Ørnes is the

administrative centre An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

of Meløy Municipality in

Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It is located along

Norwegian County Road 17 County Road 17 (), also known as the Coastal Highway (), is a Norwegian highway that runs from the town of Bodø in Nordland county (in the north) to the town of Steinkjer in Trøndelag county (in the south). It is long and includes six ferry ...

, about south of the village of Reipå and about north of the village of Eidbukta. The island of Mesøya lies just west of the village. Ørnes is a port of call along the

Hurtigruten ''Hurtigruten'' (), formally Kystruten Bergen-Kirkenes ("coastal route Bergen-Kirkenes"), is a Norwegian public coastal route transporting passengers that travel locally, regionally, and between the ports of call, and also cargo between ports ...

ferry route between Nesna and Bodø. Hurtigrute MS Nordkapp

The village has a population (2023) of 1,684 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

of . The newspapers '' Framtia'' and ''

Meløyavisa ''Meløyavisa'' () is a local Norwegian newspaper published in Nordland county. ''Meløyavisa'' was established in 1986. The newspaper is published twice a week in Ørnes in Meløy Municipality, and it covers news in the municipalities of Rød ...

'' are published in Ørnes. Ørnes Church is located in the village, serving central Meløy. In this part of

Northern Norway Northern Norway (, , ; ) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the three northernmost counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in Northern Norway (from south to no ...

, temperatures can drop down quite low in the winter and the summers can be slightly mild. The lakes Lysvatnet and Markavatnet both lie to the northeast of the village.

History

The old farm of Ørnes is mentioned in documents dating from 1610 when a tenant farmer lived here. The village (which grew up at the old farm site) can be traced back hundreds of years, but the year 1794 is recognized as the beginning of Ørnes, when Elling Pedersen, a member of the noble Benkestok family from Meløya was allowed to set up an inn and trading post at the place. He lived at Meløya but when he died in 1802, his widow moved to Ørnes and continued trading. The business changed owners within the Benkestok family but was continued by others when the old family died out. These would typically combine trading with shipping. The settlement was ravaged by fire several times, but some of the original buildings from approx. 1800 remain intact; several dwellings, fishermen's cabins, boathouses, barns and a forge are kept in good condition and several are listed and protected.

References

Meløy Villages in Nordland Populated places of Arctic Norway {{nordland-geo-stub