Vevelstad 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
Helgeland traditional region
Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic, linguistic or political basis, regardless of latterday borders. They are used as delimitations for studying and analysing social ...
. The
administrative centre of the municipality is the village of
Forvika.
The municipality is the 199th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Vevelstad is the 352nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 462. 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 9.6% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
![Velfjorden](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Velfjorden.JPG)
The municipality of Vevelstad was established on 1 July 1916 when it was separated from the municipality of
Tjøtta. Initially, the municipality had 1,097 residents. On 1 July 1920, the Giskå farm area (population: 10) was transferred from
Tjøtta to Vevelstad. The borders have not changed since that time.
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 ''Vevelstad'' farm ( non, Vifilsstaðir), since the first
Vevelstad Church was built there. The first element is the
genitive case of the Norse male name ''Vifill'' and the last element is ''staðir'' which means "
homestead
Homestead may refer to:
*Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses
* Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres
*Homestead principle, a legal concept t ...
" or "
farm
A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...
".
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 13 November 1991. The arms are blue with three silver V shapes (two over one). The arms are
canting
' (IPA: , VOS Spelling: ''tjanting'', jv, ꦕꦤ꧀ꦛꦶꦁ, Tjanting) is a pen-like tool used to apply liquid hot wax ( jv, ) in the batik-making process in Indonesia, more precisely ''batik tulis'' (lit. "written batik"). Traditional '' ...
, showing the first letter of the name of the municipality,
V. The municipality applied for arms in the 1970s, but all the proposals were rejected by either the municipal council or the national archives. Finally, the present arms were adopted and granted in 1991.
Churches
The
Church of Norway has one parish () within the municipality of Vevelstad. It is part of the
Sør-Helgeland prosti
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 Svart ...
(
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 lies in the middle of Norway, surrounded by mountains and
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. A lot of the municipality is a part of
Lomsdal–Visten National Park. The lake
Søre Vistvatnet lies in the southeastern part of the municipality inside the national park. Most of the residents live along the coastline or on the island
Hamnøya. The mouth of the
Velfjorden
Velfjorden is a fjord in Nordland county, Norway. The fjord is located mostly in Brønnøy Municipality
Brønnøy is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland region. The administrative centre and commercial ce ...
lies in the southern part of the municipality.
Government
All municipalities in Norway, including Vevelstad, 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
Brønnøy District Court
Brønnøy District Court ( no, Brønnøy tingrett) was a district court (Norway), district court in Nordland county, Norway. The court was based in the Brønnøysund, town of Brønnøysund. The court existed from 1919 until 2021. It served the mun ...
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
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 Vevelstad is made up of 13 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 Vevelstad (incomplete list):
*2019–present: Torhild Haugann (
Sp)
*2015-2019:
Kari Anne Bøkestad Andreassen (
LL)
*2003-2015: Ken-Richard Hansen (LL)
*1999-2003: Arnt O. Åsvang (LL)
*1988-1999: Harald Axelsen (
Ap)
Notable people
*
Kari Anne Bøkestad Andreassen (born 1973 in Vevelstad) a Norwegian politician, the first female Mayor of the municipality
References
External links
*
Municipal fact sheetfrom
Statistics Norway
*http://oklausse.home.online.no/vevelstad/
{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022
Municipalities of Nordland
1916 establishments in Norway