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Suggest pagesHelgøy
| Helgøy herred | |
|---|---|
| — Former Municipality — | |
| Coordinates: 70°06′46″N 19°21′47″E / 70.11278°N 19.36306°ECoordinates: 70°06′46″N 19°21′47″E / 70.11278°N 19.36306°E | |
| Country | Norway |
| County | Troms |
| District | Nord-Norge |
| Municipality ID | NO-1935 |
| Adm. Center | Helgøy |
| Area[1] | |
| • Total | 659 km2 (254.4 sq mi) |
| Created from | Karlsøy in 1886 |
| Merged into | Karlsøy in 1964 |
Helgøy is an island (sometimes written Helgøya) and a former municipality in Troms county in Norway. It is located in the western part of the present-day municipality of Karlsøy. The municipality included the islands of Helgøya, Grøtøya, and Nord-Kvaløya, large parts of the nearby islands of Rebbenesøya and Ringvassøy, and many smaller surrounding islands.
The island of Helgøy today is a more or less abandoned village of picturesque wooden houses and an old church. No one has permanently lived on Helgøy since 1999 when the post office was closed and regular ferry service was ended. The island can only be reached when services are celebrated in the church, and ferry rides are organized. The church, originally built in 1741, was bought and moved from Hamn on Senja in January 1888. It came to Hamn around 1877. Previously it stood on Hemnes in Helgeland. The church it replaced had stood for 225 years.
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[edit] Name
The municipality is named after the island Helgøya (Old Norse: Helgøy). The name means den hellige øy or "the holy island" since the first element helgi means "sanctuary" or "holy" and the second part øy is identical for the word "island".[1][2]
[edit] History
From ancient times, a Helgøy parish has existed. In 1838, municipal self-government was introduced in Norway (see formannskapsdistrikt), and Helgøy was put into the municipality of Karlsøy. Helgøy grew as a trading post under Christian Figenschou, but residents soon became dissatisfied with the municipal government based in Karlsøy.
The municipality of Helgøy was established on 1 September 1886 when the western part of the old municipality of Karlsøy was separated to form a municipality of its own. Helgøy had an initial population of 828. The two municipalities still had a common priest, sheriff, and doctor, but all these were resident in Karlsøy. From 1886 to 1892, Christian Figenschou was the mayor of the municipality. After 1886, residents began developing a local town center for Helgøy, with the church, rectory, farm, and flourishing trade. A small village grew up on the former church site and a permanent school in the parish were added on Helgøya. Steam ships regularly stopped here and a post office was established. After 1928, a doctor and sheriff were permanently located here.
On 1 January 1964, the municipality of Helgøy was merged together with most of Karlsøy (except the mainland areas which became part of Lyngen). Prior to the merger, Helgøy had a population of 1,495.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Helgøy" (in Norwegian). Store norske leksikon. http://www.snl.no/Helg%C3%B8y. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
- ^ Rygh, Oluf (1911) (in Norwegian). Norske gaardnavne: Troms amt (17 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. pp. 174. http://www.dokpro.uio.no/perl/navnegransking/rygh_ng/rygh_bla.prl?enhid=277322&avid=61467&s=n.
- ^ Jukvam, Dag (1999) (in Norwegian) (PDF). Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen. Statistisk sentralbyrå. http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/90/rapp_9913/rapp_9913.pdf.
[edit] External links
- Troms travel guide from Wikitravel
- Weather information for Helgøy (Norwegian)
