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Vågan ( sme, Vuogát) 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 traditional district of Lofoten. 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 town of Svolvær. Some of the villages in Vågan include
Digermulen Digermulen is a village in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the southwestern tip of the large island of Hinnøya. It is the main village of eastern Vågan since that part of the municipality is not directly connec ...
,
Gimsøysand Gimsøysand or Gimsøy is a village in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located on the northeastern shore of the island of Gimsøya Gimsøya is an island in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Gimsà ...
,
Gravermarka Gravermarka is a small village in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the western side of the island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago. The village of Sydalen lies about southeast of the village. Graverm ...
,
Henningsvær Henningsvær is a fishing village in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on several small islands off the southern coast of the large island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago. The village is located about sou ...
, Hopen, Kabelvåg, Kleppstad,
Laupstad Laupstad is a village in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the island of Austvågøya at the end of the Austnesfjorden, about north of the village of Liland. The European route E10 highway runs through the vill ...
, Liland,
Skrova Skrova is a small island group and village area in VÃ¥gan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Village The fishing village of Skrova lies on the northern part of the island group. It exists mostly on the island of ''Heimskrova'', but also i ...
,
Straumnes Straumnes is a village in the municipality of Vågan in Nordland county, Norway. It is located just east of the village of Laukvika along the Vesterålsfjorden (a part of the Norwegian Sea) on the northwestern side of the island of Austvågøya ...
, and
Sydalen Sydalen is a village in the municipality of Vågan in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the west coast of the island of Austvågøya, about north of the Gimsøystraumen Bridge on the European route E10 European route E10 is th ...
. The municipality is the 210th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. VÃ¥gan is the 115th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 9,724. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 7% over the previous 10-year period.


General information

VÃ¥gan 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). In 1856, the northwestern part of Vågan Municipality (population: 987) was separated to form the new Gimsøy Municipality. On 1 July 1918, the town of Svolvær (population: 2,429) was separated to form its own municipality. This left Vågan with 3,399 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the municipalities of Gimsøy (population: 1,551), Svolvær (population: 3,952), and Vågan (population: 4,820) were merged to form the new, larger municipality of Vågan.


Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old ''Vågan'' farm ( Old Norse: ''Vágar''), since the first
Vågan Church Vågan Church ( no, Vågan kirke; nickname: ''Lofoten Cathedral'') is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Kabelvåg on the island of Austvågøya. It is the ...
was built there. The name is the plural form of ''vág'' which means "
bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...
". The island of Austvågøya (Old Norse: ''Vágøy'') was named after this important site (which later led the neighboring island to be named Vestvågøya). The name was historically spelled ''Vaagan''.


Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 30 March 1973. The arms show a white colored
cod Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...
on a blue background. This was chosen because fishing is the main source of income for the municipality. The cod was also part of the older arms of the town/municipality of Svolvær.


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 five parishes () within the municipality of VÃ¥gan. It is part of the Lofoten 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

The main population centres are the town of Svolvær and the villages of Kabelvåg and
Henningsvær Henningsvær is a fishing village in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on several small islands off the southern coast of the large island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago. The village is located about sou ...
, located on the largest island, Austvågøya (although Svolvær and Henningsvær are partly located on smaller islands adjacent to the main island). All three have a picturesque situation under the rugged Lofoten mountains, facing the rough body of water called
Vestfjorden Vestfjorden is a long fjord or oceanic sea in Nordland county, Norway. The name literally means "the west fjord", although it is called a fjord, it could best be described as a firth or an open bight of sea. The "fjord" lies between the Lofote ...
. Vågan municipality includes over half of Austvågøya island, all of the islands of
Gimsøya Gimsøya is an island in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Gimsøya is situated between the islands of Austvågøya and Vestvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago. The island has a population (2016) of 181. The European route E10 ...
,
Skrova Skrova is a small island group and village area in VÃ¥gan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Village The fishing village of Skrova lies on the northern part of the island group. It exists mostly on the island of ''Heimskrova'', but also i ...
,
Stormolla Stormolla is an island in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the Lofoten islands, south of the large islands of Austvågøya and Hinnøya and northeast of the smaller islands of Litlmolla and Skrova. The highest p ...
,
Litlmolla Litlmolla is an uninhabited island in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The island lies east of the town of Svolvær in the Vestfjorden. The island is located in the Lofoten archipelago, south of the large island of Austvågøya, ...
, numerous other tiny islets, plus the southwestern tip 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 ...
. The Moholmen Lighthouse and
Skrova Lighthouse Skrova Lighthouse ( no, Skrova fyr) is a coastal lighthouse in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on a small skerry southwest of the island of Skrova which is in the Vestfjorden south of the island of Austvågøya. Hi ...
are both located in the Vestfjorden. Two notable mountains in the municipality are Higravstinden and
Svolværgeita Svolværgeita or Geita ( sme, Spålla) is a tall pinnacle at the southwest face of the mountain Fløyfjellet on the island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago. The high Fløyfjellet is located on the edge of the town of Svolvær in Vå ...
. Other mountains include Fløyfjellet,
Trakta Litlkorsnestinden, or Trakta ( en, The Funnel), is a mountain in Hadsel Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The tall mountain lies on the island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago, just north of the Trollfjorden. The summit is the ...
, and VÃ¥gakallen.


