Lødingen () is a municipality in

Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...

county in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. Lødingen is located on the southeastern corner of the island of

Hinnøya Hinnøya ( Norwegian; ) is the fourth-largest island in Norway, and the largest outside the Svalbard archipelago. The lies just off the western coast of Northern Norway. The island sits on the border of Nordland and Troms counties. The western ...

, and is part of the traditional district of

Ofoten Ofoten is a districts of Norway, traditional district in Nordland county in Northern Norway. It consists of Evenes Municipality, Narvik Municipality, and Lødingen Municipality. It is named after the main fjord, Ofotfjorden, which is at the cent ...

. The

administrative centre An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

of the municipality is the village of Lødingen. Other villages in the municipality include Våge and Ytterstad. Lødingen has the nickname "Biketown" because it hosts several annual bicycle races, including "Lofoten Insomnia" and Vestbygd-rittet. The municipality is by area the 201st largest out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Lødingen is the 279th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,060. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

is and its population has decreased by 8.4% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Lødingen was established on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...

law). On 1 January 1869, the southern district of Lødingen surrounding the

Tysfjorden or (also: Storrusten, Erling. 1998. ''Hurtigruten: The World's Most Beautiful Sea Voyage''. Narvik: Ofotens og Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab, p. 69.) is a fjord in Nordland county, Norway. The fjord is the border between Narvik Municipality and ...

on the mainland (population: 1,402) was separated to form the new

Tysfjord Municipality or is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1869 until its dissolution in 2020. The area is now part of Narvik Municipality and Hamarøy Municipality in the traditional district of Ofoten. Its adminis ...

. 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 or is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The southwestern part of the municipality is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Ofoten and the rest of the municipality is ...

. 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 () 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a ...

. On 1 January 1962, the southern mainland part of Lødingen surrounding the

Efjorden or is a fjord in Narvik Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is an arm off of the main Ofotfjorden The Ofotfjord (; ) is a fjord in Nordland county, Norway. It is an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, located about north of the Arctic Circl ...

and the island of

Barøya or is an uninhabited island in Narvik Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The island is located in the Ofotfjorden near the entrance to the Efjorden. The village of Lødingen lies north of the island. Barøy Lighthouse is located on th ...

(population: 433) were transferred to

Ballangen Municipality Ballangen () is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1925 until its dissolution in 2020 when it became part of Narvik Municipality. The munic ...

. Then on 1 January 1964, the eastern part of Lødingen on the island of

Tjeldøya Tjeldøya ( Norwegian; ) is an island in Troms county, Norway. The island is located entirely in Tjeldsund Municipality. North and west of the island lies the Tjeldsundet strait which separates it from the large island of Hinnøya; south of the ...

(population: 297) was transferred to Tjeldsund Municipality.

Name

The municipality (originally the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

) is named after the old ''

Lødingen Lødingen may refer to: Places *Lødingen Municipality, a municipality in Nordland county, Norway *Lødingen (village), a coastal fishing village within Lødingen Municipality in Nordland county, Norway *Lødingen Church, a church in Lødingen Muni ...

'' farm () since the first

Lødingen Church Lødingen Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Lødingen Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Lødingen. It is the main church for the Lødingen parish which is part of the Vesterålen prost ...

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 ca ...

of which means "

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, 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 ...

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 G ...

" or "

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticate ...

barn". The last element is 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 they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted on 11 May 1984. The official

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

is ''"

Gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). Gules is portrayed in heraldic hatch ...

, a five-looped knot Or"'' (). This means the arms have a red

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

(background) and the

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

is a five-looped knot that is made out of

wool Wool is the textile fiber 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 some properties similar to animal w ...

len thread and folded to look like a

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

with five leaves. The woolen knot has a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The design was chosen to symbolize that the municipality is at the junction of road, shipping, and ferry routes to five areas:

Lofoten Lofoten ( , ; ; ) is an archipelago and a Districts of Norway, 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. T ...

Salten Salten is a traditional district in Nordland county, Norway. It includes the municipalities of Gildeskål, Bodø, Beiarn, Saltdal, Fauske, Sørfold, Steigen, and Hamarøy. Salten covers an area of about and has a population (2016) of about ...

Vesterålen Vesterålen ( , ; ) is a district and archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. It is located just north of Lofoten and west of Harstad. It is the northernmost part of Nordland county. Sortland is the largest town, situated near the center of the a ...

, and Southern

Troms Troms (; ; ; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. It borders Finnmark county to the northeast and Nordland county in the southwest. Norrbotten Län in Sweden is located to the south and further southeast is a shorter border with ...

. It is also located between five

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

Vestfjorden Vestfjorden (; sometimes shortened to ''Vestfjord'' in English) is a long fjord or oceanic sea in Nordland county, Norway. The name literally means "the west fjord", although it is called a fjord, it could best be described as a firth or an op ...

