main road connection to Svolvær and the Lofoten islands runs through Hamarøy and its administrative centre Oppeid. The ferry ride to Skrova and Svolvær is approximately 2 hours and departs Skutvik (approx 15 minutes from Oppeid) at regular intervals. From 2008, the ferry schedule was considerably reduced due to the new Lofast road.
[edit] Economy
The municipal administration and other public services are located in Oppeid. There is a hotel in the municipality, as well as a scenic lighthouse which can be rented[7].
Skutvik is a small residential and marina area concentrated around the ferry dock. In the high season the number of cars and motor homes in line for the ferry can be significant, and while there a few sights to see in Skutvik, there is a small bar/cafè and a Statoil gas station nearby.
The Hamsun literature festival takes place the first week of August every second year. The author's childhood home is now the Hamsun Museum.
[edit] Notable residents
- Childhood home of novelist Knut Hamsun, winner of the 1920 Nobel Prize in Literature.
[edit] References
- ^ "Personnemningar til stadnamn i Noreg" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. http://www.sprakrad.no/Sprakhjelp/Rettskriving_Ordboeker/Innbyggjarnamn.
- ^ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". http://www.ngw.nl/int/nor/h/hamaroy.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
- ^ "Trollpollen naturreservat". http://nordland.miljostatus.no/msf_themepage.aspx?m=1695#4562. Retrieved 2008-11-23. (Norwegian)
- ^ "Lilandsvatnet naturreservat". http://nordland.miljostatus.no/msf_themepage.aspx?m=1614#4481. Retrieved 2008-11-23. (Norwegian)
- ^ "Steinslandsosen naturreservat". http://nordland.miljostatus.no/msf_themepage.aspx?m=1670#4537. Retrieved 2008-11-23. (Norwegian)
- ^ "Kvannskogen naturreservat". http://nordland.miljostatus.no/msf_themepage.aspx?m=1605#9150. Retrieved 2008-11-23. (Norwegian)
- ^ "Tranøy fyr". http://en.tranoyfyr.no. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
[edit] External links
Media related to Hamarøy at Wikimedia Commons- Knut Hamsun Centre's architecture
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