Malangen ( sme, Málatvuotna or fkv, Malankivuono) is a former municipality in

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 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 ...

. The municipality existed from 1871 until its dissolution in 1964. The old municipality surrounded the Malangen fjord and today that area is divided between the municipalities of

Balsfjord Balsfjord ( sme, Báhccavuotna ; fkv, Paatsivuono) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Storsteinnes. Other villages include Mestervik, Mortenhals, and Nordkj ...

Lenvik Lenvik ( sme, Leaŋgáviika) is a former municipality that was located in the old Troms county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020. The municipality was partly situated on the mainland and partly on the isla ...

Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the ...

, and

Målselv Målselv ( sme, Málatvuomi suohkan) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Moen. The main commercial centre of the municipality is the Bardufoss area (including And ...

. The administrative centre was the village of Mortenhals where the main church for the municipality,

Malangen Church Malangen Church ( no, Malangen kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Balsfjord Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the village of Mortenhals. It is the church for the Malangen parish which is part of t ...

, is located.

History

The Saga of Haakon Haakonarson mentions that in 1242 the king allowed refugees from

Bjarmaland Bjarmaland (also spelt ''Bjarmland'' and ''Bjarmia''; Latin: ''Biarmia''; Old English: ''Beormaland,'' Komi: Биармия ''Biarmia,'' Old Permic: 𐍑𐍙‎𐍐𐍒‎𐍜𐍙‎𐍐) was a territory mentioned in Norse sagas since the Vikin ...

(since they were attacked by the

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

- ) to settle in the area of Malangen. The municipality of Malangen was established on 1 January 1871 when the northern district of

Balsfjord Municipality Balsfjord ( sme, Báhccavuotna ; fkv, Paatsivuono) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Storsteinnes. Other villages include Mestervik, Mortenhals, and Nord ...

and a small peninsula in the Malangen fjord that belonged to

Lenvik Municipality Lenvik ( sme, Leaŋgáviika) is a former municipality that was located in the old Troms county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020. The municipality was partly situated on the mainland and partly on the isla ...

were separated to form the new municipality of Malangen. The initial population of Malangen was 1,425. On 1 January 1873, an area of northern Malangen (population: 287) was transferred to the neighboring Tromsøysund municipality. In 1891, a small part around the village of Målsnes in

Målselv Municipality Målselv ( sme, Málatvuomi suohkan) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Moen. The main commercial centre of the municipality is the Bardufoss area (including And ...

(population: 30) was transferred to Malangen. 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 Malangen ceased to exist. The peninsula including the Navaren and Målsnes areas (population: 118) were transferred to neighboring

. The remaining areas of Malangen (population: 1,940) were transferred back into

Name

The municipality was named after the local Malangen fjord. The name Malangen is probably derived from the

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 ...

word ''mál'' which means " bag" and it may refer to the baggy shape of the fjord. The same word ''mál'' is probably also the origin of the name of the

Målselva The Målselva is a river in Målselv Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The long river flows through the Målselvdalen valley and then empties into the Målselvfjorden, an arm of the Malangen fjord. The municipality and the val ...

, the big river that enters the fjord from the

Målselvdalen Målselvdalen is the largest valley in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The river Målselva runs through the valley, ending at the Målselvfjorden (an arm off the main Malangen fjord). The long valley runs to the north, along with the river, ...

and

Bardu 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 munici ...

valleys (the neighboring

has a similar etymology). The second element of the name ''angr'' which means "inlet" or "fjord".

Government

Municipal council

The

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 Malangen was made up of 19 representatives that were 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 final municipal council was as follows:

Media gallery

Malangen church balsfjord.JPG,

Stabben siedi balsfjord.JPG, Rambergkirka: A stone located at Sand Malangen IMG 4934 malangen.JPG, The Mortenhals area (foreground), looking northwest

References

External links

Weather information for Malangen
{{use dmy dates, date=May 2022 Balsfjord Målselv Former municipalities of Norway 1871 establishments in Norway 1964 disestablishments in Norway