Skånland
| Skånland kommune Skániid suohkan |
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| — Municipality — | |||
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| Coordinates: 68°38′24″N 16°57′26″E / 68.64°N 16.95722°ECoordinates: 68°38′24″N 16°57′26″E / 68.64°N 16.95722°E | |||
| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Troms | ||
| District | Hålogaland | ||
| Administrative centre | Evenskjer | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor (2003) | Svein Berg (Ap) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 495.07 km2 (191.1 sq mi) | ||
| • Land | 465.74 km2 (179.8 sq mi) | ||
| • Water | 29.33 km2 (11.3 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 209 in Norway | ||
| Population (2010) | |||
| • Total | 2,855 | ||
| • Rank | 271 in Norway | ||
| • Density | 6.1/km2 (15.8/sq mi) | ||
| • Change (10 years) | -8.2 % | ||
| Demonym | Skånlending[1] | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| ISO 3166 code | NO-1913 | ||
| Official language form | Bokmål | ||
| Website | www.skanland.kommune.no | ||
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Skånland (Northern Sami: Skánit) is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Evenskjer.
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[edit] General information
Skånland was established on 1 July 1926 when the large municipality of Trondenes was divided into three municipalities: Sandtorg, Skånland, and Trondenes. Skånland's initial population was 2,443. On 1 January 1964, the neighboring municipality of Astafjord (population: 1,120) was merged into Skånland. On the same date, the part of Skånland on the island of Rolla (population: 143) was transferred to neighboring Ibestad municipality.[2]
[edit] Name
The municipality, and the parish, is named after the old Skånland farm (Old Norse: Skánøyjarland), since the first church was built there (in 1870). The first element is the genitive case of an old name Skánøy (but the meaning of this is uncertain) and the last element is land which means "land" or "farm". The name might be of Sami origin, meaning "small mountains" (skánit).[3]
[edit] Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1988). They show a black auger on a gold background. This was chosen since the production of augers, and their use in construction of boats, has long roots in the municipality.[4]
[edit] Geography
The municipality includes the western and northern part of the Ofoten peninsula, which is bordered by Ofotfjord in the south, Tjeldsundet in the west, and Astafjord (Vågsfjord) in the north. Neighbouring municipalities are Evenes to the south, Narvik in the southeast, Tjeldsund in Nordland to the southwest. Harstad in the northwest, across Tjeldsundet, and Gratangen in the northeast, are located in Troms. Evenskjer, located in the lowland bordering Tjeldsundet, is the largest village. In the northern part is the smaller village of Grov. Other villages are Renså, Tovik and Sandstrand.
The largest lake is Skoddebergvatnet, and the highest mountain is Skittendalstinden at 1,306 metres (4,285 ft) in the mountainous center of the peninsula. There are calcareous pine forests near Skoddebergvatnet. The lake Niingsvatnet is located on the border with Evenes.
[edit] Economy
Agriculture is important in Skånland, and there are also many people working in Harstad or at the Harstad/Narvik Airport, Evenes.
[edit] References
- ^ "Personnemningar til stadnamn i Noreg" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. http://www.sprakrad.no/nb-no/Sprakhjelp/Rettskrivning_Ordboeker/Innbyggjarnamn/.
- ^ Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/90/rapp_9913/rapp_9913.pdf.
- ^ Rygh, Oluf (1911) (in Norwegian). Norske gaardnavne: Troms amt (17 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. pp. 14. http://www.dokpro.uio.no/perl/navnegransking/rygh_ng/rygh_bla.prl?enhid=270238&avid=59876&s=n.
- ^ "Troms fylke-beskrivelse". http://home.no.net/~thuridcs/Kommvpn/Troms/kombeskr-troms.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-07. (Norwegian)
[edit] External links
Media related to Skånland at Wikimedia Commons
The Wiktionary entry for skånland- Troms travel guide from Wikitravel
- Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
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