Vefsn ( sma, Vaapste) 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 ...

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 A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers 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 t ...

. 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 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 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 A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Mosjøen Mosjøen (; sma, Mussere) is a town in Vefsn Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Mosjøen is the oldest town in the Helgeland region, with only the town of Bodø being older within Nordland county. The town is also the administrative centre ...

(population: 9,843). Some of the notable villages in Vefsn include

Drevvassbygda Drevvassbygda is a village in the municipality of Vefsn in Nordland county, Norway. It is located along the northeastern shore of the lake Drevvatnet, about southwest of the village Elsfjord in what used to be the separate municipality of Elsfjo ...

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 Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

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 Hattfjelldal ( sma, Aarborte) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hattfjelldal. Other villages include Grubben, Svens ...

. This left Vefsn with 5,051 residents. In 1876, the town of

(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

. 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 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 (population: 70) were transferred to Vefsn.

Name

The municipality is named after the river

Vefsna , also known as or , is the largest river in Nordland county, Norway. It is long and drains a watershed of . Its headwaters lie in the mountains of Børgefjell National Park at the lake Simskardvatnet. The river runs through the municipaliti ...

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 A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

was granted on 13 September 1974. They show a gray and red

rooster The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

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 (

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 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

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 ...

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' ...

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

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 to ...

, and the

river. The municipality is served by Mosjøen Airport, Kjærstad. The mountain

Lukttinden Lukttinden is a tall mountain in the municipality of Vefsn in Nordland county, Norway. The mountain lies between the towns of Mo i Rana and Mosjøen, directly east of the lake Ømmervatnet and directly south of the lake Luktvatnet. It lies to t ...

is located in the northern part of the municipality. There are many large lakes in Vefsn including

Drevvatnet Drevvatnet is a lake that lies in the municipality of Vefsn in Nordland county, Norway. The village of Drevvassbygda lies at the northeastern end of the lake, in the Drevjedalen valley. The Nordland Line The Nordland Line ( no, Nordlandsban ...

, Finnknevatnet, Fustvatnet, Hundålvatnet,

Luktvatnet Luktvatnet is a lake that lies in the northern part of the municipality of Vefsn in Nordland county, Norway. The lake lies between the mountains Korgfjellet and Lukttinden, about south of the village of Elsfjord. The European route E6 highw ...

, 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 t ...

. The Lomsdal–Visten National Park 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

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 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 ...

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 (see ...

s, both inland and along the coast. The Skjørlegda

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 ...

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,

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 (human activity), w ...

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 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 o ...

, 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 counci ...

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 a ...

. 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, G ...

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 Vefsn is made up of 29 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 feature f ...

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 ...

(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 Centre Party of Norway, Agrarian Party. He was born in Vefsn as a son of farmers Nils Mjaavatn (1849–1887) and Olianna Math ...

(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 Aage Grundstad (May 26, 1923 – April 8, 2012) was a Norwegian award-winning accordion player, originally from Vefsn. Grundstad studied at the Oslo Conservatory of Music and graduated from the Veitvedt Music School. He had his solo debut on NRK ...

(1923 in Vefsn – 2012), award-winning accordion player * Erling Bauck (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 (born 1929 in Vefsn), diplomat * Trond Øyen (1929 in Mosjøen – 1999) a Norwegian violinist *

Baard Owe Baard Arne Owe (3 July 1936, Mosjøen, Norway – 11 November 2017, aged 81, Copenhagen, Denmark), sometimes credited Bård Owe, was a Norwegian-born Danish actor who has acted in many Scandinavian films and TV series. He moved to Denmark in 1956, ...

(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, 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 (born 1968 in Mosjøen) a Jazz musician on upright bass * Aleksander L. Nordaas (born 1982 in Mosjøen) a screenwriter and film director * Silje Reinåmo (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 (born 1942 in Mosjøen) a speed skater, competed at the 1968 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 (born 1972 in Mosjøen) a former footballer with 284 club caps and assistant manager *

Anette Sagen Anette Sagen (born 10 January 1985) is a Norwegian former ski jumper. Career She is one of the best female jumpers of all time. She received a lot of media attention in 2004, when she was denied the opportunity to jump K-185 in Vikersund, in sp ...

(born 1985 in Mosjøen) a Norwegian former ski jumper * Thomas Drage (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