Trondenes is an old parish and former municipality in

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 t ...

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 ...

. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. It was located along the western shore of the Vågsfjorden in what is now

Harstad Municipality ( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the town of Harstad, the most populous town in Central Hålogaland, ...

. Trondenes included the majority of the island of

Grytøya or is an island in Harstad Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The island lies just north of the large island of Hinnøya and south of the island of Bjarkøya. It is surrounded by the Vågsfjorden in the east and the Andfjorden ...

and part of the eastern coast of the island of

Hinnøya Hinnøya 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 og Finnmark counties. The western ...

as well as some smaller islands. Located just north of the town of Harstad, the village of Trondenes was the administrative centre of the municipality. That village is also the site of the historic Trondenes Church, the northernmost medieval stone church in Norway. The Trondenes Historical Center was built in 1997 near the church to teach about the history of the area. Trondenes Fort is also located on the Trondenes peninsula.

History

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 ...

of Trondenes was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The village of Harstad (population: 1,246) was declared a ladested and was therefore separated from Trondenes on 1 January 1904 to become a separate municipality. This left Trondenes with 7,775 inhabitants. On 1 January 1912, part of southern Trondenes (population: 291) was transferred to the neighboring municipality of

Evenes Evenes ( sme, Evenášši) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Ofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bogen. Other villages in Evenes include Liland, Tårst ...

(in Nordland county). On 1 July 1926, the municipality of Trondenes was divided into three separate municipalities. The areas east of the

Tjeldsundet Tjeldsundet 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 been an importa ...

strait and east of the Vågsfjorden (population: 2,443) became the municipality of

Skånland Skånland ( sme, Skánit) is a former municipality that was located in the old Troms county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1926 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Tjeldsund Municipality. It was part of the Central Hål ...

and the areas on the west side of the Tjeldsundet and Vågsfjorden were split two ways. The southern part (population: 4,224) became the municipality of

Sandtorg Sandtorg is a village in Harstad Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located on the eastern shore of the large island of Hinnøya, on the shore of the Tjeldsundet. The village is located along the European route E10 highway i ...

and the northern part (population: 3,429) remained as the municipality of Trondenes. On 25 October 1956, a small border adjustment was made between Trondenes and the neighboring

Kvæfjord Municipality Kvæfjord ( sme, Giehtavuotna) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Central Hålogaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Borkenes. Other villages include ...

. This resulted in 32 inhabitants becoming residents of Trondenes. 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, Trondenes municipality (population: 6,567),

municipality (population: 7,512), the town of Harstad (population: 3,808) were merged to form a new, larger

Name

The municipality (originally the

) was named after the old ''Trondenes'' 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 ...

: ''Þróndarnes''), since the first Trondenes Church was built there. The first element is the genitive of ''þróndr'' which means " hog" and the last element is ''nes'' which means " headland". The shape of the headland was probably compared with the snout of a hog.

Government

Municipal council

The

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 Trondenes was made up of 29 representatives that were 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 was as follows:

Media gallery

Trondenes.jpg, 10 Harstad Trondenes Church.jpg, Trondenes Historical Center.jpg, Harstad Trondenes.jpg, Trondenes, Kasgjord, Troms - Riksantikvaren-T432 01 0481.jpg, Trondenes - no-nb digifoto 20160511 00163 NB MIT FNR 09399.jpg, Kasfjord fra Nupen.JPG, Harstad, Norway - panoramio (4).jpg, Grytøya Alvestad Troms Norway.jpg,

References

External links

*
German Gun Battery on the peninsula Trondenes
{{Authority control Harstad Former municipalities of Norway 1838 establishments in Norway 1964 disestablishments in Norway