Lurøy 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 Lurøy, located on the island of Lurøya. Other villages in Lurøy include

Aldra Aldra is an island in the municipality of Lurøy in Nordland county, Norway. It is located just off the mainland coast, north of the village of Haugland and west of Brattland. The island is separated from the mainland by the Aldersundet. The ...

, Haugland, Konsvikosen, Lovund, Sleneset / Solværøyene, Stokkvågen, and Tonnes. The municipality is located on the coast just south of the

Arctic circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...

, on the western edge of the Saltfjellet mountain range. The ''Lurøygården'' (Lurøy Farm) on the island of Lurøya is a more-than-200-year-old renaissance garden with old plants, a pool, and a nearly high Copper

Beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

. The municipality is the 275th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Lurøy is the 286th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,869. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 3.5% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Lurøy 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 1 January 1872, the far western island district (population: 289) was separated from Lurøy to become the new municipality of

Træna Træna is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the island/village of Husøya. Other population centres include Selvær and Sanna. Fishing i ...

. This left Lurøy with 1,554 residents. The borders of Lurøy have not changed since that time.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the island of Lurøya ( Old Norse: ''Lúðrøy''), since the first

Lurøy Church Lurøy Church ( no, Lurøy kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Lurøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the south side of the village of Lurøy on the island of Lurøya. It is the main church for the Lu ...

was built there. The first element is ''lúðr'' which means " hollowed log" (here probably referring to the form of the mountain of the island). The last element is ''øy'' which means " island".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 22 August 1986. The arms show a black

buoy A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. Types Navigational buoys * Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of yac ...

on a gold background. The buoy is an appropriate symbol for a municipality since it 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 two parishes () within the municipality of Lurøy. It is part of the Nord-Helgeland 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.

Geography and climate

Lurøy is located on the western coast of

. The small strip of mainland Lurøy runs from Tonnes in the north along Norwegian County Road 17 to Stokkvågen along the Sjona fjord in the south. The rest of the municipality is located on 1,375 islands located to the west of the mainland. The major islands include

, Lurøya, Onøya,

Stigen Stigen is a locality situated in Färgelanda Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Ki ...

Solvær The Solvær islands ( Solværøyene) are a group of islands in the municipality of Lurøy in Nordland county, Norway. They are located between the islands of Lovund to the west and Onøya to the east. The islands are located about a 90-minute fe ...

, and Lovund. There are also two islands in the northern part of Lurøya that are divided between Lurøy and neighboring

Rødøy Municipality Rødøy is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Våga ...

: Nesøya and Hestmona. The populated islands are reached by car ferry from Stokkvågen on the mainland. The ferry reaches Onøy (which has a bridge to Lurøya), Solvær and Lovund 5 times per day.

Climate

Norwegian Meteorological Institute has operated weather stations on Solvær islands since 1939. Data shows a marine west coast climate (oceanic climate) with very mild winters for the high latitude. Spring and summer are the driest seasons, while December is the wettest month. The all-time high was recorded in July 2018, and the all-time low is from February 1966. The average date for the last overnight freeze (low below ) in spring is 20 April and average date for first freeze in autumn is 5 November giving a frost-free season of 198 days (1981-2010 average for Solvær).

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Lurøy, 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

Rana District Court Rana District Court ( no, Rana tingrett) was a district court in Nordland county, Norway. The court was based in the town of Mo i Rana. The court existed from 1859 until 2021. It served the central part of the county which included the municipal ...

and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council () of Lurøy is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Media gallery

File:Aldersundet Z.jpg, Aldersundet strait and

island; October 8, 2005 File:Lovunden.jpg, The island Lovund with its

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 ...

colony is located in Lurøy File:Aldersundet G.jpg, Aldersundet, October 2005

Notable people

Harry Johan Olai Klippenvåg Harry Johan Olai Klippenvåg (12 May 1913 – 11 November 1994) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He was born in Lurøy Municipality. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Finnmark in 1950, and was re-elected on fo ...

(1913 in Lurøy – 1994) a Norwegian politician, Mayor of Sør-Varanger in 1940's & 50's *

Herluf Nygaard Herluf Nygaard (1 October 1916 – 3 December 2001) was a Norwegian military officer. He was born in Lurøy. He graduated from the Norwegian Military Academy in 1946. He was promoted to Colonel in 1965, and Major General in 1968. He served as G ...

(1916 in Lurøy – 2001) a Norwegian military officer, active resistance fighter during WWII

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:Luroy Municipalities of Nordland 1838 establishments in Norway