Kvænangen Municipality

Kvænangen ( sme, Návuotna; fkv, Naavuono) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Burfjord. The European route E6 highway goes through the municipality and over the Sørstraumen Bridge, and many people stop at the Kvænangsfjellet pass to view the scenery of the Kvænangen fjord.

The municipality is the 32nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Kvænangen is the 323rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,159. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 9.7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Kvænangen was established in 1863 when it was separated from the large Skjervøy Municipality. The initial population of Kvænangen was 1,677. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the Meiland area (population: 12) of Skjervøy Municipality was transferred to Kvænangen. On 1 January 1972, the uninhabited area of Mannskarvik was transferred from Skjervøy to Kvænanagen.

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.

Name

The municipality is named after the Kvænangen fjord (Old Norse: ''Kven(a)angr''). The first element is the plural genitive case of ''kven'' and the last element is ''angr'' which means "fjord". The district used to be mostly populated by Sámi people.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 13 July 1990. The arms show three blue harebells on a gray or white background. The plant is a typical plant for the area with its harsh and cold climate.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish () within the municipality of Kvænangen. It is part of the Nord-Troms prosti ( deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.

History

The municipality surrounds the Kvænangen fjord, after which it is named. The population is primarily of Sami origin, although the Kven population constitutes a sizeable minority. Archeological finds indicate nomadic activity in the area going back 10,000 years.

There is evidence that Kværnangen was the site for a transitional state between nomadic and agricultural society through what was known as "siida" - delimited areas where permanent housing was established and natural resources put under stewardship.

The Kvens settled in the area in the 18th century, occupying themselves with fishing, hunting, and agriculture. Over time, fisheries became a primary industry, and the community exported dried fish to southern areas. Ethnic Norwegians gradually immigrated to facilitate trade and administration.

Norwegian public policy in the 1930s and post-war years homogenized the three groups, ethnic Norwegians, Sami, and Kven, considerably, to the point that most residents speak Norwegian at home, regardless of their ethnic heritage. A majority of people in Kvænangen declared themselves Sami or Kven in the 1930 census. In the 1950 census, all but a handful declared themselves Norwegian.

During the Nazi occupation during World War II, a temporary work camp was established at Kvænangen. In large part due to the generosity of the local population, prisoners had ample food. As the German Wehrmacht retreated in early 1945, the population was evacuated by force, and all buildings were burned. Today, a local museum shows typical reconstruction houses.

Geography

The municipality has coastal and plains geography, extending into Finnmarksvidda. There are mature pine forests in the valley at the head of the fjord, and there are several rivers, the largest of which is Kvænangselva, which is traditionally a good salmon-fishing river.

The Øksfjordjøkelen glacier is located in the northern part of the municipality on the border with Loppa. It's the ninth largest glacier in mainland Norway. The lake Šuoikkatjávri is located in the southern part of the municipality on the border with Kautokeino. The Langfjordjøkelen is another glacier in northern Kvænangen.

There are several islands in the fjord that are part of Kvænangen municipality: Skorpa, Spildra, and Nøklan.

Climate

Kvænangen has a boreal climate with mild winters for this climate type, and very moderate precipitation with little variation between the seasons. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is " Dfc". (Continental Subarctic Climate).Climate Summary for Nordstraum (closest city on record to Kvænangen)
/ref> The all-time high temperature is recorded 7 July 2021; the all-time low is recorded 6 February 2012.
Norwegian Meteorological Institute has been operating a weather station in Nordstraum in Kvænangen since 1965.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Kvænangen, 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. The municipality falls under the Nord-Troms District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Kvænangen is made up of 15 representatives that are elected every four years. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Kvænangen include:
* Anders Larsen (1870–1949), Sami teacher, journalist and author
* Jafet Lindeberg (1873–1962), a gold prospector and co-founder of Nome, Alaska
* Gunnar Kaasen (1882–1960), Norwegian-American musher, helped the 1925 serum run to Nome
* Hans Eng (1907–1995) a Norwegian physician and Nazi collaborator during World War II
* Steinar Eriksen (born 1939), Norwegian businessperson and politician
* Odd Rikard Olsen (1947–2012), Norwegian newspaper editor and politician
* Eva M. Nielsen (born 1950), Norwegian politician
* Torgeir Johnsen, (Norwegian Wiki) (born 1967), Norwegian politician

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kvaenangen

Municipalities of Troms og Finnmark
Populated places of Arctic Norway
1863 establishments in Norway