Lødingen ( sme, Lodegat) is a municipality in

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, ...

county in

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 ...

. Lødingen is located on the southeastern corner of the island of Hinnøya, and is part of the traditional district of

Ofoten Ofoten is a traditional district in Nordland county in Northern Norway. It consists of the municipalities of Tysfjord, Ballangen, Evenes, Tjeldsund, Narvik, and Lødingen. It is named after the main fjord, Ofotfjorden, which is at the ce ...

. 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, L ...

of the municipality is the village of Lødingen. The other main part of the municipality is Vestbygda. Lødingen has the nickname "Biketown" because it hosts several annual bicycle races, including "Lofoten Insomnia" and Vestbygd-rittet. The municipality is by area the 202nd largest out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Lødingen is the 282nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,976. 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 9.3% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Lødingen was established on 1 January 1838 (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 Janua ...

law). On 1 January 1869, the southern district of Lødingen surrounding the Tysfjorden on the mainland (population: 1,402) was separated to form the new Tysfjord Municipality. This left 2,064 residents in Lødingen. Then on 1 January 1909, the northeastern district of Lødingen (population: 1,404) was separated to form the new Tjeldsund Municipality. This left 3,034 residents in Lødingen. 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWI ...

. On 1 January 1962, the southern mainland part of Lødingen surrounding the Efjorden and the island of Barøya (population: 433) were transferred to Ballangen Municipality. Then on 1 January 1964, the eastern part of Lødingen on the island of Tjeldøya (population: 297) was transferred to Tjeldsund Municipality.

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 or ...

) is named after the old ''Lødingen'' farm (

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 ...

: ''Lǫðueng''), since the first Lødingen Church was built there. The first element is the

genitive case In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...

of ''laða'' which means "

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit ( caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legu ...

/ hay

barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen ...

" and the last element is ''eng'' which means "

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artif ...

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 it ...

was granted on 11 May 1984. The arms show a gold-colored

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...

len

thread Thread may refer to: Objects * Thread (yarn), a kind of thin yarn used for sewing ** Thread (unit of measurement), a cotton yarn measure * Screw thread, a helical ridge on a cylindrical fastener Arts and entertainment * ''Thread'' (film), 2016 ...

that is folded as a

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

with five leaves on a red background. The municipality is at the junction of road, shipping, and ferry routes to five areas:

Lofoten Lofoten () is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolv� ...

, Salten, Vesterålen, and Southern

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 ...

. It is also located between five

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icela ...

s: Vestfjorden, Ofotfjorden, Tysfjorden, Tjeldsundet, and

Gullesfjorden Gullesfjorden is a fjord that cuts into the island of Hinnøya in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located mostly within Kvæfjord Municipality, although a small part in the northwestern part of the fjord lies in Sortland Municipalit ...

. The symbol is also an ancient symbol for good fortune.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. ...

has one parish () within the municipality of Lødingen. It is part of the Ofoten prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or reside ...

) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

Government

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

health services Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wiktionary:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physical and menta ...

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 usag ...

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 refer ...

and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or adminis ...

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 s ...

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 a ...

, 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 coun ...

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 as ...

. The municipality falls under the Ofoten District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

() of Lødingen is made up of 17 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 feature ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Lødingen (incomplete list): *2019–present: Hugo Bongard Jacobsen ( Ap) *2015-2019: Atle Andersen (Ap) *2011-2015: Anita Marthinussen ( H) *2007-2011: Vibeke Tveit (Ap) *2003-2007: Kurt Olsen ( SV) *1999-2003: Eirik Eriksen (Ap)

Geography

The municipality encompasses the southern part of the island of Hinnøya. The terrain is mountainous, with several small islands and fjords. The

of the municipality is the village of Lødingen, located at the inner part of the Vestfjorden at the southern entrance of the Tjeldsundet strait. The nearest

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

is Harstad/Narvik Airport, Evenes, about away by road. Lødingen is an important ferry harbor, the car ferry to/from

Bognes Bognes is a ferry port in Hamarøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the outer part of the Tysfjorden on the western side of the fjord. The port is located about south of the village of Korsnes and about north of the vil ...

in Tysfjord leaves 12 times per day and takes 60 minutes. Møysalen National Park is located in the northern part of the municipality. It's named after the mountain

Møysalen Møysalen is a mountain in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the border of the municipalities of Sortland and Lødingen. At tall, it is the highest mountain on the island of Hinnøya and the second highest mountain on any island in Nor ...

on the municipal border between Lødingen and Sortland. The

Rotvær Lighthouse Rotvær Lighthouse ( no, Rotvær fyr) is a coastal lighthouse in Lødingen Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The lighthouse sits at the east end of the island of Fugløya, part of dangerous reef at the entrance to the Ofotfjorden, about ...

is located in Lødingen.

Climate

Attractions

* Eye in Stone (''Øye i stein''), part of Artscape Nordland (''Skulpturlandskap Nordland'') * Norwegian Telecom Museum,

telegraphy Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

* Pilotage Service Museum *

Notable people

Christopher Nyrop Christopher Nyrop (29 March 1680–29 March 1733) was a Norwegian theologian and priest. He served as a bishop of the Diocese of Christianssand from 1720 until his death in 1733. Personal life Christopher Nyrop was born on 29 March 1680 ...

(1680–1733) a theologian and Bishop of Christianssand *

Dagfinn Bakke Dagfinn Bakke (16 August 1933 – 1 January 2019) was a Norwegian painter, illustrator and printmaker. Career Bakke was born in Lødingen, and settled in Svolvær. From 1952 he worked as illustrator for the magazine '' Magasinet For Alle''. From ...

(1933–2019) a painter, illustrator and printmaker *

Dagfinn Henrik Olsen Dagfinn Henrik Olsen (born 29 June 1966) is a Norwegian politician for the Progress Party. He served as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway from Nordland during the terms 1997–2001, 2013–2017 and 2017–2021. When regular rep ...

(born 1966) a Norwegian politician

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every ye ...

*
Skulpturlandskap Nordland

Norwegian Telecom Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lodingen Municipalities of Nordland Populated places of Arctic Norway 1838 establishments in Norway