Tysfjord ( smj, Divtasvuodna) is a former municipality 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 ...

. The municipality existed from 1869 until its dissolution in 2020. The municipality was part of the traditional district of Ofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of

Kjøpsvik or is a village in Narvik Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located on the eastern shore of the Tysfjorden, north of the small village of Storå. The island of Hulløya lies off the coast of Kjøpsvik. The village has a ...

. Other villages included Drag, Hundholmen, Korsnes,

Musken or is a village in the municipality of Hamarøy in Nordland county, Norway. It lies halfway along the long and small Hellmofjorden, an arm of the Tysfjorden. The village is not far from Hellemobotn, where mainland Norway is at its narrowest, j ...

, Rørvika,

Skarberget Skarberget is a ferry port in the municipality of Narvik (formerly in Tysfjord) in Nordland, Norway. It is located at the eastern side of Tysfjorden. Ferries operate from Skarberget across Tysfjorden to Bognes as part of the European route E6 ...

, and Storå. Tysfjord had a very large population of Lule Sami people. The

Árran Árran is the Lule Sámi center in the village of Drag in Hamarøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The center was established in 1994 to foster and promote the Lule Sámi language and culture. It does this by arranging on-site and vi ...

Lule Sami Center was located in the village of Drag. With the

Norwegian language Norwegian ( no, norsk, links=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken mainly in Norway, where it is an official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regio ...

and

Lule Sami language Lule may refer to: * Lule people, an indigenous people of northern Argentina * Lule language, a possibly extinct language of Argentina * Lule Sami language, a language spoken in Sweden and Norway * Luleå, also known as Lule, a town in Sweden * L ...

both as official languages of the municipality, Tysfjord was the only municipality in Norway where speakers of Lule Sami should theoretically be able to speak that language with officials, although this has not come completely to fruition. At the time of its dissolution, the municipality was the 56th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Tysfjord was the 330th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,953. 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 ...

was and its population has decreased by 3.7% over the previous decade.

General information

The municipality of Tysfjord was established on 1 January 1869 when it was separated from the large

Lødingen Municipality Lødingen ( sme, Lodegat) is a municipality in Nordland county in Norway. Lødingen is located on the southeastern corner of the island of Hinnøya, and is part of the traditional district of Ofoten. The administrative centre of the municip ...

. Initially, the population of Tysfjord was 1,402. 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, the Tysnes and Molvika areas (population: 33) located northwest of Bognes was transferred from the neighboring

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, ...

to Tysfjord Municipality. On 1 January 2020, the municipality was dissolved and divided between the neighboring municipalities of Narvik and Hamarøy. This occurred because in 2017, the Parliament of Norway decided that Tysfjord would be divided along the fjord with the eastern half being merged with the neighboring municipalities of Narvik and

Ballangen Ballangen ( sme, Bálák) is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1925 until its dissolution in 2020. The municipality was part of the traditional district of Ofoten. The administrative centre of th ...

to form a new, larger municipality of Narvik and the remaining western half will be merged with the municipality of Hamarøy on the same date.

Name

The municipality is named after the Tysfjorden (the

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, ...

that the municipality surrounds). ''Tysfjord'' is a Norwegianized form of the Lule Sami name (first recorded around 1520 as ''Tyttisfiorden''). The meaning of the first element is unknown. (A popular belief, and common interpretation, is that the first element should be the genitive case of the name of the Norse god

Týr (; Old Norse: , ) is a god in Germanic mythology, a valorous and powerful member of the and patron of warriors and mythological heroes. In Norse mythology, which provides most of the surviving narratives about gods among the Germanic people ...

- but this does not fit either with the Sami form or the oldest spellings of the name.) The last element is which means 'fjord' in the Sami language.

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 31 July 1987. The arms show a black lobster on a silver background. The lobsters in Tysfjord are the most northerly in the world.

Churches

The Church of Norway had three parishes () within the municipality of Tysfjord. It is part of the Ofoten 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 ...

History

There are prehistoric rock carvings at Leiknes showing scenes of

hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...

