Kvæfjord ( sme, Giehtavuotna) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Central Hålogaland. 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

Borkenes Borkenes is the administrative centre of Kvæfjord Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The farming village is located on the island of Hinnøya, about west of the city of Harstad. It is located along the Kvæfjorden (an arm of ...

. Other villages include

Hundstad Hundstad is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jim Hundstad (born 1941), American politician * Turid Hundstad (born 1945), Norwegian civil servant {{Short pages monitor Norwegian-language surnames ...

Langvassbukta Langvassbukta is a village in Kvæfjord Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The village is located on the west coast of the Gullesfjorden on the large island of Hinnøya Hinnøya is the fourth-largest island in Norway, and the l ...

, and Revsnes. Together with Harstad, the two municipalities cover a large 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 ...

in the southern part of the Troms county. Kvæfjord consists mostly of mountains and fjords. The municipality centers on the Kvæfjorden and

Gullesfjorden Gullesfjorden is a fjord that cuts into the island of Hinnøya in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located mostly within Kvæfjord Municipality, although a small part in the northwestern part of the fjord lies in Sortland Municipality in ...

. Kvæfjord is also where the Norwegian national cake,

Kvæfjord cake Kvæfjord cake ( no, Kvæfjordkake), or ("the world's best"), is a sponge cake baked with meringue, vanilla cream and almonds. The cake is named for Kvæfjord, a municipality in Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is ...

, originally comes from. The municipality is the 208th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Kvæfjord is the 238th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,789. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 7.8% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Kvæfjord was established as a municipality 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 25 October 1956, a part of Kvæfjord (population: 32) was transferred to neighboring

Trondenes Trondenes is an old parish and former municipality in Troms county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. It was located along the western shore of the Vågsfjorden in what is now Harstad Municipality. T ...

municipality. On 1 January 2000, the part of Kvæfjord that surrounded the Godfjorden (population: 102) was transferred from Kvæfjord to Sortland municipality (in neighboring

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). On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed Troms og Finnmark county. Previously, it had been part of the old Troms county.

Name

The municipality is named after the fjord ( Old Norse: ''Kviðjufjǫrðr''). 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 name of the island ''Kviðja'' (now

Kvæøya Kvæøya is an island in Kvæfjord Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the Kvæfjorden, an arm of the Gullesfjorden. The island sits about southwest of the village of Borkenes. In 2010, the Kvæøy Bridge was comp ...

) and the last element is ''fjǫrðr'' which means "fjord". The name of the island might be derived from the word ''kviðr'' which means "belly" or " stomach". Prior to 1889, the name was spelled ''Kvædfjord''.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 4 April 1986. The green arms show a yellow

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

plant. The symbolism of the color and the plant is that the main source of income in the municipality is agriculture, and it is also the northernmost village in Norway where strawberries can grow.

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 Kvæfjord. It is part of the

Trondenes prosti Trondenes is an old parish and former municipality in Troms county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. It was located along the western shore of the Vågsfjorden in what is now Harstad Municipality. T ...

(

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 Nord-Hålogaland Nord-Hålogaland ( no, Nord-Hålogaland bispedømme) is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers the Church of Norway churches in Troms og Finnmark county as well as in the territory of Svalbard. The diocese is seated in the city of Tromsø ...

Economy

The municipality is known for agriculture and farming. The quality of the

strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

is famous. The long hours of daylight, combined with relatively low summer temperatures, make the strawberries more tasteful than berries grown in warmer climates. A large institution for the mentally handicapped was once located in Kvæfjord. It employed a large number of health workers.

Geography

The municipality is located on

island and it is split by three smaller branches of the large Andfjorden:

, Kvæfjorden, and Godfjorden. The island of

is located in the middle of the Kvæfjorden, across from

. The landscape of today was largely formed during the last ice age. When the ice retreated, the terrain rose by . It is in this belt of old seabed that today's best farm land is located. There are four county roads connecting the municipality: two to the north and one each to the east and south. The tall mountain Nupen is located in the northern part of the municipality on the border with Harstad.

Climate

Kvæfjord has a subpolar oceanic climate, and is mild for the high latitude. The wettest season is September - January, and the driest season is April - August.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Kvæfjord, 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

Trondenes District Court Trondenes District Court ( no, Trondenes tingrett) was a district court located in the town of Harstad in Troms county, Norway. The court served the southwestern part of the county which included the municipalities of Harstad, Kvæfjord, Skånla ...

and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Kvæfjord is made up of 23 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Notable people

Johanne Nielsdatter Johanne Nielsdatter or Johanne Nilsdatter (died 1695), was a Norwegian woman who was executed for witchcraft. Her execution is the last confirmed execution for witchcraft in Norway. Life She was from Kvæfjord in present-day Troms og Finnmark. ...

(born in Kvæfjord, died 1695) the last Norwegian woman to be executed for witchcraft *

Mikkel Røg Mikkel Røg (c. 1679 – c. 1737), also referred to by his latinized name Michael Augustus Roeg, was a Danish-Norwegian medal engraver. He served as medal engraver to the Royal Court in Paris from 1720 to 1737. Early life and education Røg was ...

(ca. 1679 in Kvæfjord – ca. 1737) Danish-Norwegian medal engraver to the French Royal Court 1720 to 1737 *

Birger Bergersen Birger Martin Bergersen (25 July 1891 – 14 July 1977) was a Norwegian anatomist and politician for the Labour Party. He notably served as a professor (1932–1947) and rector (1938–1945) of ''Norges tannlegehøgskole'', Norway's ambassador to ...

(1891 in Kvæfjord – 1977) was a Norwegian anatomist, politician, academic professor, rector, diplomat and chairman of the International Whaling Commission *

Fritz Aagesen Fritz Aagesen (June 11, 1935 – October 26, 1998) was a Norwegian author of two ghost stories books. Aagesen was born in Kvæfjord Municipality. As a young man, he left Kvæfjord for Tromsø, where he found work with the roads authority. In his ...

(1935 in Kvæfjord – 1998) a Norwegian author of two books of ghost stories *

Karl Erik Harr Karl Erik Harr (born 8 May 1940) is a Norwegian painter, illustrator, graphic artist and author, best known for his representations of Northern-Norwegian scenery and coastal history. Background Harr was born in Kvæfjord in Troms and studied at ...

(born 1940 in Kvæfjord) a Norwegian painter, illustrator, graphic artist and author *

Bendiks H. Arnesen Bendiks Harald Arnesen (born 9 June 1951 in Kvæfjord) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Troms in 1997, and has been re-elected on two occasions. He had previously served as a deputy ...

(born 1951 in Kvæfjord) politician, Mayor of Kvæfjord 1986 to 1995 *

Ivar Andreas Forn Ivar Andreas Forn (born 24 June 1983) is a retired Norwegian football goalkeeper. Forn hails from Kvæfjord and played for Harstad IL before joining FK Bodø/Glimt ahead of the 2008 season. He did not establish himself in the first team, and wa ...

(born 1983 in Kvæfjord) a retired football goalkeeper with over 100 club caps

Gallery

File:Langvassbukt Chapel 2013.jpg, Langvassbukt Chapel File:Ferry Flesnes IMG 9745 copy.jpg, Ferry, Flesnes File:Kvæfjord, Norway - panoramio (1).jpg, Kvæfjord, Norway

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:Kvaefjord Municipalities of Troms og Finnmark 1838 establishments in Norway