Climate

Skrova near Svolvær has a temperate climate (marine west coast) in the 1991-2020 period.


Government

All municipalities in Norway, including VÃ¥gan, 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 Lofoten District Court and the HÃ¥logaland Court of Appeal.


Municipal council

The municipal council () of VÃ¥gan is made up of 29 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:


Mayor

The mayors of Vågan (incomplete list): *2019–present: Frank Johnsen ( Sp) *2011-2019: Eivind Holst ( H) *1999-2011: Hugo Bjørnstad ( Ap) *1983-1995: Steinar Molvik (Ap) *1911-1913:
Jonas Pedersen Jonas Pedersen (20 September 1871–1953) was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party. He served as the County Governor of Nordland county from 1913 until 1921 and then he was the County Governor of Aust-Agder county from 1921 until 19 ...
( V)


History and economy

Kabelvåg is the oldest fishing village in Lofoten, where King Øystein built the first fishing shacks in the early 12th century. The Lofoten Cathedral, built in 1898, seats 1,200 people, and used to be filled to the last seat during the Lofoten fishing in the winter. Henningsvær has a picturesque situation on several islands, and is today more important for fishing. Svolvær is the municipal centre, and has an impressive number of artists' studios and galleries. In addition to the cod fisheries, salmon fish farming and tourism are economically important in Vågan.


Transportation

The islands that make up Vågan are connected by several different bridges. The European route E10 highway connects the neighboring municipality of Vestvågøy to Vågan (Gimsøya island) by the
Sundklakkstraumen Bridge The Sundklakkstraumen Bridge ( no, Sundklakkstraumen bru) is a cantilever road bridge that crosses the Sundklakkstraumen strait between the islands of Gimsøya (in the municipality of Vågan) and Vestvågøya (in the municipality of Vestvågøy) i ...
. Gimsøya island connects to Austvågøya island by the
Gimsøystraumen Bridge The Gimsøystraumen Bridge ( no, Gimsøystraumen bru / Gimsøybrua) is a cantilever road bridge that crosses the Gimsøystraumen strait between the islands of Austvågøya and Gimsøya in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The conc ...
. The islands of Henningsvær are connected to Austvågøya by the
Henningsvær Bridges The Henningsvær Bridges ( no, Henningsværbruene) are two box girder cantilever bridges made of prestressed concrete. The bridges connect the fishing village and island of Henningsvær to the rest of Vågan Municipality on the main island of A ...
. The rest of the small islands are only accessible by boats and ferries. In the town of Svolvær, the
Svinøy Bridge The Svinøy Bridge ( no, Svinøybrua) is a cantilever road bridge in the town of Svolvær in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The bridge connects the small island of Svinøya with the "main island" of Austvågøya in the middle of ...
connects the main part of town to the island of Svinøya.
Svolvær Airport, Helle Svolvær () is the administrative centre of Vågan Municipality in Nordland County, Norway. It is located on the island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago, along the Vestfjorden. The town has a population (2018) of 4,720 which gives the ...
is located just east of the town of Svolvær.