Ofotfjord The Ofotfjord (; ) 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 ...

en,

Tjeldsundet Tjeldsundet ( Norwegian; ) is a strait in Northern Norway. The long strait is located between the island of Hinnøya and mainland Norway in its northern part and between Hinnøya and the island of Tjeldøya in its southern part. Tjeldsundet has ...

, and

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

. The symbol is also an ancient symbol for good

fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fate * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (19 ...

. The arms were designed by Øysten H. Skaugvolldal.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

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

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the 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 residence of ...

) 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 Bodø (town), town of Bodø at Bodø Cathedral, the sea ...

Transportation

The nearest

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

Harstad/Narvik Airport, Evenes Harstad-Narvik Airport (; ) is an international airport located in Evenes Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The airport serves the towns of Harstad (town), Harstad and Narvik (town), Narvik. It is co-located with Evenes Air Station of t ...

, about away by road. Lødingen is an important

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

harbor, the car ferry to/from

Bognes or 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 vill ...

in Tysfjord leaves 12 times per day and takes 60 minutes. The

Rotvær Lighthouse Rotvær Lighthouse () 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 south of the vi ...

is located in Lødingen.

Geography

The municipality encompasses the southern part of the island of

. 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

at the southern entrance of the

strait. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain

Møysalen Møysalen is a mountain in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the border of Sortland Municipality and Lødingen Municipality. At tall, it is the highest mountain on the island of Hinnøya and the second highest mountain on any island in ...

. Møysalen is located on the northern border with

Sortland Municipality or is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Vesterålen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Sortland (town ...

and it is within

Møysalen National Park Møysalen National Park () is a national park located on the island of Hinnøya in Nordland county, Norway. The park was established in 2003 to preserve undisturbed coastal alpine landscape. The scenery is characterized by peaks jutting out of ...

Climate

Lødingen has

continental subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

in the 1961-1990 period. The

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

subtype for this climate is "Dfc".

Government

Lødingen Municipality is responsible for

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

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

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

services,

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

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. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

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

economic development In economics, economic development (or 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 object ...

, and municipal

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s and utilities. 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, borough cou ...

of directly elected representatives. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the

Midtre Hålogaland District Court Midtre Hålogaland District Court () is a district court located in Troms and Nordland, Norway. This court is based at three different courthouses which are located in Harstad, Narvik, and Sortland. The court is subordinate to the Hålogaland Cou ...

and the

Hålogaland Court of Appeal The Hålogaland Court of Appeal () 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 well as the island territor ...

Municipal council

The

() of Lødingen is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, 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 oft ...

Mayors

The

() of Lødingen is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position: * 1838–1840: Niels Nordbye * 1840-1844: Jens Hagerup Krog * 1844–1846: Bendix Normann * 1846–1848: Johan T. Lampe * 1848–1850: Alexander Falch * 1850–1852: Andreas Otterbech * 1852–1854: Willum Lind * 1854–1859: Severin Samuelsen * 1859–1860: Petter Kjelsberg * 1860–1861: Severin Samuelsen * 1861–1863: Alexander Falck * 1863-1877: Anders Stoltenberg * 1877–1880: Bernhard Kokk * 1880–1882: A. Roll * 1882–1884: Bernhard Kokk * 1884–1885: Arent Schøning * 1885–1904: Petter Møkleby * 1904–1907: K. Strømstad * 1907–1918: Gulbrand Kløvstad * 1919–1922: K. Strømstad * 1922-1928: Leonhard C. B. Holmboe * 1928–1934: Andreas Didriksen * 1935–1945: Leif Hartz Floan * 1946–1955: Øivind Martinussen ( Ap) * 1955–1967: Einar Ytterstad ( H) * 1968–1969: Reidar Rødø ( H) * 1970–1975: Sigvald Johansen ( Ap) * 1975–1983: Gunnar Bernhoft ( H) * 1983–1991: Normann Aasjord ( H) * 1991–1995: Bjørn Myrlund ( H) * 1995–1999: Bjørn Hegstad ( V) * 1999-2003: Eirik Eriksen ( Ap) * 2003-2007: Kurt Olsen ( SV) * 2007-2011: Vibeke Tveit ( Ap) * 2011-2015: Anita Marthinussen ( H) * 2015-2019: Atle Andersen ( Ap) * 2019–present: Hugo Bongard Jacobsen ( Ap)

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 pi ...

Pilotage Piloting or pilotage is the process of navigating on water or in the air using fixed points of reference on the sea or on land, usually with reference to a nautical chart or aeronautical chart to obtain a fix of the position of the vessel or air ...

Service Museum *

Notable people

* Christopher Nyrop (1680–1733), a theologian and Bishop of Christianssand * Dagfinn Bakke (1933–2019), a painter, illustrator and printmaker * Dagfinn Henrik Olsen (born 1966), a Norwegian politician

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, 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 year on its web site. All rele ...

Skulpturlandskap Nordland

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