Bjerkvik is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

Narvik Municipality ( se, Áhkanjárga) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Ankenesstranda, Ba ...

Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, N ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The village is located at the end of

Herjangsfjorden or (or unofficially: ''Herjangen'') is a fjord that branches off of the Ofotfjorden in Narvik Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The long fjord is located just north of the Rombaken fjord. The villages along the fjord are Bjerkvik and He ...

, an arm of

Ofotfjorden Ofotfjord ( or ) is a fjord in Nordland county, Norway. It is an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, located about north of the Arctic Circle. The long Ofotfjord is Norway's 12th longest fjord and it is also the 18th deepest, with a maximum depth of . ...

. Bjerkvik sits less than south of the border of

Troms Troms (; se, Romsa; fkv, Tromssa; fi, Tromssa) is a former county in northern Norway. On 1 January 2020 it was merged with the neighboring Finnmark county to create the new Troms og Finnmark county. This merger is expected to be reversed by t ...

county and about across the fjord from the town of Narvik. The village has a population (2018) of 1,159 which gives the village a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of . The European route E6 and

European route E10 European route E10 is the second shortest Class A road which is part of the International E-road network. It begins in Å, Norway and ends in Luleå, Sweden. The road is about 850 km (530 mi) in length. The Norwegian part of the ...

highways meet in Bjerkvik, a central location on the roads connecting

Harstad ( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the town of Harstad, the most populous town in Central Hålogalan ...

Narvik ( se, Áhkanjárga) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Ankenesstranda, Ball ...

, and

Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies ...

Elvegårdsmoen Elvegårdsmoen is a military training camp site in the municipality of Narvik in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the inner end of Herjangsfjorden, on the southeast side of the village of Bjerkvik. The site was of some importance durin ...

military camp lies on the eastern edge of the village near the lake

Hartvikvatnet or is a lake in Narvik Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The lake is located about east of the village of Bjerkvik and just less than with the border with Sweden. The Elvegårdsmoen military camp lies just west of the lake. See al ...

. Bjerkvik School is a children's and secondary school in Bjerkvik in Narvik municipality in Nordland. The school has about 200 pupils. The village also has two gas stations and three grocery stores.

Bjerkvik Church Bjerkvik Church ( no, Bjerkvik kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Narvik Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Bjerkvik. It is the church for the Bjerkvik parish which is part of the Ofoten pr ...

was built here in 1955 to serve the northern part of the municipality.

History

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Bjerkvik was almost destroyed by the bombardment of gunfire from allied warships that caused significant civilian casualties. A landing was also conducted in the area by a Franco-British forces, pushing the german forces several miles away. The worst

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...

disaster in modern Norwegian history took place in

Vassdalen Vassdalen is a valley and rural village area in Narvik Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The river Vassdalselva flows through Vassdalen into the lake of Hartvikvatnet. The river from Hartvikvatnet is called ''Elvegårdselva'', flowing wes ...

near Bjerkvik in March 1986 when 16 Norwegian soldiers on exercise were killed.

Media gallery

File:Europastrasse Kreisverkehr E 6 und E 10.jpg, The European route E6 and E10 roads meet in Bjerkvik File:Bjerkvik.jpg, Bjerkvik File:Bjerkvik kirke.jpg,

File:Bjerkvik (4).jpg, View at low tide

References

Narvik Villages in Nordland Populated places of Arctic Norway {{nordland-geo-stub