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Moskenes Municipality

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Moskenes Municipality
Moskenes kommune
Flag of Moskenes Municipality
Coat of arms of Moskenes Municipality
Nordland within Norway
Nordland within Norway
Moskenes within Nordland
Moskenes within Nordland
CountryNorway
CountyNordland
DistrictLofoten
Administrative centreReine
Government
 • Governor (2003)Lillian Hansen (Ap)
Area
 • Total119 km2 (46 sq mi)
 • Land110 km2 (40 sq mi)
 • Rank#374 in Norway
Population
 (2004)
 • Total1,212
 • Rank#391 in Norway
 • Density11/km2 (30/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
Decrease −15.5%
Official language
 • Norwegian formNeutral
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-1874[2]
WebsiteOfficial website

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Moskenes is a municipality in the county of Nordland, Norway. Moskenes is a part of Lofoten.

Near Å, Moskenes

History

Fiskebåter ved Reine; painting by Gunnar Berg.

The municipality was created by a split from Flakstad on July 1, 1916, at which time Moskenes had a population of 1,306. On 1 January 1964 the two municipalities were reunited, this time under the name Moskenes. However, Flakstad broke out on 1 January 1976 to once again form a separate municipality.

The name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old farm Moskenes ("Muskenes" 1567), since the first church was built there. The meaning of the first element is unknown, the last element is nes n 'headland'.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1986). The spiral represents Moskstraumen.

Sørvågen

What to see

Moskenes is among the most scenic municipalities in all Norway, and the picturesque fishing villages of Hamnøy, Reine, Sørvågen, Moskenes, Å and Tind have a dramatic backdrop of jagged peaks rising above the Vestfjord.

Between Lofotodden, the southwestern tip of the Lofoten chain, and the offshore island of Mosken, there is the tidal current of Moskstraumen. This is better known internationally as the Maelstrom, feared by all sailors. On the isolated north western coast of the island, there are also interesting stone age cave paintings. The highest mountain is Hermannsdalstinden 1,029 m (3300 ft).

Famous people

Moskenes to the west
  1. ^ "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  2. ^ Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (2023-01-26). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.