Kvæfjord ( sme, Giehtavuotna) 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 Borkenes. Other villages include Hundstad, Langvassbukta, and Revsnes. Together with

Harstad ( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the town of Harstad, the most populous town in Central Hålogalan ...

, the two municipalities cover a large part of the island of Hinnøya in the southern part of the Troms county. Kvæfjord consists mostly of mountains and fjords. The municipality centers on the Kvæfjorden and Gullesfjorden. Kvæfjord is also where the Norwegian national cake, Kvæfjord cake, originally comes from. The municipality is the 208th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Kvæfjord is the 238th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,789. 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 7.8% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Kvæfjord was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 25 October 1956, a part of Kvæfjord (population: 32) was transferred to neighboring Trondenes municipality. On 1 January 2000, the part of Kvæfjord that surrounded the Godfjorden (population: 102) was transferred from Kvæfjord to

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, ...

municipality (in neighboring Nordland county). 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

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Förden and East Jutland Fjorde, Germany, ...

(

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 ...

: ''Kviðjufjǫrðr''). The first element is the genitive case of the name of the

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

''Kviðja'' (now Kvæøya) and the last element is ''fjǫrðr'' which means "fjord". The name of the island might be derived from the word ''kviðr'' which means "belly" or "

stomach The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach i ...

". Prior to 1889, the name was spelled ''Kvædfjord''.

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 4 April 1986. The green arms show a yellow strawberry plant. The symbolism of the color and the plant is that the main source of income in the municipality is

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

, and it is also the northernmost village in Norway where strawberries can grow.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish () within the municipality of Kvæfjord. It is part of the Trondenes prosti ( deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.

Economy

The municipality is known for

and farming. The quality of the strawberries is famous. The long hours of daylight, combined with relatively low summer temperatures, make the strawberries more tasteful than berries grown in warmer climates. A large institution for the mentally handicapped was once located in Kvæfjord. It employed a large number of health workers.

Geography

The municipality is located on Hinnøya island and it is split by three smaller branches of the large

Andfjorden Andfjorden is a fjord on the border of Nordland and Troms og Finnmark counties in Norway. It primarily flows between the large islands of Andøya and Senja. Grytøya and the smaller islands Bjarkøya and Krøttøya are located in the fjord. Th ...

: Gullesfjorden, Kvæfjorden, and Godfjorden. The island of Kvæøya is located in the middle of the Kvæfjorden, across from Borkenes. The landscape of today was largely formed during the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

. When the ice retreated, the terrain rose by . It is in this belt of old seabed that today's best farm land is located. There are four county roads connecting the municipality: two to the north and one each to the east and south. The tall mountain

Nupen Nupen is a small mountain in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The tall mountain lies on the border of the municipalities of Kvæfjord and Harstad, about west of the town of Harstad. The village of Bremnes, Kvæfjord lies just west of the mo ...

is located in the northern part of the municipality on the border with Harstad.

Climate

Kvæfjord has a subpolar oceanic climate, and is mild for the high latitude. The wettest season is September - January, and the driest season is April - August.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Kvæfjord, 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 Kvæfjord is made up of 23 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

* Johanne Nielsdatter (born in Kvæfjord, died 1695) the last Norwegian woman to be executed for witchcraft * Mikkel Røg (ca. 1679 in Kvæfjord – ca. 1737) Danish-Norwegian medal engraver to the French

Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

1720 to 1737 * Birger Bergersen (1891 in Kvæfjord – 1977) was a Norwegian anatomist, politician, academic professor, rector, diplomat and chairman of the

International Whaling Commission The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is a specialised regional fishery management organisation, established under the terms of the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) to "provide for the proper conservation ...

* Fritz Aagesen (1935 in Kvæfjord – 1998) a Norwegian author of two books of ghost stories * Karl Erik Harr (born 1940 in Kvæfjord) a Norwegian painter, illustrator, graphic artist and author * Bendiks H. Arnesen (born 1951 in Kvæfjord) politician, Mayor of Kvæfjord 1986 to 1995 * Ivar Andreas Forn (born 1983 in Kvæfjord) a retired football goalkeeper with over 100 club caps

Gallery

File:Langvassbukt Chapel 2013.jpg, Langvassbukt Chapel File:Ferry Flesnes IMG 9745 copy.jpg, Ferry, Flesnes File:Kvæfjord, Norway - panoramio (1).jpg, Kvæfjord, Norway

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kvaefjord Municipalities of Troms og Finnmark 1838 establishments in Norway