Salangen is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Troms og Finnmark Troms og Finnmark (; sme, Romsa ja Finnmárku ; fkv, Tromssa ja Finmarkku; fi, Tromssa ja Finnmark, lit. Troms and Finnmark in English), is a county in northern Norway that was established on 1 January 2020 as the result of a regional reform. ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of

Sjøvegan Sjøvegan is the administrative centre of Salangen Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The village is located at the end of the Sagfjorden, a branch of the Salangen fjord. The river Salangselva empties into the fjord at Sjøvegan. T ...

, where most of the people in the municipality live. Other villages include Elvenes, Laberg, and

Seljeskog Seljeskog is a village in Salangen Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located north of the village of Sjøvegan and northeast of the village of Skårvika. It has a sports team, Seljeskog IL. Canadian ski jumper Nels Nelse ...

. The municipality is situated along the Sagfjorden in south central Troms county. The municipality is mostly coastal areas around the fjord as well as some inland

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

s. Salangen is home to the world's northernmost

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

population. The municipality is the 219th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Salangen is the 276th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,087. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

is and its population has decreased by 5.7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Salangen was established on 1 January 1871 when it was separated from the large municipality of

Ibestad Ibestad ( sme, Ivvárstádik) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Central Hålogaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hamnvik. Some of the other larger ...

. The initial population of Salangen was 1,384. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee ( no, Schei-komitéen) was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II. It convened in 1946, and its formal name was (The 1946 Committee on Municip ...

. On 1 January 1964, the neighboring municipalities of

Lavangen Lavangen ( se, Loabák) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tennevoll. Other villages in Lavangen include Fossbakken and Spansdalen (in the inland areas) and ...

(population: 1,677) and Salangen (population: 2,611) were merged to form a new, larger Salangen Municipality with a new population of 4,288. This merger was not popular and on 1 January 1977, it was mostly undone. Most of the old Lavangen municipality (except for the Lavangsnes area) was separated from Salangen to form a separate municipality once again. After the split, Salangen remained with 2,611 residents. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed

county. Previously, it had been part of the old

Troms Troms (; se, Romsa; fkv, Tromssa; fi, Tromssa) is a former county in northern Norway. On 1 January 2020 it was merged with the neighboring Finnmark county to create the new Troms og Finnmark county. This merger is expected to be reversed by t ...

county.

Name

The municipality is named after the Salangen fjord (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

: ''Selangr''). The first element is ''selr'' which means "

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...

" and the last element is ''angr'' which means "fjord".

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

was granted on 2 December 1985. The arms show a white

on a blue background. They are

canting arms Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name (or, less often, some attribute or function) in a visual pun or rebus. French heralds used the term (), as they would sound out the name of the armiger. Many armorial all ...

since the name of the municipality is derived from the old word "Sellanger", meaning seal fjord.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish () within the municipality of Salangen. It is part of the Indre Troms prosti ( deanery) 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 Trom ...

Geography

The municipality is located in the southern part of

county, at the northeastern end of the

Astafjorden Astafjorden is a fjord (more accurately, a strait) in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It flows through the municipalities of Salangen, Gratangen, Ibestad, and Tjeldsund. The long fjord flows from the Salangen fjord in the east to the Våg ...

. The municipality of

is located west of Salangen, connected by the

Mjøsund Bridge Mjøsund Bridge ( no, Mjøsundbrua) is a cantilever bridge in Ibestad and Salangen municipalities in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is part of the Norwegian County Road 848 that crosses the Mjøsundet strait between the mainland of Norwa ...

;

municipality to the south;

Bardu Bardu ( sme, Bearddu suohkan, fkv, Perttulan komuuni) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Setermoen, the largest urban area in the municipality. The munici ...

to the east; and Dyrøy and

Sørreisa Sørreisa ( sme, Ráisavuona suohkan) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sørreisa. Other villages include Grunnreisa, Skøelva, and Smørsgård. The munic ...

to the north.

Geology

The area itself is part of the

Caledonian Orogeny The Caledonian orogeny was a mountain-building era recorded in the northern parts of the British Isles, the Scandinavian Mountains, Svalbard, eastern Greenland and parts of north-central Europe. The Caledonian orogeny encompasses events that ...

formed of part of a series of

Nappe In geology, a nappe or thrust sheet is a large sheetlike body of rock that has been moved more than or above a thrust fault from its original position. Nappes form in compressional tectonic settings like continental collision zones or on the o ...

s that run down the coast of Norway. These nappes were

metamorphosed Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...

as a result of partial subduction beneath

Laurentia Laurentia or the North American Craton is a large continental craton that forms the ancient geological core of North America. Many times in its past, Laurentia has been a separate continent, as it is now in the form of North America, althoug ...

during the early to middle

Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...

. On a smaller scale, the municipality is located mainly on

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...

(known as Sjøvegan quartzite locally and regionally as Bø quartzite). In the hills to the south, there is

garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different s ...

-rich

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes ...

(known as Trollvannet schist). Across the nearby lake Nervatnet and towards the village of Strokkenes,

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

within

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

is present (Høglund marble and Strokkenes granite). This granite is Leucratic, an indicative sign of granite intruded within an

orogenic Orogeny is a mountain building process. An orogeny is an event that takes place at a convergent plate margin when plate motion compresses the margin. An ''orogenic belt'' or ''orogen'' develops as the compressed plate crumples and is uplifted t ...

mountain building event.

Climate

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Salangen, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services,

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...

and other social services,

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. The municipality is governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elect a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

. The municipality falls under the

Ofoten District Court Ofoten District Court ( no, Ofoten tingrett) was a district court in Nordland county (and a small part of Troms) in Norway. The court was based in the town of Narvik. The court existed until 2021. The court served the northeastern part of the N ...

and the

Hålogaland Court of Appeal The Hålogaland Court of Appeal ( no, Hålogaland lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Tromsø. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Nordland, Troms, and Finnmark as ...

Municipal council

The

of Salangen is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featur ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Notable people

Nels Nelsen Nels Nelsen (3 June 1894 – 3 June 1943), born Nils Johan Nilsen and sometimes referred to as Nels Nelson, was a Norwegian-born Canadian ski jumper active between 1916 and 1932. Later he was ski jumping organizer. He was among the world's best ...

(1894 in Salangen – 1943) a Canadian ski jumper active from 1916 to 1932 * Dag Tønder (1907 in Salangen – 1989) an editor, lawyer, judge and acting county governor * Birger Vestermo (born 1930 in Salangen) a cross-country skier, competed at the 1956 Winter Olympics * Bård Tønder (born 1948 in Salangen) a Norwegian judge;

Supreme Court Justice The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest-ranking judicial body in the United States. Its membership, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869, consists of the chief justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme ...

from 2006 to 2018

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway
Salangen municipality - official webpage
* * * {{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Troms og Finnmark Populated places of Arctic Norway 1871 establishments in Norway