Lurøy is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in Nordland

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers 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 the ...

. It is part of the Helgeland

traditional region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic, linguistic or political basis, regardless of latterday borders. They are used as delimitations for studying and analysing social ...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lurøy, located on the island of Lurøya. Other villages in Lurøy include

Aldra Aldra is an island in the municipality of Lurøy in Nordland county, Norway. It is located just off the mainland coast, north of the village of Haugland and west of Brattland. The island is separated from the mainland by the Aldersundet. The ...

, Haugland, Konsvikosen,

Lovund Lovund is an island and village in the municipality of Lurøy in Nordland county, Norway. The island is located west of the Solvær islands and southeast of the Træna islands. Lovund is notable for the large puffin breeding colony located on th ...

, Sleneset / Solværøyene,

Stokkvågen Stokkvågen is a village and ferry port located in Lurøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village lies on the mainland coast of Lurøy, about west of the town of Mo i Rana. The port has ferries that connect the mainland to the island ...

, and

Tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton (United States c ...

. The municipality is located on the coast just south of the Arctic circle, on the western edge of the

Saltfjellet Saltfjellet is a mountain area in Nordland county, Norway that separates the two regions of Helgeland and Salten. It is also a cultural border between the Southern and Central parts of Sápmi. Geography and environment The Saltfjell is one of the ...

mountain range. The ''Lurøygården'' (Lurøy Farm) on the island of Lurøya is a more-than-200-year-old

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

garden with old plants, a pool, and a nearly high Copper Beech. The municipality is the 275th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Lurøy is the 286th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,869. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

is and its population has decreased by 3.5% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Lurøy was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1872, the far western island district (population: 289) was separated from Lurøy to become the new municipality of

Træna Træna is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the island/village of Husøya. Other population centres include Selvær and Sanna. Fishing i ...

. This left Lurøy with 1,554 residents. The borders of Lurøy have not changed since that time.

Name

The municipality (originally the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

) is named after the island of Lurøya (

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

: ''Lúðrøy''), since the first

Lurøy Church Lurøy Church ( no, Lurøy kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Lurøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the south side of the village of Lurøy on the island of Lurøya. It is the main church for the Lu ...

was built there. The first element is ''lúðr'' which means " hollowed log" (here probably referring to the form of the mountain of the island). The last element is ''øy'' which means "

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

was granted on 22 August 1986. The arms show a black buoy on a gold background. The buoy is an appropriate symbol for a municipality since it is dependent on

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

and

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cou ...

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes () within the municipality of Lurøy. It is part of the Nord-Helgeland prosti ( deanery) in the

Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland Sør-Hålogaland is a diocese in the Church of Norway. The Diocese covers the Lutheran Church of Norway churches located within Nordland county in Norway. The diocese is headquartered in the town of Bodø at Bodø Cathedral, the seat of the ...

Geography and climate

Lurøy is located on the western coast of Helgeland. The small strip of mainland Lurøy runs from

in the north along

Norwegian County Road 17 County Road 17 ( no, Fylkesvei 17), also known as the Coastal Highway ( no, Kystriksveien), is a Norwegian highway that runs from the town of Bodø in Nordland county (in the north) to the town of Steinkjer in Trøndelag county (in the south). I ...

along the

Sjona Sjona is a fjord in Nordland county, Norway. The fjord begins in the municipality of Rana and flows to the west through Nesna and Lurøy municipalities into the sea. The islands of Handnesøya and Tomma lie at the mouth of the fjord. The deepe ...

fjord in the south. The rest of the municipality is located on 1,375 islands located to the west of the mainland. The major islands include

, Lurøya,

Onøya Onøya is an island in Lurøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The island lies immediately south of the island of Lurøya and southwest of the island of Stigen. The island is connected to Lurøya by a short bridge. Onøya sits just ...

, Stigen, Solvær, and

. There are also two islands in the northern part of Lurøya that are divided between Lurøy and neighboring

Rødøy Municipality Rødøy is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Våga ...

: Nesøya and Hestmona. The populated islands are reached by car ferry from Stokkvågen on the mainland. The ferry reaches Onøy (which has a bridge to Lurøya), Solvær and Lovund 5 times per day.

Climate

Norwegian Meteorological Institute has operated weather stations on Solvær islands since 1939. Data shows a

marine west coast climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(oceanic climate) with very mild winters for the high latitude. Spring and summer are the driest seasons, while December is the wettest month. The all-time high was recorded in July 2018, and the all-time low is from February 1966. The average date for the last overnight freeze (low below ) in spring is 20 April and average date for first freeze in autumn is 5 November giving a frost-free season of 198 days (1981-2010 average for Solvær).

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Lurøy, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services,

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...

and other social services,

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. The municipality is governed by a

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 counc ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elect a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

. The municipality falls under the Rana District Court and the

Hålogaland Court of Appeal The Hålogaland Court of Appeal ( no, Hålogaland lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Tromsø. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Nordland, Troms, and Finnmark as ...

Municipal council

The

() of Lurøy is made up of 19 representatives that are 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 featur ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Media gallery

File:Aldersundet Z.jpg, Aldersundet strait and

island; October 8, 2005 File:Lovunden.jpg, The island

with its puffin colony is located in Lurøy File:Aldersundet G.jpg, Aldersundet, October 2005

Notable people

* Harry Johan Olai Klippenvåg (1913 in Lurøy – 1994) a Norwegian politician, Mayor of Sør-Varanger in 1940's & 50's * Herluf Nygaard (1916 in Lurøy – 2001) a Norwegian military officer, active resistance fighter during WWII

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway * {{DEFAULTSORT:Luroy Municipalities of Nordland 1838 establishments in Norway