Sørreisa ( sme, Ráisavuona suohkan) 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 ...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sørreisa. Other villages include Grunnreisa,

Skøelva Skøelva or Skøelv is the second largest village in Sørreisa Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory ...

, and Smørsgård. The municipality is the 248th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Sørreisa is the 218th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,414. 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 increased by 1% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of ''Sørreisen'' was established on 1 September 1886 when the large Tranøy Municipality was divided into three: Tranøy (population: 1,239) in the west, Dyrøy (population: 1,281) in the south, and Sørreisen (population: 1,361) in the east. Later, the spelling was changed to ''Sørreisa''. 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 part of Sørreisa across the Reisafjorden on the island of Senja (population: 129) was transferred to Lenvik Municipality. 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 Reisafjorden (originally ''Reisa''), which again is named after the Reisaelva (the "Reisa river" - originally ''Reisa''). The river name is derived from the verb ''rísa'' which means "raise" (referring to

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

ing). The first element ''Sør'' ("south") was added to distinguish the municipality from

Nordreisa Municipality Nordreisa ( se, Ráisa ; fkv, Raisi) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Storslett. Other villages include O ...

(located further to the north in the same county). The municipality was originally named Sørreisen.

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 7 September 1984. The arms show three gold stars on a red background. It was derived from the oldest known seal in the municipality, a 17th-century seal of Jacob Hansen Kinapel, who was a police sergeant in Sørreisa from 1715 to 1748.

Churches

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

Geography

Sørreisa is located on the western coast of Norway, along the Reisafjorden, just east of the large island of Senja. The municipality is mostly populated along the shoreline. The municipality of Dyrøy lies to the west, Salangen 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 ...

to the south,

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 ...

to the east, and

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 ...

to the north.

Climate

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Sørreisa, 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 Senja 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 Sørreisa 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: Biskop Herborg Oline Finnset (2017) (37177981266)

Notable people

Amalie Øvergaard Amalie Constance Øvergaard, née Angell (3 March 1874 – 19 November 1960) was a Norwegian women's leader. She was born in Sørreisa as a daughter of businessman Ingebrigt Angell and Severine Johansen. From 1899 she was married to ship-owner R ...

(1874 in Sørreisa – 1960) a Norwegian women's leader * Berger Torrissen (1901 in Sørreisa – 1991) an American skier, competed in the

1936 Winter Olympics The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games (german: IV. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 ( bar, Garmasch-Partakurch 1936), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 ...

for the USA * Willy Ovesen (1924 in Sørreisa – 2015) a Norwegian civil servant, director of the

Norwegian Tax Administration The Norwegian Tax Administration ( no, Skatteetaten) is a government agency responsible for resident registration (''National Population Register'') and tax collection in Norway. The agency is subordinate to the Ministry of Finance and is based a ...

from 1982 to 1994 * Herborg Finnset (born 1961 in Sørreisa) a Norwegian prelate of the Church of Norway and the

Bishop 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 F ...

from 2018 * Tore Rismo (born 1961 in Sørreisa) a retired Norwegian football midfielder * Siri Pettersen (born 1971) a Norwegian writer and comics creator, brought up in Sørreisa

Gallery

File:Kramvigbrygga 001.jpg, Kramvigbrygga, part of Midt-Troms museum File:Sørreisa, Norway - panoramio.jpg, Sørreisa, Norway File:Bognes soerreisa 2007.jpg, M/S Bognes, Soerreisa 2007 File:Sørreisa church.jpg, Sørreisa church

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sorreisa Municipalities of Troms og Finnmark 1886 establishments in Norway