Mosjøen

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Mosjøen seen from Dolstad hill, May 29 2005

Mosjøen (help·info) is a town in the municipality of Vefsn in Nordland county, Norway. The town has approximately 10,000 inhabitants.

Mosjøen was separated from Vefsn as a town, and municipality of its own, in 1876. It was again merged with Vefsn January 1, 1962. It is the oldest town in the Helgeland region, and the second oldest in Nordland.

[edit] Geography

The town is situated in the lower part of the Vefsn valley where the rivers Vefsna and Skjerva flow into the Vefsnfjord (Vefsnfjorden means "the Vefsn fjord"); the town centre lies in between these two rivers on flat land near the head of the fjord. The Vefsna river is the largest in Nordland by waterflow. In addition to the rivers and the fjord, the town is surrounded by mountains, green hills and forests. The Øyfjellet mountain (814 m) just west of the town is a well known landmark.

The old Sjøgata in Mosjøen

Dolstad Church, January 2007

[edit] History

Mosjøen was founded in the 1600s or 1700s as local farmers met here to trade, and has been growing since then. Sawmills were built here in 1866 by a British company, and Mosjøen got township rights in 1875. It is the oldest town in the Helgeland region and the second oldest town in Nordland county. Alcoa has an aluminium plant in Mosjøen.

[edit] Communications

Sunrise in Mosjøen

Sunset in Mosjøen at 00:16 on July 4, 2007

The town is served by the Mosjøen Airport, Kjærstad that opened in 1987. The E6 road goes through Mosjøen, as does the Nordlandsbanen railway line. Mosjøen is 390 km north of Trondheim by road, and 90 km south of Mo i Rana.