Steigen ('stejgen) 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 traditional district of

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

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Leinesfjord. Other villages include Bogen,

Leines Leines is a small village in the municipality of Steigen in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the southern shore of the mouth of the Leinesfjorden (fjord), Leinesfjorden, about west of Nordfold. The villages of Leinesfjord and Sørskot ...

, Nordfold, Nordskot, and Sørskot. Engeløy Airport, Grådussan is located in the northern part of the municipality. Måløy–Skarholmen Lighthouse is located in the

Vestfjorden Vestfjorden 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 open bight of sea. The "fjord" lies between the Lofo ...

in the western part of the municipality. The only road access to the municipality is via the

Steigen Tunnel The Steigen Tunnel ( no, Steigentunnelen) is a road tunnel in Nordland county, Norway. The long tunnel is located on the Norwegian County Road 835 highway in the municipalities of Hamarøy and Steigen. The tunnel begins at the village of Tøm ...

The municipality is the 114th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Steigen is the 246th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,591. 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 0.7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Steigen was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The southern part of Steigen was separated on 1 September 1900 to form the new Ledingen Municipality. This left 2,216 residents in Steigen. 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 major municipal merger took place. A new municipality Steigen was created by the merging the following areas: *all of Steigen Municipality (population: 1,829) *all of Leiranger Municipality (population: 1,397) *most of

Nordfold Municipality Nordfold is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1906 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality surrounded the Nordfolda branch off of the Folda fjord in what is now Steigen Municipality, plu ...

except the

Mørsvikbotn or is a small village located in the north part of Sørfold Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village sits at the end of the Mørsvikfjorden arm of the Nordfolda fjord. The European route E6 highway passes through the village. The ...

area (population: 1,212) *the small ''Brennsund'' area of Kjerringøy Municipality (population: 30) *the part of

Hamarøy Municipality Hamarøy ( smj, Hábmer) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Oppeid. Other villages include Drag, Innhavet, Karlsøy, ...

that was south of the Sagfjorden and between the lake Storvatnet and the Veggfjellan mountain (population: 77) Prior to the merger, the population of Steigen was 1,843, and after the merger, the new municipality had 4,545 residents.

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 old ''Steigen'' farm (

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 ...

: ''Steig''), since the first Steigen Church was built there. The name is derived from the verb ''stíga'' which means "mount" or "rise" and it is referring to the high and steep mountain Steigtinden (''tinden'' means "the peak") behind the farm.

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 12 October 1988. The arms show three black-colored

axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...

heads from the

Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...

on a gold background.

Churches

The Church of Norway has three parishes () within the municipality of Steigen. It is part of the Salten 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

The municipality is located along the coast of the

, about north of the town of Bodø, well inside the Arctic Circle. The road to Steigen departs from European route E6 and makes use of the long Steigentunnelen (see World's longest tunnels). Steigen borders

in the north and

Sørfold Municipality Sørfold is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Straumen. Other villages in the municipality include Leirfjordgården, ...

to the south. The

and

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� ...

are located west of Steigen. The Sagfjorden lies on the north and the Folda fjord in the south. The municipality is mainly located on a peninsula dissected by many

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, Förden and East Jutland Fjorde, Germany, ...

s. Steigen also includes several

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 ...

s. The largest island is

Engeløya Engeløya is an island in the northern part of Steigen Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The island has an area of . The highest point on the island is the Trohornet mountain. The rocky, mountainous island has grassy slopes that are fer ...

, where there are ancient

burial mounds A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built ...

(such as Sigarshaugen) and the world's most northerly naturally occurring Hazel forest in Prestegårdsskogen Nature Reserve. The largest glacier is Helldalsisen encircling a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

. The island of

is connected to the mainland by the Engeløy Bridges and just to the north of that lies the uninhabited island of

Lundøya Lundøya is an island in Steigen Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The island lies at the entrance to the Sagfjorden between the island of Engeløya in Steigen and the village of Skutvika on the mainland in Hamarøy Municipality. The isl ...

Steigen has fertile lowlands in between the mountains and the sea. There are several archeological sites showing settlements from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

, and

. Lakes in the region include Forsanvatnet, Hopvatnet, Makkvatnet, and Straumfjordvatnet.

Climate

The monthly 24-hr averages range from in January and February to in July and August, with precipitation ranging from in May to in October; annual average is and mean annual temperature is .

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Steigen, 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

Salten District Court Salten District Court ( no, Salten tingrett) was a district court in Nordland county, Norway. The court was based in the town of Bodø. The court existed until 2021. It served the Salten area which included the municipalities of Beiarn, Bodø, ...

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 Steigen 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 featur ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Steigen (incomplete list): *2019–present: Aase Refsnes ( SV) *2007-2019: Asle Schrøder ( Sp) *2003-2007: Berit Woie Berg ( V)

Notable people

* Marit Elveos (born 1965 in Steigen) a Norwegian cross-country skier, competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics * Tom Erik Breive (born 1980 in Steigen) a retired Norwegian football midfielder with over 100 club caps

References

External links

*
Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway
Steigen Municipality

Treveven:Hassel

* {{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Nordland Populated places of Arctic Norway 1838 establishments in Norway