Gravdal is a village in
Vestvågøy 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 on the island of
Vestvågøya in the central part of the
Lofoten archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...
, north of the
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circl ...
. The village is situated along the shore of the Buksnesfjorden, about southwest of the town of
Leknes. The village also lies approximately west of the town of
Svolvær
(Norwegian language, Norwegian, ), , or is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the administrative centre of Vågan Municipality in Nordland County, Norway. It is located on the island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago, alon ...
and east of the village of
Å in
Moskenes Municipality. Historically, the village was 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 the old
Buksnes Municipality which existed from 1838 until 1963.
The village has a population (2023) of 1,662 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 .
Gravdal has gone from being a small trade center on the island to becoming mostly a residential village. Today, there is a grocery store, kindergarten, primary school, and several small businesses.
Nordland Hospital
Nordland Hospital Trust (, ) is a part of the Northern Norway Regional Health Authority and covers the specialist health services for areas in Nordland
Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norw ...
and the
Nordland School of Fisheries are both located in Gravdal and have been major economic centers of Gravdal for a very long time, along with the Gravdal port. The more than 100-year-old
Buksnes Church, which was built in 1905 in
dragestil style, is located in the village.
Culture & Arts
Gravdal Gangstaz is a rap group from Gravdal known for blending hip-hop with the traditions and dialect of Lofoten. Since their formation in 2002, they have created music that celebrates the region's coastal culture, capturing the spirit of island and fishing communities. Their most popular song, “Den store brennvinsdagen”, highlights the historic March 25th celebration tied to the Lofotfisket annual fishing season, reflecting the group’s mission to preserve and modernize local traditions.
Media gallery
Gravdal3.jpg, Gravdal—the gateway to Lofoten for international cruise liners
Gravdal1.jpg, Gravdal from the beach
Gravdal4.jpg, The light house of the Buksnes bay area in Gravdal
Gravdal6.jpg, Main street ''"Gravdals gata"'' (northward view)
Gravdal8.jpg, View of Gravdal from the bay
Gravdal9LofotenByHaakonRist.jpg, Gravdal Beach ''(Photography by Haakon S. Rist)''
Gravdal5.jpg, Gravdal sign
Gravdal-Buksnes-Stabkirche-18-2019-gje.jpg, The Buksnes Church
References
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Vestvågøy
Villages in Nordland
Populated places of Arctic Norway