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Vikna is a large island archipelago and a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1869 until its dissolution in 2020 when it joined
Nærøysund Municipality Nærøysund is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Namdalen. The municipality was established on 1 January 2020 after the merger of the old municipalities of Vikna and Nærøy. The municipali ...
. It was part of the Namdalen 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 was the town of Rørvik. Other villages in Vikna included Austafjord, Garstad, and
Valøya Valøya is a village in the municipality of Nærøysund in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located on the western edge of the island of Ytter-Vikna, about west of the municipal centre, Rørvik. Valøy Chapel Valøy Church ( no, Valøy kapell) ...
. At the time of its dissolution in 2020, the municipality was the 269th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Vikna was the 221st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 4,492. The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 11.4% over the last decade.


General information

The municipality of Vikten was established on 1 July 1869 when it was separated from the large municipality of Nærøy. Initially, the population of Vikten was 1,749. On 1 January 1881, a small area of
Fosnes Fosnes is a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Namsos Municipality. It was part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the muni ...
(population: 61) was transferred to Vikten. The name of the municipality was later changed to Vikna. On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old
Nord-Trøndelag Nord-Trøndelag (; "North Trøndelag") was a county constituting the northern part of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. The county was established in 1804 when the old Trondhjems amt was divided into two: Nordre Trondhjems amt and S ...
county to the new Trøndelag county. On 1 January 2020, the municipality of Vikna was merged with most of the neighboring municipality of Nærøy to form the new
Nærøysund Municipality Nærøysund is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Namdalen. The municipality was established on 1 January 2020 after the merger of the old municipalities of Vikna and Nærøy. The municipali ...
. The
Lund Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...
area in Nærøy was not part of the merger. It became part of the newly enlarged
Namsos Municipality ( sma, Nåavmesjenjaelmie) is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Namsos. Some of the villages in the municipality include Bangsund, Kl ...
on the same date.


Name

The municipality was named after the three large islands in the municipality: ''
Inner-Vikna Inner-Vikna (sometimes ''Indre Vikna'') is the largest of the three major islands in the municipality of Nærøysund in Trøndelag county, Norway. The island is located in the eastern part of the municipality and it includes the village of Rørv ...
'', '' Mellom-Vikna'', and '' Ytter-Vikna'' ( non, Víkn). The name is derived from the word ''vík'' which means " cove" or "wick". (The islands are scored by numerous coves and inlets.)


Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 13 May 1988. The arms show three white salmon on a blue background. This was chosen because salmon fishing and farming was (and still is) an important source of income in the municipality.


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 ...
had one parish () within the municipality of Vikna. It was part of the
Namdal prosti This list of churches in Nidaros is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Nidaros which covers all of Trøndelag county in Norway. The list is divided into several sections, one for each deanery in the diocese. Administrat ...
(
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 Nidaros Nidaros is a diocese in the Lutheran Church of Norway. It covers Trøndelag county in Central Norway and its cathedral city is Trondheim, which houses the well-known Nidaros Cathedral. Since 10 September 2017, the Bishop of Nidaros is Herborg ...
.


Geography

The municipality consisted of a large island archipelago with some 6,000 large and small islands going far into the Norwegian Sea off the northwestern coast of Trøndelag county. Vikna is the largest spawning area for
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 ...
south of Lofoten. The three largest islands are:
Inner-Vikna Inner-Vikna (sometimes ''Indre Vikna'') is the largest of the three major islands in the municipality of Nærøysund in Trøndelag county, Norway. The island is located in the eastern part of the municipality and it includes the village of Rørv ...
, closest to the mainland, Mellom-Vikna, and then Ytter-Vikna as the westernmost island. Other islands include Borgan and Lauvøya. The main village for the municipality was Rørvik, located on the eastern shore of Inner-Vikna, facing the mainland across the Nærøysundet strait. The many islands in the area means that there are many lighthouses including
Gjeslingene Lighthouse Gjeslingene Lighthouse ( no, Gjeslingene fyr) is a coastal lighthouse in the municipality of Nærøysund in Trøndelag, Norway. It was established in 1877, was reinforced in 1961 and automated in 1987. Gjæslingan lighthouse stands on the i ...
,
Grinna Lighthouse Grinna Lighthouse ( no, Grinna fyr) is a coastal lighthouse in the municipality of Nærøysund in Trøndelag, Norway. It was established in 1904 and automated in 1987. Grinna lighthouse stands on the islet of Grinna in the South Gjæslingan is ...
,
Nærøysund Lighthouse Nærøysund Lighthouse ( no, Nærøysund fyr) is a coastal lighthouse in the municipality of Nærøysund in Trøndelag, Norway. This lighthouse replaced the Prestøy Lighthouse in Nærøy (across the Nærøysundet strait) that was in operation f ...
, and
Nordøyan Lighthouse Nordøyan Lighthouse ( no, Nordøyan fyr) is a coastal lighthouse in the municipality of Nærøysund in Trøndelag, Norway. It was established in 1890 and automated in 1989. The light is powered on all year except from May 12 until July 25 due to ...
. On 21 October 1962, the coastal steamer ( Hurtigruten) ''Sanct Svithun'' run aground on ''Nordøyan'' as a result of navigational error. The ship sunk, and there was a tragic loss of 41 lives. A memorial bauta was raised on Nordøyan in 2002.


Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Vikna, 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
Namdal District Court Namdal District Court ( no, Namdal tingrett) was a district court in Trøndelag county, Norway. The court was based in the town of Namsos in Namsos municipality. The court existed until 2021. It served the municipalities of Flatanger, Fosnes, Gr ...
and the Frostating Court of Appeal.


Municipal council

The municipal council () of Vikna is made up of 23 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:


Economy

Fishing, fish farming, public services, and agriculture are the main sources of income. The ''Norveg museum'', devoted to the coastal way of life through the centuries, is located in Rørvik. The Vikna Wind Farm is located on Mellom-Vikna, just west of Garstad, and it produces power for much of the municipality.


Transportation

Hurtigruten boats stop frequently at Rørvik and
Norwegian County Road 770 Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...
via the
Nærøysund Bridge The Nærøysund Bridge ( no, Nærøysund bru) is a suspension bridge that crosses the Nærøysundet strait between the islands of Marøya and Nærøysund in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located about south of the village of Rørvik. Togeth ...
connects Vikna to the mainland and
European route E6 European route E6 ( no, Europavei 6, sv, Europaväg 6, or simply E6) is the main north-south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and t ...
. There is also the small
Rørvik Airport, Ryum Rørvik is a port town and administrative centre in the municipality of Nærøysund in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is on the eastern side of the Vikna archipelago on the island of Inner-Vikna. The town has a population (2022) of 3,385 and a ...
, just south of Rørvik. Vikna and neighbouring Nærøy form a common work area with nearly 10,000 inhabitants.


Notable people

*


See also

*
List of former municipalities of Norway This is a list of former municipalities of Norway, i.e. municipalities that no longer exist. When the local council system was introduced in Norway in 1837-38, the country had 392 municipalities. In 1958 the number had grown to a total of 744 rur ...


References


External links

*
Norveg MuseumCultural map of Vikna


{{authority control Nærøysund Former municipalities of Norway Archipelagoes of the Atlantic Ocean Archipelagoes of Norway 1869 establishments in Norway 2020 disestablishments in Norway Populated places disestablished in 2020