Moskenes Municipality
Moskenes Municipality
Moskenes kommune | |
|---|---|
 View of Reine in Moskenes | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 Nordland within Norway | |
 Moskenes within Nordland | |
| Coordinates: 67°55′31″N 12°57′32″E / 67.92528°N 12.95889°E | |
| Country | Norway |
| County | Nordland |
| District | Lofoten |
| Established | 1916 |
| Administrative centre | Reine |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2011) | Lillian Rasmussen (Local list) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 118.79 km2 (45.87 sq mi) |
| • Land | 110.47 km2 (42.65 sq mi) |
| • Water | 8.32 km2 (3.21 sq mi) |
| • Rank | #367 in Norway |
| Population (2017) | |
| • Total | 1,073 |
| • Rank | #390 in Norway |
| • Density | 9.7/km2 (25/sq mi) |
| • Change (10 years) |  −7.2% |
| Demonym | Moskenesfjerding[1] |
| Official language | |
| • Norwegian form | Neutral |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | NO-1874[3] |
| Website | Official website |
Moskenes is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality comprises the southern part of the island of Moskenesøya in the traditional district of Lofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Reine. Other villages include Sørvågen, Hamnøy, and Å.
The 119-square-kilometre (46 sq mi) municipality is the 367th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Moskenes is the 390th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,073. The municipality's population density is 9.7 inhabitants per square kilometre (25/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 7.2% over the last decade.[4]
General information
The municipality was established on 1 July 1916 when the southern part of Flakstad municipality was separated to become Moskenes. Initially, Moskenes had a population of 1,306.
On 1 January 1964, the municipalities of Flakstad and Moskenes were reunited, this time under the name "Moskenes". Prior to the merger, Moskenes had 2,001 residents and the new municipality of Moskenes had 4,068 residents. This new municipality did not last long because on 1 January 1976, Flakstad broke away again to once again form a separate municipality. This left Moskenes with 1,705 residents.[5]
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Moskenes farm ("Muskenes" – 1567), since the first church was built there. The first element is probably derived from the word mosk/musk which means "sea spray" and the last element is nes which means "headland".[6] (See also Moskenstraumen.)
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 12 September 1986. The arms show a white vortex spiral on a blue background. Vortexes or whirlpools, such as the Moskenstraumen, appear in the channel just south of the island of Moskenes when the tide comes in, making it a hazardous channel.[7]
Churches
The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Moskenes. It is part of the Lofoten prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
| Parish (Sokn) | Church Name | Location of the Church | Year Built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moskenes | Moskenes Church | Moskenes | 1819 |
| Reine Church | Reine | 1890 |
Attractions
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 Vestfjorden. The historic Glåpen Lighthouse is located just east of Sørvågen.
Between Lofotodden, the southwestern tip of the Lofoten chain, and the offshore island of Mosken, there is the tidal current of Moskenstraumen. This is better known internationally as the Maelstrom, feared by all sailors. On the isolated northwestern coast of the island, there are also interesting Stone Age cave paintings. The highest mountain is Hermannsdalstinden at 1,029 metres (3,376 ft).
Government
All municipalities in Norway, including Moskenes, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor.
Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Moskenes is made up of 11 representatives that are elected to four year terms. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:[8]
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 3 | |
| Conservative Party (Høyre) | 2 | |
| Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti) | 1 | |
| Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 5 | |
| Total number of members: | 11 | |
Geography
Moskenes has a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc). The municipality of Moskenes lies near the southern end of the Lofoten archipelago on the southern part of the island of Moskenesøya. The Vestfjorden lies to the east, the Moskenstraumen strait lies to the south, and the Norwegian Sea lies to the west. The municipality of Flakstad lies to the north (on the northern part of the island) and the island municipality of Værøy lies about 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the south.
Climate
| Climate data for Reine | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −0.3 (31.5) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
0.2 (32.4) |
2.2 (36.0) |
6.2 (43.2) |
9.3 (48.7) |
11.7 (53.1) |
11.8 (53.2) |
8.5 (47.3) |
5.8 (42.4) |
2.6 (36.7) |
0.5 (32.9) |
4.8 (40.6) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 240 (9.4) |
207 (8.1) |
183 (7.2) |
145 (5.7) |
89 (3.5) |
93 (3.7) |
121 (4.8) |
140 (5.5) |
228 (9.0) |
322 (12.7) |
244 (9.6) |
273 (10.7) |
2,285 (90.0) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) | 19.6 | 17.8 | 16.6 | 16.2 | 12.6 | 11.5 | 12.8 | 13.9 | 19.0 | 21.3 | 20.5 | 21.8 | 203.6 |
| Source: Norwegian Meteorological Institute[9] | |||||||||||||
Notable residents
- Hans Erik Dyvik Husby, musician
- Birger Eriksen, commander at Oscarsborg, and responsible for the sinking of Blücher, the German ship headed for Oslo on the night between 8–9 April 1940.
Gallery
-
Near Å, Moskenes -
Fiskebåter ved Reine; by Gunnar Berg. -
Sørvågen -
Moskenes to the west -
Djupfjorden in 2010 September.
References
- ^ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
- ^ "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
- ^ Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (26 January 2023). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
- ^ Statistisk sentralbyrå (2017). "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå.
- ^ Rygh, Oluf (1905). Norske gaardnavne: Nordlands amt (in Norwegian) (16 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 345.
- ^ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". Retrieved 24 November 2008.
- ^ "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway. 2015.
- ^ "eKlima Web Portal". Norwegian Meteorological Institute. Archived from the original on 14 June 2004.
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External links
Nordland travel guide from Wikivoyage- Video:Driving the E10 road in Moskenes
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