or 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 ...

in Nordland

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 ...

. It is part of the

traditional region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic, linguistic or political basis, regardless of latterday borders. They are used as delimitations for studying and analysing social ...

Vesterålen Vesterålen is a district and archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. It is located just north of Lofoten and west of Harstad. It is the northernmost part of Nordland county. Sortland is the largest town, situated near the center of the archipe ...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sortland. Other population centres in Sortland include Bø, Holand,

Holmstad Holmstad is a village in Sortland Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located along the Eidsfjorden on the island of Langøya, about west of the town of Sortland. Indre Eidsfjord Church Indre Eidsfjord Church ( no, Indr ...

, Liland, Sigerfjord,

Strand Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * Strand Street ...

, and

Vik Vik (Old Norse: vík) means wick or bay in Norwegian and Swedish (''vig'' in Danish), and it may refer to the following: Places Iceland *Vík í Mýrdal, a village in southern Iceland Iran *Vik, Iran, a village in Zanjan Province, Iran Norway *V ...

. The

Norwegian Coast Guard The Norwegian Coast Guard ( no, Kystvakten) is a maritime military force which is part of the Royal Norwegian Navy. The coast guard's responsibility are for fisheries inspection, customs enforcement, border control, law enforcement, shipping ...

has its northern base in Sortland, called ''Kystvaktskvadron Nord''. In 1997, the municipal council declared " town status" for the urban area of

Sortland or is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Vesterålen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sortland. Other population centres in Sortland include Bø, Holand, Holmstad, ...

. Sortland is the largest town and commercial centre in

. The town of Sortland is located close to the

Sortland Bridge The Sortland Bridge ( no, Sortlandsbrua) is a cantilever road bridge that crosses the Sortlandssundet strait between the village of Strand on Hinnøya island and the town of Sortland on Langøya island. It is located within Sortland Municipali ...

which crosses the

Sortlandsundet Sortlandsundet or Sortlandssundet ( en, Sortland Sound''Norges Geologiske Undersøkelse'' no. 212. 1983. Trondheim: Norges Geologiske Undersokelse, p. 6.) is a strait or sound in Sortland Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It separates th ...

strait and connects the two large islands of

Langøya Langøya is the third largest island of Norway (outside of Svalbard), with an area of . The island is a part of the Vesterålen archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. The island includes the municipalities of Bø and Øksnes as well as parts ...

and

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 ...

by road. Since a lot of houses in the town are painted blue, Sortland is sometimes referred to as "the blue city". The municipality is the 159th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Sortland is the 109th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 10,468. 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 increased by 4.9% over the previous 10-year period. In January 2012, the number of citizens in Sortland reached 10,000 for the first time.

General information

The municipality of Sortland was established in 1841 when it was separated from the large

Hadsel Municipality Hadsel ( sme, Válafierda) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Vesterålen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Stokmarknes. Other villages in Hadsel include Fiskebø ...

. 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 1963, the Holm area (population: 65) along the

Gavlfjorden Gavlfjorden is a fjord (more accurately, a sound) in Nordland county, Norway. The long fjord separates the large islands of Langøya and Andøya in the Vesterålen archipelago and it runs along the border of three municipalities: Øksnes, Andø ...

was transferred from Langenes Municipality to Sortland. Also on that date, the area around the inner and western part of the Eidsfjorden (population: 1,360) was transferred from

to Sortland. On 1 January 2000, the area surrounding the Godfjorden was transferred from

Kvæfjord Municipality 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 of the municipality is the village of Borkenes. Other villages include ...

(and

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) to Sortland (and Nordland county).

Name

The municipality (originally the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

) is named after the old ''Sortland'' farm (

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 ...

: ''Svortuland''), since the first Sortland Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of a river name ''Svorta'' and the last element is ''land'' which means "land" or "

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...

". The river name is derived from ''svartr'' which means "black/dark".

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 15 March 1985. It shows a gold-colored castle gate on a blue background. The gate symbolizes Sortland as the gateway to the Vesterålen region with its many lakes. The arms were based on the seal used by the municipality since the 1950s, which also showed a (natural) gate in a landscape. The blue colour symbolises the blue sea.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish () within the municipality of Sortland. It is part of the

Vesterålen prosti Vesterålen is a district and archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. It is located just north of Lofoten and west of Harstad. It is the northernmost part of Nordland county. Sortland is the largest town, situated near the center of the archipe ...

( deanery) in the

Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland Sør-Hålogaland is a diocese in the Church of Norway. The Diocese covers the Lutheran Church of Norway churches located within Nordland county in Norway. The diocese is headquartered in the town of Bodø at Bodø Cathedral, the seat of the ...

Geography

The municipality of Sortland is located on the islands of

and

in the

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

. The municipality surrounds the inner part of the Eidsfjorden and the

Sortlandssundet Sortlandsundet or Sortlandssundet ( en, Sortland Sound''Norges Geologiske Undersøkelse'' no. 212. 1983. Trondheim: Norges Geologiske Undersokelse, p. 6.) is a strait or sound in Sortland Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It separates the ...

strait. There are several bridges in the municipality including Djupfjordstraumen Bridge, Kvalsaukan Bridge, and

. The

is located just north of the town of Sortland. One of the main roads through the municipality is

Norwegian County Road 82 County Road 82 ( no, Fylkesvei 82) is a road in Nordland county, Norway. It runs between the village of Fiskebøl (in Hadsel Municipality) and the town of Andenes (in Andøy Municipality). The road runs through the municipalities of Hadsel, Sortl ...

