Vefsn ( sma, Vaapste) is a municipality in

Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, N ...

county, Norway. It is part of the

Helgeland Helgeland is the most southerly district in Northern Norway. Generally speaking, Helgeland refers to the part of Nordland county that is located south of the Arctic Circle. It is bordered in the north by the Saltfjellet mountains and Svartise ...

traditional region. The

administrative centre An administrative center 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 administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

of the municipality is the town of Mosjøen (population: 9,843). Some of the notable villages in Vefsn include Drevvassbygda,

Elsfjord Elsfjord is a village in Vefsn Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located at the end of the Elsfjorden, about northeast of the town of Mosjøen. The European route E06 highway is accessed about south of the village. El ...

, and

Husvik Husvik is a former whaling station on the north-central coast of South Georgia Island. It was one of three such stations in Stromness Bay, the other two being Stromness and Leith Harbour. Husvik initially began as a floating, offshore factory sit ...

. The municipality is the 41st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Vefsn is the 92nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 13,233. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 0.2% over the previous 10-year period.

History

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

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January ...

law). In 1862, the vast eastern district of Vefsn (population: 921) was separated from Vefsn to become the new municipality of Hattfjelldal. This left Vefsn with 5,051 residents. In 1876, the town of Mosjøen (population: 379) was separated from Vefsn to become a separate municipality. This left Vefsn with 4,672 residents. In 1927, Vefsn municipality was split into three: the small northern district (population: 964) became the new municipality of

Drevja Drevja is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1927 until its dissolution in 1962. It was located in the Drevja valley, north of the Vefsnfjorden in the northern part of the present-day Vefsn Municip ...

and the large southern district (population: 1,746) became the new municipality of Grane. After the split, Vefsn had 3,119 residents remaining. In 1939, a small area of Vefsn (population: 45) was transferred to neighboring town of Mosjøen. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, the municipality of Vefsn (population: 5,358) was merged with the neighboring town of Mosjøen (population: 4,628) and the neighboring municipalities of

(population: 1,001) and

(population: 920) to form a new, larger municipality of Vefsn. On 1 January 1995, the mainland areas of the neighboring

Alstahaug Municipality Alstahaug is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sandnessjøen. Some of the villages in Alstahaug include Søvika and Tjøtta. Most resid ...

(population: 70) were transferred to Vefsn.

Name

The municipality is named after the river Vefsna which flows through the municipality into the

Vefsnfjorden The Vefsnfjord or Vefsnfjorden is a fjord in the Helgeland traditional district of Nordland county, Norway. It is about long, reaching a maximum depth of about below sea level. The fjord flows through the municipalities of Alstahaug, Leirfj ...

. The meaning of the river name is unknown. Historically, the spelling has varied from ''Vefsen'' to ''Væffsn''.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 13 September 1974. They show a gray and red rooster on a black background. The rooster is a symbol for watchfulness and alertness. It was adopted by the municipality of Mosjøen on 25 March 1960. After the merger with Vefsn,

, and

in 1962, the new name of the municipality became Vefsn and the old arms of Mosjøen were chosen for the new municipality. Since the arms officially became obsolete after the merger, they were re-granted in 1974.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...

has three parishes () within the municipality of Vefsn. It is part of the

Indre Helgeland prosti Indre (; oc, Endre) is a landlocked department in central France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are known as the ''Indriens'' (masculine; ) and ''Indriennes'' (feminine; ). Indre is part of the current administra ...

(

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman 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 residenc ...

) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

Geography

The

of Vefsn is the town of Mosjøen which is situated along the innermost part of the

. Outside Mosjøen, the large municipality of Vefsn is dominated by

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...

forests, mountains, lakes, agriculture, and the Vefsna river. The municipality is served by

Mosjøen Airport, Kjærstad Mosjøen (; sma, Mussere) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Vefsn Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Mosjøen is the oldest town in the Helgeland region, with only the Bodø (town), town of Bodø being older within Nordland c ...

