Helgøy is a former municipality in

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 A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 island municipality existed from 1886 until its dissolution in 1964. It was located in the western part of the present-day

Karlsøy Municipality Karlsøy ( sme, Gálssa suohkan) is an island municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hansnes. Other villages include Dåfjord, Hessfjord, Karlsøya, Torsvåg, Vannv� ...

. The municipality included the islands of Helgøya, Grøtøya, and

Nordkvaløya Nordkvaløya is an island in the municipality of Karlsøy in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The island is situated north of the islands of Ringvassøya and west of Helgøya. The Norwegian Sea borders to the northwest. The island of Nordkval ...

, large parts of the nearby islands of

Rebbenesøya or ) is an island in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The southern third of the island is part of Tromsø Municipality while the northern (larger) portion of the island is part of Karlsøy Municipality. There is a regular ferry connection from ...

Ringvassøya or is a large island in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is divided between the municipalities of Tromsø and Karlsøy. Several islands surround Ringvassøya including Kvaløya to the south; Reinøya and Karlsøya to the east; Vannøya, ...

Vannøya Vanna or Vannøya is a rocky island in Karlsøy Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. At , Vanna is the 17th largest island in Norway by area. The highest peak is the mountain Vanntinden at a height of above sea level. The population ...

, and many smaller surrounding islands. The

administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

was located on the south side of the island of Helgøya in a small village where

Helgøy Church Helgøy Church ( no, Helgøy kirke) is a historic parish church of the Church of Norway in Karlsøy Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located on the small unpopulated island of Helgøya. It is a little-used annex church for ...

is also located.

Name

The municipality is named after the island of '' Helgøya'' (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

: ''Helgøy''). The name means ''den hellige øy'' or "the holy island" since the first element ''helgi'' means "

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

" or "

holy Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

" and the second part ''øy'' is identical for the word "island". Historically, the municipal name was spelled ''Helgø'' (before about 1919), but since that time the name has had a "y" at the end.

History

From ancient times, a Helgøy parish has existed. In 1838, municipal self-government was introduced in Norway (see

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January ...

), and the Helgøy parish was made a part of

. Helgøy grew as a trading post under Christian Figenschou, but residents soon became dissatisfied with the municipal government based in Karlsøy. The municipality of Helgøy was established on 1 September 1886 when the western part of the old

was separated to form a municipality of its own. Helgøy Municipality had an initial population of 828. Despite being separated, the two municipalities still had a common

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

, and doctor, but all these were residents in Karlsøy. From 1886 to 1892, Christian Figenschou was the mayor of Helgøy. After 1886, residents began developing a local town center on Helgøya island, with

, a rectory, a farm, and flourishing trade. A small village grew up around the church site and a permanent school in the parish was added on Helgøya island. Steam ships regularly stopped here and a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

was established. After 1928, a doctor and sheriff were permanently located here. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee ( no, Schei-komitéen) was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II. It convened in 1946, and its formal name was (The 1946 Committee on Municip ...

. On 1 January 1964, a merger took place between the municipality of Helgøy and most of Karlsøy Municipality (except the mainland areas which became part of

Lyngen Municipality Lyngen ( se, Ivggu suohkan; fkv, Yykeän komuuni) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lyngseidet. Other villages include Furuflaten, Lattervika, Nord-Lenangen, ...

). Prior to the merger, Helgøy had a population of 1,495.

Government

Municipal council

The

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

of Helgøy was made up of 15 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

References

External links