Andøy is the northernmost 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 Vesterålen archipelago. The main island in the municipality is Andøya. 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 Andenes. Other villages in the municipality include Bjørnskinn, Bleik,

Dverberg Dverberg is a small village in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the east coast of the island of Andøya, along the Andfjorden, about south of the large village of Andenes. The village of Dverberg is also called ...

Fiskenes Fiskenes is a village in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located on the northeastern part of the island of Andøya, along the Andfjorden. The village of Andenes is the administrative centre of Andøy Municipal ...

, Fornes, Nordmela, Risøyhamn,

Skarstein Skarstein or Skardstein is a village in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located along Norwegian County Road 82 on the northeastern part of the island of Andøya, along the Andfjorden. The village of Andenes lies a ...

, Å, Åknes, and Åse. The municipality is the 172nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Andøy is the 188th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 4,572. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 9.1% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Andøy was established as a new municipality on 1 January 1964 due to the work of the Schei Committee. Andøy Municipality was created from the merger of the old municipalities of Andenes (population: 3,812), Bjørnskinn (population: 1,835), and

(population: 1,719). Initially, the new Andøy Municipality had 7,366 residents. The municipal boundaries have not changed since that time.

Name

The municipality was named after the island on which it is located, Andøya. The Old Norse form of the name was ''Andarøy'' (from ''Amdarøy''). 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 al ...

of the old uncompounded name of the island: ''Ǫmd''. The last element is ''øy'' which means "island". The meaning of the uncompounded name is unknown.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 7 January 1983. The arms show a silver wave on a blue background. It was chosen as a symbol for the fact that the municipality is situated at the

sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

and that fishing is important economically to 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 b ...

has three parishes () within the municipality of Andøy. 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.

Rocket Range

Andøya Space Andøya Space, also named Andøya Space Center and formerly Andøya Rocket Range, is a rocket launch site, rocket range, and spaceport on Andøya island (the northernmost in the Vesterålen archipelago) in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, ...

, formerly Andøya Rocket Range, is a civilian rocket range located a few kilometres south of Andenes. As of 2022, construction is in progress for a spaceport capable of launching small satellites. Andøya Space supports research as well as providing educational programming and military work. It also operates another launch site in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard.

Geography

The municipality of Andøy is spread across the island of Andøya (the northernmost island in the Vesterålen archipelago) and the northeastern part of the island of

Hinnøya Hinnøya is the fourth-largest island in Norway, and the largest outside the Svalbard archipelago. The lies just off the western coast of Northern Norway. The island sits on the border of Nordland and Troms og Finnmark counties. The western pa ...

(the largest and most populous island in Norway). The municipality also consists of smaller

skerries A skerry is a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation. Skerry, skerries, or The Skerries may also refer to: Geography Northern Ireland * Skerries, County Armagh, a townland in County Armagh * Skerry, County Antrim, a ...

including Bleiksøya, Vomma, and Stavaøyan. Andøy is located between 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 ...

and the Andfjorden, and the Risøysundet strait separates the two main islands in Andøy. The

Andøy Bridge The Andøy Bridge ( no, Andøybrua) is a cantilever road bridge that crosses the Risøysundet strait between the islands of Andøya and Hinnøya in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The northern end of the bridge is located in the ...

connects the two islands. The midsection of the island consists of

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

s and marshes, known for their Arctic

cloudberries ''Rubus chamaemorus'' is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae, native to cool temperate regions, alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest. This herbaceous perennial produces amber-colored edible fruit similar to the blackb ...

. There are numerous lakes on the island including Bleiksvatnet and

Skogvollvatnet Skogvollvatnet is a lake in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The lake lies on the west coast of the island of Andøya. There is a wide isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across ...

. The island is also the only place in continental Norway where coal and fossils from dinosaurs are found. Forfjorddalen nature reserve on Hinnøya has some of the oldest pine trees in Scandinavia, some more than 700 years old.

Birdlife

Lying furthest north in the area known as Vesterålen, Andøy is a mixture of vast areas of marshland fens, with a backdrop of high peaked mountains such as Kvasstinden. The coast is famous for its sheltered

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

s with white sandy shores. The area has a rich bird life and this is reflected in some good birding localities like Forfjorddalen Nature Reserve and Skogvoll, the latter a

Ramsar Ramsar may refer to: * Places so named: ** Ramsar, Mazandaran, city in Iran ** Ramsar, Rajasthan, village in India * Eponyms of the Iranian city: ** Ramsar Convention concerning wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran ** Ramsar site, wetland listed in a ...

site of international importance. The

bird cliff Bird cliffs, or nesting cliffs, are steep cliffs with numerous small shelves which serve as nesting locations for bird colonies. Bird cliffs are found on islands in the North Atlantic and Arctic, such as the Faroe Islands, Iceland, the Svalbard a ...

at Bleiksøya, outside of Bleik, is a spectacular and photogenic landmark outside the northern part of Andøya, with many species of seabirds including

puffin Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...

Climate

Andøya has a subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc).

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Andøy, 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 Andøy is made up of 23 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Andøy (incomplete list): *2019–present: Knut Andreas Nordmo ( Sp) *1999-2019: Jonni Helge Solsvik ( H) *1995-1999: Kjell Are Johansen ( Ap) *1980-1995: Leif A. Iversen (H) *1976-1979:

Johan Kleppe Johan Kleppe (29 September 1928 – 17 May 2022) was a Norwegian veterinarian and politician for the Liberal Party. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Nordland in 1969, but was not re-elected in 1973. He had previously served in the ...

( V)

Transportation

The Hurtigruten boat stops at Risøyhamn in Andøy. Andøya Airport at Andenes is served by Widerøe airlines. During the summer, Andenes is connected to

Gryllefjord Gryllefjord is a fishing village in Senja Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located on the island of Senja, along the Gryllefjorden in the northern part of the municipality. The village has a population (2017) of 383 whic ...

on the island of

Senja or is an island in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway, Europe. With an area of , it is the second largest island in Norway (outside of the Svalbard archipelago). It has a wild, mountainous outer (western) side facing the Atlantic, and a mild ...

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

. By car, you reach Andøy on Norwegian County Road 82, northbound from Sortland.

Military

Andøya Air Station Andøya Air Station ( no, Andøya Flystasjon) is a military air station in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The station is located near the village of Andenes at the northern end of the island of Andøya in the Vesterålen archip ...

is located next to Andenes. It is the home of the 333rd

Squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...

of the Royal Norwegian Air Force and houses all

P-3 Orion The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner.

Finn Myrvang Finn Myrvang (born June 20, 1937) is a Norwegian historian, folklore collector, and associate professor. Myrvang was born in at Bjørnskinn in Andøy. Until 2004 he headed the Place Name Project in Nordland, which has registered over 180,000 plac ...

(born 1937 in Bjørnskinn) a Norwegian historian, folklore collector and academic * Nick Borgen (born 1952 in Andenes) a Norwegian–Swedish musician, singer and writer

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:Andoy Municipalities of Nordland Populated places of Arctic Norway 1964 establishments in Norway