Ibestad ( sme, Ivvárstádik) 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 ...

. 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 ...

Central Hålogaland Central Hålogaland ( no, Midtre Hålogland) is a district of Northern Norway constituting the traditional districts of Ofoten, Lofoten, Vesterålen and Southern Troms og Finnmark. It has a population of 117,000, with the largest towns being Hars ...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hamnvik. Some of the other larger villages in Ibestad include Engenes, Laupstad, Rollnes, Sørrollnes, Sørvika, and Å. The municipality is the 292nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Ibestad is the 312th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,289 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 8.6% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Ibestad Gratangen IMG 4901 rolla is andörja is gratangen

The municipality of Ibestad was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). Initially, Ibestad municipality covered a large area from the Vågsfjorden to the border with Sweden (the old Astafjord church parish). In 1854, the rural eastern half of the municipality (population: 757) was separated from Ibestad to form the new

Bardu Municipality 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 municipa ...

. This left Ibestad with 4,741 residents. Then, on 1 January 1871, the northeastern part of the municipality (population: 1,384) was separated from Ibestad to form the new

Salangen Municipality Salangen is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sjøvegan, where most of the people in the municipality live. Other villages include Elvenes, Laberg, and Seljesk ...

. This left Ibestad with 4,301 inhabitants. On 1 January 1907, the easternmost area of Ibestad (population: 1,536) became the separate Lavangen Municipality. Ibestad had 5,709 residents remaining after the split. In 1926, the municipality of Ibestad was divided into four separate municipalities: Andørja (population: 1,420) in the northeast,

Gratangen Gratangen ( sme, Rivttága suohkan) 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 Årstein. The municipal ...

(population: 1,967) in the southeast, Astafjord (population: 1,018) in the southwest, and (a much smaller) Ibestad (population: 1,768) in the northwest. 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 municipality of Ibestad (population: 1,821) was merged with the municipality of Andørja (population: 1,330) and the part of

Skånland Municipality Skånland ( sme, Skánit) is a former municipality that was located in the old Troms county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1926 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Tjeldsund Municipality. It was part of the Central Hål ...

located on the island of Rolla (population: 143), creating a new Ibestad Municipality with a total of 3,294 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 (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 ''Ibestad'' 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 ...

: ''Ívarsstaðir''), since the first Ibestad Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the male name ''Ívarr'' and the last element is ''staðir'' which means "

homestead Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses * Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres *Homestead principle, a legal concept t ...

" 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 ...

". Prior to 1918, the name was spelled ''Ibbestad''.

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 ...

is modern and it was approved on 19 December 1986. The blue and white arms symbolize one of the oldest Norwegian stone churches. The church was built in Ibestad around the year 1200. As a symbol for this church, the arms show a

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

on a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

tombstone that was found at the church in 1960.

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes () within the municipality of Ibestad. It is part of the Trondenes 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 encompasses the islands of Andørja and Rolla and the tiny surrounding islets. The two main islands are connected by the undersea Ibestad Tunnel. The Mjøsund Bridge connects Andørja to

on the mainland. There is a regular ferry connection from Sørrollnes on Rolla to the town of Harstad. 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 ...

forms the southeastern border of the municipality and the Vågsfjorden forms the western and northern borders. The small Mjøsundet strait forms the eastern border. The highest point in Ibestad is the tall Langlitinden mountain.

Climate

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Ibestad, 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 Trondenes District Court 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 Ibestad 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

* Håkon Martin Breivoll (1886 in Ibestad – 1955) a Norwegian politician, Mayor of Ibestad municipality from 1922 to 1940

References

External links

* *
Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway * {{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Troms og Finnmark Populated places of Arctic Norway 1838 establishments in Norway