. The mountain Lukttinden is located in the northern part of the municipality. There are many large lakes in Vefsn including Drevvatnet, Finnknevatnet, Fustvatnet, Hundålvatnet, Luktvatnet, Mjåvatnet, and

Ømmervatnet Ømmervatnet is a lake that lies in the municipality of Vefsn in Nordland county, Norway. The European route E06 highway passes along the eastern coast of the lake. The lake lies about east of the village of Drevjemoen and about northeast of ...

. The

Lomsdal–Visten National Park Lomsdal–Visten National Park ( no, Lomsdal–Visten nasjonalpark, sma, Njaarken vaarjelimmiedajve) is a Norwegian national park that was established on 26 June 2009. The park consists of a total protected area of . It is located in Nordland co ...

is partially located in Vefsn. Rv 78 i Vefsn

Birdlife

The bird watcher that visits Vefsn soon realizes that it will take more than a day to cover all the interesting habitats and birding areas. Here you will find areas of virtually untouched

coniferous Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extant ...

woodlands, both inland and along the coast. The Skjørlegda nature reserve is a good example of woodland protection. Here you will find a virtually untouched coniferous forest covering the Eiterå valley. The valley stretches inland to a higher mountainous habitat that is also worth checking.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Vefsn, are responsible for

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

(through 10th grade), outpatient

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

, senior citizen services, unemployment 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. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

, 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

Alstahaug District Court Alstahaug District Court ( no, Alstahaug tingrett) was a district court in Nordland county, Norway. The court was based in the town of Sandnessjøen. The court existed from 1859 until 2021. It served the municipalities of Alstahaug, Dønna, Gra ...

and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council () of Vefsn is made up of 29 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows: Drevjedalen-2006-07-15

Mayor

The mayors of Vefsn (incomplete list): *2019–present: Berit Hundåla ( Sp) *2000-2019: Jann-Arne Løvdahl ( Ap) *1998-2000: Britt Jonassen (Ap) *1993-1998:

Knut Petter Torgersen Knut Petter Torgersen (born 7 September 1955) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party (Norway), Labour Party. He served as a deputy representative to the Storting, Parliament of Norway from Nordland during the terms 2005–2009 and 2009–2 ...

(Ap) *1990-1993: Roy Skogsholm (Ap) *1980-1989: Peder Hyttebakk (Ap)

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Vefsn include: SiljeReinaamo01

Thorolf Holmboe Thorolf Holmboe (10 May 18668 March 1935) was a Norwegian painter, illustrator and designer. Biography He was born in Vefsn, in Nordland county, Norway as the oldest son of Othar Ervigius Holmboe and his wife Sofie Birgitte Andrea Hall. He had o ...

(1866 in Vefsn –1935), painter, illustrator and designer *

Nils Mjaavatn Nils Kristian Nilsen Mjaavatn (17 August 1883 – 19 October 1951) was a Norwegian farmer, teacher and politician for the Agrarian Party. He was born in Vefsn as a son of farmers Nils Mjaavatn (1849–1887) and Olianna Mathisen (1850–1947). He ...

(1883 in Vefsn – 1951), farmer, teacher and politician *

David Monrad Johansen David Monrad Johansen (8 November 1888 – 20 February 1974) was a Norway, Norwegian composer. He was born in Vefsn and grew up near Mosjøen, where he received his first piano lessons. He came to Oslo, Christiania (Oslo) in 1904 to study at ...

(1888 in Vefsn – 1974), composer * Aage Grundstad (1923 in Vefsn – 2012), award-winning accordion player *

Erling Bauck Erling Bauck (8 April 1924 – February 2004) was a Norwegian resistance member and writer. He was in Nazi captivity from 1942 to 1945 during World War II, first in Norway, then from 1944 in Auschwitz. War years He was born in Mosjøen, Nordl ...

(1924 in Mosjøen – 2004) a

Norwegian resistance The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *Asserting the legitimacy of the exiled government, ...

member and writer. *

Kjell Eliassen Kjell Eliassen (born 18 August 1929) is a Norwegian diplomat. He was born in Vefsn, and holds the cand.jur. degree. He was hired in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1953, and among others he worked as secretary (from 1958 to 1960) and ...

(born 1929 in Vefsn), diplomat *

Trond Øyen Trond Øyen (December 26, 1929 – July 12, 1999) was a Norwegian violinist from Vardø. He was recognized as one of Norway's leading violinists of his time. After growing up in Mosjøen, Øyen studied in Oslo under Alf Sjøen and Bjarne Brusta ...

