Vågan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Vågan kommune | |||
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| — Municipality — | |||
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| Coordinates (city): 68°16′41″N 14°31′15″E / 68.27806°N 14.52083°ECoordinates: 68°16′41″N 14°31′15″E / 68.27806°N 14.52083°E | |||
| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Nordland | ||
| District | Lofoten | ||
| Municipality ID | NO-1865 | ||
| Administrative centre | Svolvær | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor (2003) | Hugo Bjørnstad (Ap) | ||
| Area (Nr. 212 in Norway) | |||
| - Total | 477 km2 (184.2 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 459 km2 (177.2 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| - Total | 9,021 | ||
| - Density | 20/km2 (51.8/sq mi) | ||
| - Change (10 years) | -3.1 % | ||
| - Rank in Norway | 115 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Official language form | Neutral | ||
| Norwegian demonym | Vågaværing[1] | ||
| Website | www.vagan.kommune.no | ||
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Vågan is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Lofoten traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Svolvær.
Vågan was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Two other municipalities were later separated from it: Gimsøy (in 1856) and the town of Svolvær (in 1919). On 1 January 1964, these were both merged back into Vågan.
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[edit] General information
[edit] Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Vågan farm (Old Norse: Vágar), since the first church was built there. The name is the plural form of vág which means "bay". The island of Austvågøy (Old Norse: Vág(a)øy) is named after this important site.
[edit] Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 30 March 1973. The arms show a cod, since fishing is the main source of income for the municipality. The cod was also part of the older arms of Svolvær.[2]
[edit] Geography
The main population centres are the town of Svolvær and the villages of Kabelvåg and Henningsvær, located on the largest island, Austvågøy (although Svolvær and Henningsvær are partly located on smaller islands adjacent to the main island). All three have a picturesque situation under the rugged Lofoten mountains, facing the rough body of water called Vestfjorden. Vågan municipality also includes the islands of Gimsøy, Skrova, Store Molla, Lille Molla, and numerous islets.
[edit] History and economy
Kabelvåg is the oldest fishing village in Lofoten, where King Øystein built the first fishing shacks in the early 12th century. The Lofoten Cathedral, built in 1898, seats 1,200 people, and used to be filled to the last seat during the Lofoten fishing in the winter. Henningsvær has a picturesque situation on several islands, and is today more important for fishing. Svolvær is the municipal centre, and has an impressive number of artists' studios and galleries. In addition to the cod fisheries, salmon fish farming and tourism are economically important in Vågan.
[edit] Sister cities
[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/v/vagan.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
[edit] External links
- Lofoten Golf Links Golf court at Gimsøy in Vågan
- Laukvikøyene nature reserve, a wetland area with rich bird life (Norwegian)
- [* Polarlightcenter
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