, and the world's oldest known depiction of an

orca whale The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white ...

. In 1948, an investigation that had lasted for years, was dismissed in regards to "a large group of

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...

from Tysfjord". amiske grenseloser reddet tusenvis. - Så ble de beskyldt for landssvik - Nå får de oppmerksomhet og heder. ami guides saved thousands. - Then they were accused of treason - Now they get attention and are lauded/ref> These individuals had worked as guides—guiding Norwegians who chose to flee into Sweden. In 2016, media uncovered the sexual abuse of 11 women; this was followed by more reports of sexual abuse—the Tysfjord Affair.. 92 persons were the suspects, in regard to 151 cases of sexual abuse from the 1950s to 2017; at least 2 persons have been convicted.https://www.aftenposten.no/kultur/i/jla849/tystnaden-i-sapmi-fortielseskultur-under-lupen.

Aftenposten ( in the masthead; ; Norwegian for "The Evening Post") is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen) and estimated 1.2 milli ...

.no. Retrieved 2022-10-15 Around two-thirds of the victims and alleged abusers were Sami. 40 cases dealt with sexual intercourse with underage children.

Ethnicity

A 2004 article in

Avisa Nordland ''Avisa Nordland'' is a local newspaper published in Bodø, Norway. History and profile ''Avisa Nordland'' was established in February 2002 through a controversial merger of the two competing newspapers ''Nordlandsposten'' and '' Nordlands Framti ...

estimated that out of 2,209 inhabitants, between 600 and 1000 are Sami.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Tysfjord, 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 Ofoten District Court 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 Tysfjord was made up of 17 representatives that were elected every four years. 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 final municipal council was as follows:

Economy

Due to the

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

in Tysfjord, a

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

factory was established with production starting in 1920. The modern Norcem factory still is a vital employer in Kjøpsvik, with about 130 employees; since 1999 it has been a part of the German worldwide company Heidelberger Cement.

Public services A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...

, some

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

, and

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

are the other main sources of income in Tysfjord.

Geography

The municipality is located along the Tysfjorden. The Tysfjorden is the second deepest fjord in Norway, with a maximum depth of . The municipality borders

in the north, Hamarøy in the south, Sweden in the east, and 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 northwest. The island of

Hulløya or is an island in the municipality of Hamarøy in Nordland county, Norway. The island is located in the Tysfjorden, southwest of the village of Kjøpsvik. The island has an area of and the highest point is the tall Veten. Hulløya had one per ...

lies in the middle of the Tysfjorden. The municipality is dominated by grey

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

mountains;

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains ...

, and

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the '' Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (Chin ...

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

s and

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s; and the many fjord branches. Tysfjord's most dominant mountain, Stetind, is famous in Norway. This high natural granite

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...

, rising straight out of the fjord, is an awe-inspiring sight. In Norwegian, it is called which means the 'anvil of the gods', partly because the summit forms a

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

. This was selected to be the national mountain of Norway in the autumn of 2002. The famous

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

climber William C. Slingsby described it as "the ugliest mountain I ever saw"; he did not reach the summit. The mountains near the border with Sweden have peaks up to above sea level, and with a large glacier,

Gihtsejiegŋa Gihtsejiegņa or Gihtsejiegŋa is one of the largest glaciers in mainland Norway. It is located in the municipality of Narvik in Nordland county, about southeast of the village of Kjøpsvik, on the border with Sweden. The name of the glacier co ...

. There are several nature reserves in Tysfjord. Mannfjordbotn reserve has undisturbed forests at the head of a narrow fjord branch surrounded by granite mountain walls. From Hellemobotn, at the head of Hellemofjorden, the distance to the border with Sweden is only ; this is also a scenic hiking terrain with a canyon opening up in Hellemobotn. There are also caves, such as the very deep

Raggejavreraige Raggejavreraige or Råggejávrrerájgge is a cave located in a mountain above the Hellemofjorden in the municipality of Hamarøy in Nordland county, Norway. The cave is located near the lake Råggejávrre, about south of the village of Musken. Rå ...