(1929 in Mosjøen – 1999) a Norwegian violinist * Baard Owe (1936 in Mosjøen – 2017) an actor, moved to Denmark in 1956 *

Inga Juuso Inga Juuso (5 October 1945 – 23 August 2014) was a Sami yoiker, singer and actress in the film ''The Kautokeino Rebellion''. She was known from her own band performances, and recordings and collaborations with musicians like Steinar Raknes, Hå ...

(1945 in Mosjøen – 2014) a

yoiker A joik or yoik (anglicised, where the latter spelling in English conforms with the pronunciation; also named , , , or in the Sámi languages) is a traditional form of song in Sámi music performed by the Sámi people of Sapmi in Northern Europ ...

, Sami singer and actress *

Odd Eriksen Odd means unpaired, occasional, strange or unusual, or a person who is viewed as eccentric. Odd may also refer to: Acronym * ODD (Text Encoding Initiative) ("One Document Does it all"), an abstracted literate-programming format for describing X ...

(born 1955) worked in Mosjøen, a politician also known for stopping an Algerian hijacker from crashing a Kato Air-flight in 2004. *

Frode Fjellheim Frode Fjellheim (born 27 August 1959 in Mussere) is a Southern Saami yoiker and musician (piano and synthesizer) from Norway. He is best known for his band Transjoik and as the composer of the 2002 song "Eatnemen Vuelie", which was later adapted ...

(born 1959 in Mussere) a yoiker and musician on piano and synthesizer *

Finn Guttormsen Finn Guttormsen (born 16 July 1968 in Mosjøen, Norway) is a Norwegian Jazz musician (upright bass), known for his dedicated contributions to the Farmers Market and recently to the Silje Nergaard Band, and musicians like Trygve Seim, Øyvind Br� ...

(born 1968 in Mosjøen) a Jazz musician on upright bass * Aleksander L. Nordaas (born 1982 in Mosjøen) a screenwriter and film director *

Silje Reinåmo Silje Reinåmo (born 25 August 1982) is a Norwegian actress, dancer, and musical performer. She was born in Mosjøen and was educated at Bårdar Danseinstitutt in Oslo, and at the Guildford School of Acting in Surrey, England. Reinåmo is perh ...

(born 1982 in Mosjøen) an actress, dancer and musical performer IMDb Database
retrieved 03 September 2020 *

Sandra Lyng Sandra Lyng Haugen (born 18 April 1987) is a Norwegian singer. Biography Sandra Lyng Haugen is from the town of Mosjøen in the municipality of Vefsn. She rose to popularity in 2004 after her participation in the Norwegian TV2 program '' I ...

(born 1987 in Mosjøen) a Norwegian singer

Sport

Johan Lind Johan Lind (born 9 January 1942) is a Norwegian speed skating, speed skater. He was born in Mosjøen and represented the club Hamar IL. He competed in the 500 m at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, and at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo. ...

(born 1942 in Mosjøen) a speed skater, competed at the

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

and

1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Europe ...

Bent Inge Johnsen Bent Inge Johnsen (born 28 January 1972 in Mosjøen) is a Norwegian football player and current coach. Johnsen was versatile and could play as defender, midfielder and forward. He started his career with local Mosjøen IL, then joined top-flig ...

(born 1972 in Mosjøen) a former footballer with 284 club caps and assistant manager * Anette Sagen (born 1985 in Mosjøen) a Norwegian former ski jumper *

Thomas Drage Thomas Drage (born 20 February 1992 in Mosjøen) is a Norwegian football player who plays for Fredrikstad FK. Drage's breakout season came in 2011. He led his team in assists, contributing 11 of them, placing him as runner-up behind Strømsgods ...

(born 1992 in Mosjøen) a football player with over 220 club caps

References

External links

*
Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, 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 yea ...

mosjoen.com - local portal for Mosjøen and Vefsn
(in Norwegian)
Local history and genealogy

Andås nature reserve with mixed forest

Skjørlægda nature reserve preserving an intact valley ecosystem
{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Nordland 1838 establishments in Norway