Nesna 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 Nesna. Other villages in Nesna include Handnesneset, Husby,

Saura Saura may refer to: * Saura (Hinduism), a Hindu denomination * Saura calendar, the Vedic and medieval Indian solar calendar People * Antonio Saura, Spanish surrealist artist * Carlos Saura, Spanish film director * Enrique Saura, Spanish footb ...

, and Vikholmen. Nesna map thumbview

The municipality consists of the three islands Tomma, Hugla (known as "Hugløy" by its inhabitants), and Handnesøya, and one

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

that bears the name of the municipality, Nesna. The old

Husby Estate The Husby Estate (Norwegian: ''Husbygodset'') is an estate in Helgeland, Norway. It is based in the village of Husby on the southwestern part of the island of Tomma in the municipality of Nesna. History Christensen family Anders Christensen ...

is headquartered in Husby on Tomma island. The Coastal Express arrives two times a day at the village of Nesna, the northbound arrives 05:30 and the southbound 11:15. The village of Nesna is also home to Nordland's education center Nesna University College, and there is also the KVN High School, and

Nesna Church Nesna Church ( no, Nesna kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Nesna Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Nesna. It is the main church for the Nesna parish which is part of the Nord-Helgeland ...

. The municipality is the 309th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Nesna is the 296th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,698. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 6.3% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Nesna 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). The western island district of Nesna (population: 1,348) was separated from Nesna on 1 July 1888 to form the new municipality of

Dønnes Dønnes is a former municipality in the Helgeland traditional region in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1888 until its dissolution in 1962. The former municipality encompassed the northern part of the island of Dønna ...

. This left Nesna with 2,958 residents. On 1 January 1919, the Bardalssjøen farm (population: 4) was transferred from Hemnes Municipality to Nesna Municipality. In 1945, a small area of southern Nesna (population: 26) was transferred to

Leirfjord Municipality Leirfjord is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Leland. Other villages in Leirfjord include Bardalssjøen and Sundøy. Th ...

. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, part of the island of

Løkta Løkta is an island in the municipality of Dønna in Nordland county, Norway. The island is located between the islands of Dønna and Hugla, at the entrance to the Ranfjorden. The village of Sandåker is located on the southern part of the is ...

(population: 80) was transferred from Nesna to the new

Dønna Municipality Dønna is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland region. The administrative centre of the island municipality is the village of Solfjellsjøen. Other villages include Bjørn, Dønnes, Hestad, Sandåker, and V ...

and part of the island of Tomma (population: 80) was transferred from the old municipality of

to Nesna Municipality. Then on 1 January 1964, the Bardalssjøen area of Nesna, located south of the Ranfjorden, was transferred to

. On that same date, the part of Nesna around the inner part of the Sjona fjord was transferred to

Rana Municipality Rana 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 town of Mo i Rana, ...

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old ''Nesna'' farm ( non, Nesnar), since the first

was built there. The name is derived from the word ''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 name was historically spelled ''Nesne''.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 23 June 1989. The arms are a canting of the name of the municipality because they show a yellow-colored "headland" or peninsula surrounded by blue water (''nes'' is Norwegian for headland).

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 Nesna. 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.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Nesna, are responsible for primary education (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 Nesna is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Notable residents

Johan Augustinussen Johan Augustinussen, also written Augustiniussen, (born 10 May 1808 at Langset in Nesna municipality, died 22 November 1888 in Nesna) was a Norwegian curate/choirmaster, teacher and politician. Despite a lack of formal education, straight after hi ...

(born 1808 at Langset - 1888 in Nesna) a curate/choirmaster, teacher and politician *

Hans Christiansen Hans Christiansen may refer to: * Hans Christiansen (sailor) * Hans Christiansen (artist) Hans Christiansen (6 March 1866 in Flensburg – 5 January 1945 in Wiesbaden) was a German craftsman and painter of the Jugendstil ''Jugendstil'' ("You ...

(1867 in Nesna – 1938) a sailor, competed at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

Birger Fredrik Motzfeldt Birger Fredrik Motzfeldt OBE, CVO (22 February 18983 September 1987) was a Norwegian aviator and military officer. During World War II he administered the development of the Royal Norwegian Air Force in exile in Great Britain. During the Cold ...

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

CVO CVO may refer to: Science and technology * Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, Washington, US * Chief veterinary officer, the head of a veterinary authority * Circumventricular organs, positioned around the ventricular system of the brain * Co ...

(1898 in Nesna – 1987) a Norwegian aviator and senior military officer. * Ida Maria (born 1984) a Norwegian musician and singer-songwriter; born and lives in Nesna * Emil Weber Meek (born 1988) a Norwegian professional mixed martial artist, brought up in Nesna *

Ulrik Berglann Ulrik Reinaldo Berglann (born 31 May 1992) is a Norwegian football winger who currently plays for Lyn Ubisoft Montpellier is a French video game developer and a studio of Ubisoft based in Castelnau-le-Lez. Founded in 1994 as Ubi Pictures, ...

(born 1992 in Nesna) a Norwegian footballer with 180 club caps

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 ...

*
Official site of Nesna MunicipalityHammerø nature reserveDillern-Ørnes nature reserve at HandnesøyaHusbymarka nature reserve at Tomma
{{Use dmy dates, date=October 2019 Municipalities of Nordland 1838 establishments in Norway