. The mountain Møysalen and part of

Møysalen National Park Møysalen National Park ( no, Møysalen nasjonalpark) is a national park located on the island of Hinnøya in Nordland county, Norway. The park was established in 2003 to preserve undisturbed coastal alpine landscape. The scenery is character ...

are located in southern Sortland.

Midnight Sun and Aurora Borealis

The

midnight sun The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When the midnight sun is seen in the Arctic, ...

occurs from May 23 to July 23. Great places to observe the midnight sun includes the Sortland Bridge, Ramnflauget, Godfjorden, Holm, and Skytterhaugen in the Vestmarka residential area. Because of Sortland's high latitude, there is no real darkness between late April and mid-August.

Polar night The polar night is a phenomenon where the nighttime lasts for more than 24 hours that occurs in the northernmost and southernmost regions of Earth. This occurs only inside the polar circles. The opposite phenomenon, the polar day, or midni ...

occurs in Sortland from 30 November to 12 January when the sun remains below the horizon and is not visible at all. The return of the sun is an occasion for celebration (pupils always claim to have spotted the sun before the actual return and hope to be given the day off in celebration). The polar night does not mean that it becomes totally dark. The experience of the winter with the uniqueness of the light, the northern lights, and snow is fantastic. Especially beautiful is the blue light southwards where the sky can also be colored in pink, just before it becomes dark. Sortland and the Vesterålen region are perfect for observing the spectacular

Aurora Borealis An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

(Northern Lights) phenomenon. The aurora borealis trails its multi coloured banner across the sky and the moon lights the scene making it a breathtaking experience. Pictures taken here have been presented in National Geographic Magazine.

Climate

Sortland has a

subpolar oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

. The weather station (Sortland-Kleiva) has been recording since January 1956. The record high of was set on July 29, 2018. The record low was set in January 2016 (extremes available since 2004). The average date for first overnight freeze (below ) in autumn is October 14 (1981-2010 average).

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Sortland, 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

Vesterålen District Court Vesterålen District Court ( no, Vesterålen tingrett) was a district court in Nordland county, Norway. The court was based in the town of Sortland. The court existed until 2021. It served the Vesterålen district in the northern part of the co ...

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 Sortland is made up of 27 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:

Mayor

The mayors of Sortland (incomplete list): *2019–present: Karl-Erling Nordlund ( Sp) *2015-2019: Tove Mette Bjørkmo ( Ap) *2011-2015: Grete Ellingsen ( H) *2003-2011: Svein Roar Jacobsen (Ap) *1995-2003: Ingolf Markussen (H) *1994-1995: Ronald Steen *1988-1994: Hill-Marta Solberg (Ap)

Music and culture

Sortland has been regarded as one of the best music communities in Norway, and the local band Madrugada has been one of the best ones in the nation. Sortland Jazz Festival is an event organized by Sortland Jazz and Music Club, which takes place every autumn. Some of the world's leading jazz musicians have been participating.

Shopping

Sortland is the largest commercial centre in

with several indoors shopping centers and many small businesses. The retail turnover per inhabitant in Sortland is greater than in any other town in North Norway. Sortland is one of the few North Norwegian towns that have grown annually since the 1970s.

Notable residents

Knut Hamsun Knut Hamsun (4 August 1859 – 19 February 1952) was a Norwegian writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. Hamsun's work spans more than 70 years and shows variation with regard to consciousness, subject, Point of view ...

(1859–1952) the Nobel Prize–winning author wrote his novel ''Den Sidste Glæde'' (The Last Joy) in Sortland Hotel in 1911/12 * Petter Carl Reinsnes (1904 in Reinsnes – 1976) politician, long-time Mayor of Sortland * Hill-Marta Solberg (born 1951 in Sortland) politician and County Governor of Nordland *

Lars Saabye Christensen Lars Saabye Christensen (born 21 September 1953 in Oslo) is a Norwegian/Danish author. Saabye Christensen was raised in the Skillebekk neighbourhood of Oslo, but lived for many years in Sortland in northern Norway; both places play a major r ...

(born 1953) a Norwegian/Danish author, lived in Sortland * Olav Christopher Jenssen (born 1954 in Sortland) a Norwegian artist and academic * Oddmund Finnseth (born 1957 in Sortland) a jazz musician, composer and music teacher * Sivert Høyem (born 1976 in Kleiva) singer with the rock band Madrugada * Krister Wemberg (born 1992 in Sortland) a footballer with over 200 club caps *

Ingrid Skjoldvær Ingrid Skjoldvær (born 8 August 1993) is a Norwegian environmentalist and a former chairperson of the environmental organisation Nature and Youth. She comes from Sortland in Vesterålen and has held several positions in the organisation, most ...

(born 1993) a Norwegian environmentalist with

Nature and Youth Natur og Ungdom (NU) which translates Nature and Youth, also known in English as Young Friends of the Earth Norway, is a Norwegian youth environment protecting organisation. It is the only environmentalist youth organisation in Norway. 7,000 memb ...

Gallery

IMG 1897a - Djupfjorden.jpg, Djupfjorden in Sortland Straße Nordnorwegen.jpg, View from Sortland looking south Sortland Bridge and hurtigruta.jpg,

and Hurtigruta, February 2007. Stortinn i Vesterålen august 2006 022.jpg, View of the Sigerfjorden. The village closest is Sigerfjord, and across the sound in the background is Sortland town.

References

External links

*
Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway
Information from Sortland Municipality

Vesterålen Tourist informationForfjorddalen nature reserve
(the oldest pine trees in Norway) {{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Vesterålen Municipalities of Nordland Populated places of Arctic Norway 1841 establishments in Norway