. Lakes in the region include

Baugevatnet Baugevatnet is a lake that lies in Narvik Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The lake is located about east of the village of Kjøpsvik and just northwest of the border with Sweden. The lake Båvrojávrre lies about to the southwest and ...

Båvrojávrre Båvrojávrre is a lake that lies on the border between Norway and Sweden. Most of the lake lies in Norway in Narvik Municipality in Nordland county. Only of the lake lies in Sweden in Gällivare Municipality in Norrbotten County. The lake Bauge ...

, Kilvatnet, Langvatnet, and Skilvatnet.

Silver birch ''Betula pendula'', commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found ...

occurs in Tysfjord, as one of few areas in

North Norway Northern Norway ( nb, Nord-Norge, , nn, Nord-Noreg; se, Davvi-Norga) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the two northernmost counties Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the larg ...

(silver birch need more summer warmth than the more common

downy birch ''Betula pubescens'' (syn. ''Betula alba''), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern Europe and northern Asia ...

Nature

For many years since 1990, a large part of the stock of Norwegian herring has stayed in the fjord in winter, one of the largest gatherings of biomass in the world. Large number of

whales Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...

orca The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white ...

s in particular, have followed to feed on the herring. This has attracted winter tourists from far away, but not in huge numbers. Since 2008, less herring and fewer orca have arrived in Tysfjord. Harbor porpoises,

lobsters Lobsters are a family (Nephropidae, synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs have claws, including the first pair, ...

white-tailed eagle The white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla'') is a very large species of sea eagle widely distributed across temperate Eurasia. Like all eagles, it is a member of the family Accipitridae (or accipitrids) which includes other diurnal raptors ...

common raven The common raven (''Corvus corax'') is a large all-black passerine bird. It is the most widely distributed of all corvids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. It is a raven known by many names at the subspecies level; there are at least ...

European otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of th ...

s, and

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

are all common in the Tysfjord area. Tommerasfjorden-tysfjorden-ofoten-nordland

The coastal municipality of Tysfjord is better known for its

whale watching Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins (cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. 2 ...

than its

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

but the region has still a lot to offer. Thanks to a range of

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s the area has a varied birdlife. Though the area has no large

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

colonies, there is a small

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

at Ramnholmen with breeding populations of Arctic tern and

common tern The common tern (''Sterna hirundo'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migrator ...

Climate

The climate is surprisingly temperate considering the location north of the Arctic Circle. Mean annual temperature in Kjøpsvik is and mean annual precipitation is . Summer is usually pleasant, although there might be persistent

rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water ...

. Average monthly 24-hr temperature in June, July, and August is , , and , with average daily high about . The average temperatures are below freezing for slightly more than 4 months, statistically from 17 November to 30 March, with January average of . October is the wettest month with on average precipitation, May is the driest with . The

midnight sun The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When the midnight sun is seen in the Arctic, ...

can be seen from the end of May to mid-July, and the sun is below the horizon from the beginning of December to mid-January. The

aurora borealis An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

is commonly seen in winter and late autumn.

Transport

Tysfjord is the only location in Norway where the European route E6 highway depends on a car ferry. There are ferry connections from Bognes to Skarberget (route E6) and from Bognes to Lødingen (connecting to route

European route E10 European route E10 is the second shortest Class A road which is part of the International E-road network. It begins in Å, Norway and ends in Luleå, Sweden. The road is about 850 km (530 mi) in length. The Norwegian part of 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� ...

). There is also a ferry connecting Drag south of the fjord with Kjøpsvik on the northern shore. Kjøpsvik is connected to the E6 highway and Narvik by Norwegian National Road 827, with no ferry crossings. This might be an alternative to route E6, and is also the route of choice to get close to Stetind. If Tysfjord experiences bad weather and the ferry connections are shut down, Norway is cut in two road-wise. A road connection is still maintained, albeit through Sweden, which makes it a very long drive. The closest airport is

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 ...

. There was also a small airport in Narvik.