Bindal is a municipality in 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 Svarti ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

in the extreme southwest part of

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, ...

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 countries, 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 ...

. The administrative centre is the village of

Terråk Terråk is the administrative centre of the municipality of Bindal in Nordland country, Norway. The village is located in the eastern part of the municipality, along the shore of the Sørfjorden arm of the Bindalsfjorden. The nearby Vassås Brid ...

. Other villages include Bindalseidet, Holm,

Vassås Vassås is a small village in the municipality of Bindal in Nordland county, Norway. It is located along the Tosen arm of the Bindalsfjorden, just north of the Vassås Bridge which connects the village to the larger village of Terråk. The vi ...

, Horsfjord and

Åbygda Åbygda is a village in the municipality of Bindal in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located along the river Åbjøra, about southeast of the villages of Vassås and Terråk. Åbygda is the birthplace of Otto Sverdrup, a polar explo ...

. The municipality is the 81st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Bindal is the 304th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,406. 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 RosenberPopu ...

is and its population has decreased by 10% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

left, Hildringen in Bindal (1852). In 1838, 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 or ...

of Bindal was split into two municipalities (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 Janu ...

law) because the parish included land in both the counties of Nord-Trøndelag and

. The new law required that municipalities be located only in one county, so the parish was divided into two municipalities:

Nordbindalen Nord-Bindalen or Nordbindalen is a former administrative entity in the Helgeland district of Northern Norway. It was in existence from 1658 to 1852. It is located in the present-day municipality of Bindal. History The ancient district of Bind ...

and Sørbindalen. In 1852, the county border was moved south to its current position and the municipalities of Nordbindalen and Sørbindalen were merged back together to form the municipality of Bindal. On 1 January 1964, the area around the inner

Bindalsfjorden Bindalsfjorden is a fjord in the southern part of Nordland county, Norway. Location The fjord is mostly located in the municipality of Bindal with a small part in neighboring Sømna municipality. Geography The long fjord begins near the vill ...

and the village of Lande (population: 296) was transferred to

Brønnøy Municipality Brønnøy is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland region. The administrative centre and commercial centre of the municipality is the town of Brønnøysund. A secondary centre is the village of Hommelstø. Ot ...

Name

The

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 settlement ...

form of the name was ''Birnudalr''. The first element is the

genitive case In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can a ...

of the river name ''Birna'' (now

Åbjøra Åbjøra or Åelva is a river in the municipality of Bindal in Nordland county, Norway. It begins in the mountains between the Tosen fjord and the Namdalen valley. The long river passes through some lakes, including the lake Åbjørvatnet, ...

) and the last element is ''dalr'' which means "

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

" or "dale". The river name is derived from the word ''birna'' which means "(female)

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the No ...

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 in 1990. The arms show six gold

rivet A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite to the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the rivet is placed in a punched ...

s on a blue background to represent the

boat building Boat building is the design and construction of boats and their systems. This includes at a minimum a hull (watercraft), hull, with propulsion, mechanical, navigation, safety and other systems as a craft requires. Construction materials and met ...

industry in the municipality.

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 ...

has two parishes () within the municipality of Bindal. 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 Svartise ...

(

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 reside ...

) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

Geography

Bindal borders four municipalities in

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denma ...

county: Høylandet and Nærøy in the south, Namsskogan in the southeast, and Leka in the west. Bindal also has borders with the Nordland municipalities of Sømna, Brønnøy, and Grane. The

runs through the central part of the municipality. From the coast, the municipality reaches into the mountains towards the lake Majavatnet in Grane. The tallest mountain is the tall Heilhornet. It also includes part of the lakes

Eidevatnet Eidvatnet or Eidevatnet is a lake that is located in Bindal Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The lake lies in the northern part of Bindal that is very sparsely populated. The lake Fjellvatnet flows to the southwest into this lake. ...

and

Fjellvatnet Fjellvatnet is a lake that is located in Nordland county, Norway. The lake lies mostly in Bindal Municipality, but the far eastern part of the lake extends into the neighboring Brønnøy Municipality where it is known as ''Storvatnet''. It fl ...

, which also partially lie in Brønnøy municipality. Other lakes include Åbjørvatnet, Kalvvatnet, and

Saglivatnet Saglivatnet is a lake on the border of Trøndelag and Nordland counties in Norway. The lake lies on the border of the municipalities of Nærøysund (in Trøndelag county) and Bindal (in Nordland county). The water flows out to the north into th ...

. The river

runs through the eastern part of Bindal. Part of the island of Austra is in Bindal.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Bindal, 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 ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

, senior citizen 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 refe ...

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 adminis ...

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 o ...

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 and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

() of Bindal is made up of 17 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 featu ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Bindal (incomplete list): *2015–present: Britt Helstad ( Ap) *2010-2015: Petter Bjørnli ( H) *2007-2010: Per-André Johansen (Ap) *1983-2007: Magne H. Paulsen (Ap) *1980-1983: Kristen I. Sylten (Ap) *1964-1967: Kristen I. Sylten (Ap)

Notable people

* Otto Sverdrup (1854 in Bindal – 1930) a Norwegian sailor and Arctic explorer * Fredrik Paasche (1886 in Bindal – 1943) a Norwegian educator, author and literary historian * Carl Ludvig Godske (1906 in Bindal – 1970) a Norwegian mathematician and meteorologist * Lisbeth Berg-Hansen (born 1963 in Bindal) a Norwegian salmon farmer and politician

Economy

The most important industries in Bindal are

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

farming 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 peopl ...

and

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

Culture

Boat races for Nordland boats have been held annually since 1978 in the main village of

during the last weekend of June. Bindal has a traditional

boat-building Boat building is the design and construction of boats and their systems. This includes at a minimum a hull, with propulsion, mechanical, navigation, safety and other systems as a craft requires. Construction materials and methods Wood W ...

industry and Nordland boats are still manufactured here.

Education

Bindal has two schools; one of them is classified as independent and therefore not administered by the municipality. *''Terråk skole'' in

is a 1st-10th grade school and the largest in Bindal with approximately 100 students attending it. *''Bindalseidet friskole'' is an independent school located in Bindalseidet. It is a 1st-10th grade school.

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway * {{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Nordland 1852 establishments in Norway