Øksnes 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 located on the northwestern part of the large island of Langøya, which is a part of the traditional region of Vesterålen. 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 village of Myre. Other villages in Øksnes include Alsvåg,

Barkestad Barkestad is a small fishing village in Øksnes Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the southwest side of the island of Dyrøya in the Vesterålen archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group o ...

, Breidstrand, Nyksund, Strengelvåg, and Stø. The municipality is the 257th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Øksnes is the 193rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 4,458. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 0.2% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Øksnes 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). On 1 January 1866, a small area of southern Øksnes (population: 40) was transferred to the neighboring Bø Municipality. On 1 July 1919, the northeastern part of Øksnes along the

Gavlfjorden Gavlfjorden is a fjord (more accurately, a sound) in Nordland county, Norway. The long fjord separates the large islands of Langøya and Andøya in the Vesterålen archipelago and it runs along the border of three municipalities: Øksnes, Andøy ...

(population: 1,085) was separated to form the new Langenes Municipality. This left Øksnes with 2,296 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the Krakberget area and the part of Øksnes on the peninsula north of Krakberget (population: 271) was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Bø. On the same date the municipality of Langenes was merged with Øksnes. Prior to the merger, Øksnes had 3,112 residents and Langenes had 2,037 residents.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old ''Øksnes'' farm ( Old Norse: ''Yxnes''), since the first

Øksnes Church Øksnes Church ( no, Øksnes kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Øksnes Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the southeastern tip of the island of Skogsøya. It is one of the churches for the Øksnes parish w ...

was built there. The first element is probably an old name of Skogsøya island (Old Norse: ''Yxn'') and the last element is ''nes'' which means "

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...

". The old name of the island is identical with the word ''yxn'' ( plural form of ''uxi'' which means " ox"). The mountains of the island have maybe been compared with a group of oxen.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 22 August 1986. The arms show two black fishing hooks on a gold background, appropriate symbols for a municipality which is dependent on fishing and sailing.

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 one parish () within the municipality of Øksnes. It is part of the Vesterålen 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.

Environment

Geography

Øksnes municipality encompasses the northwestern part of the island of Langøya in the Vesterålen archipelago. It also includes many small islands around there including the islands of Anden, Dyrøya, Nærøya, Skogsøya, and Tindsøya. The

flows along the northeastern part of the boundary with Andøy Municipality on the other side. The southeastern part of Øksnes borders

Sortland Municipality or is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Vesterålen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sortland. Other population centres in Sortland include Bø, Holand, Holmstad, ...

and the southwestern part borders Bø Municipality (both municipalities are also located on Langøya island). The rest of the municipality borders the Norwegian Sea. The municipality is quite rugged with the exception of the area east of Myre which is very flat and marshy. The large lake Alsvågvatnet lies near this flat area, just east of the village of Alsvåg. This flat area lies just to the north of the large mountain Snøkolla. The Anda Lighthouse is located on the tiny island of Anden.

Important Bird Area

An area of about 6000 ha at the north-eastern end of the island, comprising coastal lagoons, fens, transition mires,

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

s and

mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...

s, including the Grunnfjorden nature reserve and Grunnfjorden

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

(BLI) because it supports populations of pink-footed and

barnacle geese The barnacle goose (''Branta leucopsis'') is a species of goose that belongs to the genus ''Branta'' of black geese, which contains species with largely black plumage, distinguishing them from the grey ''Anser'' species. Despite its superficial s ...

on passage migration.

Climate

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Øksnes, 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

Vesterålen District Court Vesterålen District Court ( no, Vesterålen tingrett) was a district court in Nordland county, Norway. The court was based in the town of Sortland. The court existed until 2021. It served the Vesterålen district in the northern part of the co ...

and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council () of Øksnes is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Bindal (incomplete list): *2019–present: John H. Danielsen ( Sp) *2015-2019: Karianne Bråthen ( Ap) *2011-2015: Jørn Martinussen ( H) *2007-2011: John H. Danielsen (Sp) *2003-2007: Per-Ole Larsen (Sp) Maria Solheim

Notable people

Oskar J. W. Hansen Oskar J. W. Hansen (March 12, 1892 – August 31, 1971
Obituary, New York Time ...

(1892 in Langenes – 1971) a naturalized American sculptor, worked at the

Hoover Dam Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on Se ...

Lydolf Lind Meløy Lydolf Lind Meløy (11 April 1908 25 May 1999) was a Norwegian educator, trade unionist, and politician for the Liberal Party. He was born in Meløya (part of Øksnes) as a son of fisher-farmers. His mother died shortly after his birth, and his ...

(1908 in Meløya – 1999) a Norwegian educator, trade unionist and politician *

Finn Knutsen Finn Knutsen (18 February 1932 – 14 February 2021) was a Norwegian politician. Career Knutsen was born in Langenes to Ole and Unni Knudsen. He was elected representative to the Storting for the period 1985–1989 for the Labour Party. H ...

(born 1932 in Langenes) a Norwegian politician, frequent Mayor of Øksnes *

Ove Kristian Sundberg Ove Kristian Sundberg (22 June 1932 – 4 February 2019) was a Norwegian church musician, musicologist and historian of ideas. Sundberg was born in Øksnes. From 1962 to 1975 he served as organist at the Bodø Cathedral. He was appointed rector ...

(1932 in Øksnes – 2019) a church musician, musicologist and historian of ideas *

Maria Solheim Maria Solheim (born 19 January 1982 in Alsvåg, Øksnes, Vesterålen) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter. She was discovered at 15 years old, by a travelling musician, singing her own songs in a small fishing village. She has released 7 solo album ...

(born 1982 in Alsvåg) a Norwegian singer-songwriter

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 ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oksnes Municipalities of Nordland Populated places of Arctic Norway Vesterålen 1838 establishments in Norway Important Bird Areas of Norway Important Bird Areas of Arctic islands Nature reserves in Norway Ramsar sites in Norway