Sister cities

* Ancona, Italy


Notable people

*
Eystein I of Norway Eystein Magnusson (Old Norse: ''Eysteinn Magnússon'', Norwegian: ''Øystein Magnusson''; c. 1088 – 29 August 1123) was King of Norway (as Eystein I) from 1103 to 1123 together with his brothers Sigurd the Crusader and Olaf Magnusson, although s ...
(ca.1088–1123) King of Norway, 1103 to 1123; founded Vågan *
Paul Egede Paul or Poul Hansen Egede (9 September 1708 – 6 June 1789) was a Dano-Norwegian theologian, missionary, and scholar who was principally concerned with the Lutheran mission among the Kalaallit people in Greenland that had been established by his ...
(1708 in Kabelvåg – 1789) a Dano-Norwegian theologian, scholar and Lutheran missionionary to the Kalaallit people in Greenland *
Niels Rasch Egede Niels Rasch Egede (1710 – 31 August 1782) was a Danish-Norwegian merchant and Lutheran missionary in Greenland. Biography He was born at VÃ¥gan in the Lofoten archipelago to Lutheran missionary Hans Egede (1686–1758) and his wife Gertru ...
(1710 in Vågan – 1782) a Danish-Norwegian merchant and Lutheran missionary in Greenland * Gunnar Berg (1863 on Svinøya – 1893) painted the everyday life of local fishermen in Lofoten *
Martin Hoff Ekroll Martin Hoff Ekroll (16 February 1865–15 May 1916) was a Norwegian merchant, mountaineer and Arctic explorer. He was born in the village of Skroven in the islands of Lofoten in Nordland, Norway. He operated a fishing station at KabelvÃ¥g o ...
(1865 in Skroven – 1916) a merchant, mountaineer and Arctic explorer * Erna Schøyen (born 1887 in Kabelvåg – 1968) a Norwegian actress * Gisken Wildenvey (1892 at Austvågøy – 1985) a novelist and author of short stories *
Soffi Schønning Soffi Schønning (October 2, 1895 – September 9, 1994) was a Norwegian operatic soprano. Schønning was born in Kabelvåg. She studied under Borghild Langaard in Christiania, and under Mme. Luisa Cappiani in London . She made her professiona ...
(1895 in Kabelvåg – 1994) a Norwegian operatic soprano * Ellen Einan (1931 in Svolvær – 2013) a Norwegian poet and illustrator *
Dagfinn Bakke Dagfinn Bakke (16 August 1933 – 1 January 2019) was a Norwegian painter, illustrator and printmaker. Career Bakke was born in Lødingen, and settled in Svolvær. From 1952 he worked as illustrator for the magazine '' Magasinet For Alle''. From ...
(1933–2019 in Svolvær) a Norwegian painter, illustrator and printmaker * Hans Christian Alsvik (1936 in Svolvær – 2011) a Norwegian television presenter * Jack Berntsen (1940–2010) a philologist, songwriter and folk singer; lived in Svolvær from 1968 *
Inger Johanne Grytting Inger Johanne Grytting (born 1949 in Svolvær) is a Norwegian artist primarily known for drawing and painting. She lives and works in New York City. Inger Johanne Grytting has exhibited her art extensively in Norway and internationally. Grytting ...
(born 1949 in Svolvær) an artist, lives and works in New York City *
Maryon Eilertsen Maryon Eilertsen (9 January 1950 – 24 January 2015) was a Norwegian actress and theatre director. She was born in Svolvær. She was educated at the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre, and was assigned with HÃ¥logaland Teater for the mo ...
(1950 in Svolvær – 2015) a Norwegian actress and theatre director * Kari Bremnes (born 1956 in Svolvær) a Norwegian singer and songwriter *
Marit Andreassen Marit Adeleide Andreassen (born 29 March 1966 in Svolvær, Nordland) is a Norwegian actress, born in Svolvær. She graduated from the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre in 1993, and has since worked both at Oslo Nye Teater and at Nationaltheatr ...
(born 1966 in Svolvær) a Norwegian actress IMDb Database
retrieved 17 January 2021 *
Maria Strømme Maria Strømme, (born 7 April 1970 in Svolvær) is a Norwegian physicist who lives and works in Sweden. Career She became a professor in nanotechnology at Uppsala University in 2004. She is Sweden's youngest professor in a technical subject. ...
(born 1970 in Svolvær) a physicist and academic who lives and works in Sweden


Sport

*
Terje Hanssen Terje Hanssen (born 20 September 1948 in Kabelvåg, Lofoten) is a former Norwegian biathlete. At the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, he finished fifth with the Norwegian relay team. He received a bronze medal in the relay at the 1974 Biat ...
(born 1948 in Kabelvåg) a former biathlete, competed at the
1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (german: XII. Olympische Winterspiele, french: XIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 ( bar, Innschbruck 1976, label=Austro-Bavarian), was a ...
*
Ørjan Løvdal Ørjan Løvdal (born 24 September 1962 in Svolvær, Norway) is a Norwegian ice hockey player and coach. He spent most of his career with Stjernen Hockey of the Norwegian Elitserien. He also played for the Norwegian national ice hockey team, and ...
(born 1962 in Svolvær) a Norwegian ice hockey player and coach *
Cato André Hansen Cato André Hansen (born 28 November 1972) is a Norwegian football coach and former defender who played most of his career for Bodø/Glimt in the Norwegian Premier League. After a spell at Bryne, Hansen was player-coach at Stavanger IF for th ...
(born 1972 in Strauman) a football coach and former player with 234 caps for FK Bodø/Glimt *
Stig Johansen Stig Johansen (born 13 June 1972 in Kabelvåg, Lofoten) is a former Norwegian football striker. He made his debut for Bodø/Glimt in 1993 and played 70 games before he was signed by English Premiership side Southampton, in 1997. His spell at the ...
(born 1972 in Kabelvåg) a former footballer with 305 club caps and 3 for Norway


Gallery

File:Austnesfjorden_20170720_174113.jpg, Austnesfjorden File:Lofoten-4.jpg, Henningsvær. File:Vagakallen wiki.jpg, Vågakallen towers over Henningsvær, seen from Kabelvåg. File:Vågan kirke-Kabelvåg.jpg, Kabelvåg landscape with the Vågan Church; early June 2009.


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 ...

Lofoten Golf Links
Golf court at Gimsøy in Vågan
Laukvikøyene nature reserve, a wetland area with rich bird life

Polarlightcenter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaagan Municipalities of Nordland Populated places of Arctic Norway 1838 establishments in Norway