Tjeldsund

Tjeldsund ( sme, Dielddanuorri) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The southwestern part of the municipality is part of the traditional district of Ofoten and the rest of the municipality is part of Central Hålogaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Evenskjer. Other important villages include Fjelldal, Myklebostad, Grovfjord, Renså, Sandstrand, Tovik, and Ramsund. Norges Brannskole (Norway's education and training center for firemen) is situated in Fjelldal. Marinejegerkommandoen is based south of Ramsund.

The municipality is the 139th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Tjeldsund is the 197th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 4,201. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 1.3% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Tjeldsund was established on 1 January 1909 when it was separated from the large Lødingen Municipality. Tjeldsund encompassed the eastern part of Lødingen prior to the division. Initially, Tjeldsund had a population of 1,404.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the western part of the island of Tjeldøya (population: 297) was transferred to Tjeldsund Municipality from Lødingen Municipality, uniting the whole island within the same municipality. On the same date, the unpopulated ''Ramnes'' area of Evenes Municipality was also transferred to Tjeldsund Municipality.

On 1 January 2020, the municipality merged with the neighboring Skånland Municipality and at the same time the new municipality became a part of the newly formed Troms og Finnmark county (prior to the merger, Skånland was located in the old Troms county and Tjeldsund was in Nordland county).

Name

The municipality is named after the Tjeldsundet strait between the islands of Tjeldøya and Hinnøya. The first element is the (uncompounded) Old Norse name of Tjeldøya (''Tjöld'' or ''Tjalda'') and the last element is ''sund'' which means "strait" or "sound". The name of the island is probably derived from the word ''tjald'' which means "tent" or the similar word ''tjaldr'' which means "oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 29 June 1990. The arms show a blue-colored Anthony's cross on a silver or white background. The Anthony's cross is a canting of the letter T, the first letter of the name Tjeldsund.

Churches

The Church of Norway has four parishes () within the municipality of Tjeldsund. It is part of the Trondenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.

Geography

Since 1 January 2020, Tjeldsund is located in Troms og Finnmark county on the border with Nordland county to the south and west. Tjeldsund is partially located on the island of Tjeldøya which is surrounded by the Ofotfjorden on the south, the Tjeldsundet strait to the west and north, and the Ramsundet strait to the east. The island is connected to the mainland by the Ramsund Bridge. The rest of the municipality is on the mainland to the east of Tjeldøya plus a small area on the island of Hinnøya to the north of Tjeldøya. The municipalities of Evenes (in Nordland) and Gratangen (in Troms og Finnmark) lie to the east of Tjeldsund, Harstad, Kvæfjord, and Ibestad (in Troms og Finnmark) lie to the north, Lødingen to the west, and Narvik to the south. The largest lake in the municipality is Skoddebergvatnet on the mainland.

Climate

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Tjeldsund, 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 Ofoten District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council () of Tjeldsund is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayors

The mayors of Tjeldsund (incomplete list):
*2019–present: Helene Berg Nilsen ( Ap)
*2015-2019: Liv Kristin Johnsen ( H)

Notable people

* Bjarne Berg-Sæther (1919 in Tjeldsund – 2009) a Norwegian politician, Mayor of Sandtorg 1947–1963, and Mayor of Harstad 1963-1967

References

External links

*
Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway

{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022

Municipalities of Troms og Finnmark
Populated places of Arctic Norway
1909 establishments in Norway