Hattfjelldal ( sma, Aarborte) 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 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. 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 Hattfjelldal. Other villages include Grubben,

Svenskvollen Svenskvollen is a village in the municipality of Hattfjelldal in Nordland county, Norway. The village lies along the river Vefsna (also called ''Susna'') in the ''Susendal'' valley, just north of Børgefjell National Park Børgefjell National P ...

, and Varntresk.

Hattfjelldal Airfield Hattfjelldal Airport ( no, Hattfjelldal flyplass) is a general aviation airport located in the Hattfjelldal (village), village of Hattfjelldal, in Hattfjelldal Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The first simple landing field was constructed ...

is located in the village of Hattfjelldal. The municipality is the 20th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Hattfjelldal is the 313th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,273. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 12.6% over the previous 10-year period. Hattfjelldal is one of the last strongholds for the seriously endangered

Southern Sami language Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

. It was also one of the municipalities in Norway involved in the Terra Securities scandal.

General information

The municipality of Hattfjelldal was established in 1862 when it was separated from the large municipality of Vefsn. The initial population of Hattfjelldal was 961. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the part of Hattfjelldal on the north side of the lake Røssvatnet (population: 168) was transferred to the neighboring Hemnes Municipality.

Name

The municipality (originally a parish) is named after the old ''Hattfjelldalen'' farm (referred to as "Hatfieldalen" in 1723) where the first church was built. The name describes the valley (''-dalen'') below the mountain Hattfjellet. ''Hattfjellet'' takes its name from the hat-like shape.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 24 October 1986. The arms show the Hattfjellet mountain, with its typical shape. The mountain is a canting element since the name of the municipality means "hat mountain valley".

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 Hattfjelldal. It is part of the

Indre Helgeland prosti Indre (; oc, Endre) is a landlocked department in central France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are known as the ''Indriens'' (masculine; ) and ''Indriennes'' (feminine; ). Indre is part of the current administra ...

(

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.

Geography

Hattfjelldal lies along the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

border in the southeastern part of

county. The lake Røssvatnet ( sma, Reevhtse) lies on the border between Hattfjelldal and Hemnes, and it serves as a reservoir. It has been the site of human occupation since the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...

. Its area of makes it the second largest lake in Norway by surface area. Other lakes in the region include

Daningen or is a lake in the municipality of Hattfjelldal in Nordland county, Norway. The lake lies about west of the border with Sweden and about northeast of the river Vefsna. See also * List of lakes in Norway * Geography of Norway Norway is a ...

Elsvatnet or is a lake in the municipality of Hattfjelldal in Nordland county, Norway. It lies about east of the village of Hattfjelldal, about half-way between the lakes Røssvatnet and Unkervatnet. See also * List of lakes in Norway * Geography of ...

Famnvatnet or is a lake in the municipality of Hattfjelldal in Nordland county, Norway. The lake is located about east of Røssvatnet and about west of the border with Sweden. The nearby lake Krutvatnet lies about to the south. See also * List of lak ...

Jengelvatnet or is a lake in Norway that lies on the borders of the municipalities of Røyrvik (in Trøndelag county) and Grane and Hattfjelldal (in Nordland county). The lake lies inside Børgefjell National Park and it drains to the south into the lake ...

, Kjerringvatnet, Krutvatnet,

Ranseren , also known as or , is a lake on the border between Norway and Sweden. The Norwegian side lies in Hattfjelldal Municipality in Nordland county (and it is inside Børgefjell National Park). The Swedish side of the lake is called Bije-Ransaren, w ...

Simskardvatnet or is a lake in the municipality of Hattfjelldal in Nordland county, Norway. It is the headwaters of the river Vefsna. The lake lies within Børgefjell National Park, just east of the municipal border with Grane. See also * List of lakes i ...

, and

Unkervatnet or is a lake in the municipality of Hattfjelldal in Nordland county, Norway. It is a good lake for fishing lake trout and Arctic char both during summer and winter. The river flowing into the lake from the east is called Skarmodalselva, and t ...

. The large river Vefsna runs through the municipality. Børgefjell National Park is partly located in the southern part of Hattfjelldal, as is Jetnamsklumpen, a prominent mountain. There is several nature reserves, such as Varnvassdalen with a varied topography and old growth forest of pine, birch and some

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 ...

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Hattfjelldal, 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

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, Gra ...

and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council () of Hattfjelldal is made up of 11 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Notable people

Anders K. Orvin Anders Kristian Orvin (24 October 1889 – 2 October 1980) was a Norwegian geologist and explorer. Biography He was born at Hattfjelldal in Nordland, Norway. He was a son of Ole Tobias Olsen (1830–1924) and Christine Bernhardine Dahl (1855–191 ...

(1889–1980) a Norwegian geologist and explorer * Anna Jacobsen (1924–2004), champion of Southern Sami language and culture * Karl Ingebrigtsen (born 1935) a Norwegian politician

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 ...

* {{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Nordland Valleys of Nordland 1862 establishments in Norway