Lavangen Municipality

Template:Native name or Template:Native name<ref name="sami name" /> is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tennevoll. Other villages in Lavangen include Fossbakken and Spansdalen (in the inland areas) and Kjeiprød, Røkenes, Låternes, Tennevoll, Hesjevika, Soløy, and Å (surrounding the fjord).

The Template:Convert municipality is the 266th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Lavangen is the 335th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 986. The municipality's population density is Template:Convert and its population has decreased by 2.8% over the previous 10-year period.<ref name="ssb pop">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ssb area">Template:Cite web</ref>

General information

Lavangen was established on 1 January 1907 when it was separated from Ibestad Municipality. The initial population was 1,536. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Lavangen Municipality (population: 1,677) and Salangen Municipality (population: 2,611) were merged into a new, larger Salangen Municipality. The merger was brief, however, because on 1 January 1977, the old Lavangen Municipality (except for the Lavangsnes area) was made a separate municipality once again.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed Troms og Finnmark county. Previously, it had been part of the old Troms county.<ref name="snl5">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> On 1 January 2024, the Troms og Finnmark county was divided and the municipality once again became part of Troms county.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Name

The municipality is named after the local Lavangen fjord (Template:Langx) since it is a central geographical feature of the area. The first element is Template:Wikt-lang which means "leaf" (here in the sense of 'birchwood'). The last element is Template:Wikt-lang which means "fjord" or "bay".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> On 19 December 2015, the national government approved the municipality's request to add Template:Lang as a co-equal, official name of the municipality in the Northern Sami language.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Both Template:Lang and Template:Lang can be used interchangeably for the municipality. The spelling of the Sami language name changes depending on how it is used. It is called Template:Lang when it is spelled alone, but it is Template:Lang when using the Sami language equivalent to "Lavangen Municipality".<ref name="sami name">Template:Cite web</ref>

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 18 December 1987. The official blazon is "Gules, three birch leaves Or in pall stems conjoined" (Template:Langx). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is three birch leaves that are connected and in a Y-shape design. The leaves have a tincture of Or which means they are commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The arms are a canting of the name of the municipality (which means leaf). The three leaves represent how the municipality was settled by Norwegians, Samis, and Kvens. The arms were designed by Øystein Hermod Skaugvolldal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:See also-text

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish (Template:Lang) within Lavangen Municipality. It is part of the Indre Troms prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.

Churches in Lavangen Municipality

Parish (Template:Lang)	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Lavangen	Lavangen Church	Soløy	1891

Geography

The municipality encompasses the land around the Spansdalelva river valley and most of the area around the Lavangen fjord, south of the Astafjorden. The municipality borders Narvik Municipality (in Nordland county) to the south, Gratangen Municipality to the west, Salangen Municipality to the north, and Bardu Municipality to the east. The highest point in the municipality is the Template:Convert tall mountain Spanstinden.<ref name="elev" />

• 
  View of the mountain Spanstinden near Soløy
• 
  View of the Lanvangen fjord
• 
  View of Skavmodalen

Government

Lavangen Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.<ref name="ks">Template:Cite SNL</ref> The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Midtre Hålogaland District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council Template:Lang of Lavangen Municipality is made up of 15 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party. Template:Div col Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Div col end

Mayors

The mayor (Template:Langx) of Lavangen Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Div col

• 1907–1913: Bernhard Dahl Karlsen<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1914–1922: Fredrik B. Hansen (Ap)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 1923–1937: Lorentz K. Brattberg Aa (Ap)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1938–1941: Johan Sandmel (H)
• 1941–1941: Hjalmar Jørgensen
• 1942–1945: Albert Olaus Dahl
• 1945–1945: Johan Sandmel (H)
• 1948–1963: Alfred Ottesen (Ap)
• (1964–1977: Part of Salangen Municipality)
• 1979–1983: Arne Andberg (H)
• 1983–1995: Torleif Myrseth (Ap)
• 1995–1999: Alex Herry Norbakken (KrF)
• 1999–2003: Torleif Myrseth (Ap)
• 2003–2007: Bernhardt Halvorsen (Sp)
• 2007–2011: Viktor Andberg (Ap)
• 2011–2015: Erling Bratsberg (Sp)
• 2015–2019: Bernhardt Halvorsen (Sp)
• 2019–present: Hege Beathe Myrseth Rollmoen (Ap)

Attractions

Spanstind rundt is a famous cross-country skiing race in Lavangen that is held on Maundy Thursdays each year.

Notable people

• Cecilie Myrseth (born 1984), a psychologist and politician who grew up in Lavangen
• Sandra Borch (born 1988 in Lavangen), a Norwegian politician

External links

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway Template:In lang