Sørreisa () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Troms Troms (; ; ; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. It borders Finnmark county to the northeast and Nordland county in the southwest. Norrbotten Län in Sweden is located to the south and further southeast is a shorter border with ...

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 ...

. 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 municipality is the village of Sørreisa. Other villages include Grunnreisa, Skøelva, 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 3,428. The municipality's

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 ...

is and its population has increased by 0.6% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of ''Sørreisen'' was established on 1 September 1886 when the large

Tranøy Municipality Tranøy () is a former municipality in Troms county, Norway. The municipality was situated on the southern coast of the large island of Senja. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into the new Senj ...

was divided into three: Tranøy Municipality (population: 1,239) in the west,

Dyrøy Municipality Dyrøy () is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Brøstadbotn. Other villages include Dyrøyhamn, Espenes, Holm, and Hundstrand. The municipality is the 270th largest by ...

(population: 1,281) in the south, and Sørreisen Municipality (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 () was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a ...

. On 1 January 1964, the part of Sørreisa Municipality across the Reisafjorden on the island of Senja (population: 129) was transferred to

Lenvik Municipality Lenvik () is a former municipality in 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 island of Senja in what is now Senja Municipali ...

. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed

Troms og Finnmark Troms og Finnmark (; ; ; ) was a county in northern Norway that existed from 2020 to 2023. The county was established on 1 January 2020 as the result of a regional reform. It was the largest county by area in Norway, encompassing about , and w ...

county. Previously, it had been part of the old

county. On 1 January 2024, the

county was divided and the municipality once again became part of

county.

Name

The municipality (originally the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

) is named after the local Reisafjorden (). The fjord was named after the river

Reisaelva Reisaelva or Reisa River (, ) is a river in Northern Norway, located in the county of Troms. It runs from the lake Reisavannet in Nordreisa Municipality through the Reisa Valley and empties into the Reisafjorden in Kåfjord. The river is app ...

which flows into the fjord. The river name is derived from the verb which means "to raise" (referring to

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, 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 of significant con ...

ing). The prefix (meaning "southern") was added to the name to distinguish the municipality from the nearby

Nordreisa Municipality , (Northern Sami language, Northern Sami, ), or is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Storslett. Other villages include O ...

to the north. Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled ''Sørreisen''. On 6 January 1908, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to ''Sørreisa''.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted on 7 September 1984. The official

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

is ''"

Gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). Gules is portrayed in heraldic hatch ...

, three six-pointed mullets Or"'' (). This means the arms have a red

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

(background) and the

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

is three six-pointed stars. Each star has a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The arms were designed by Ottar Jarl Myrvang. The design was inspired by the oldest seal preserved from Sørreisa. The seal belonged to the local politician Jacob Hansen Kinapel who was a policeman in Sørreisa from 1715 to 1748. His heptagonal 18th century seal shows his initials IHSK around three stars, an eight-pointed star in the centre over two six-pointed stars.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

has one parish () within the municipality of Sørreisa. It is part of the

Indre Troms prosti Indre (); is a department in central France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are known as the ''Indriens'' (masculine; ) and ''Indriennes'' (feminine; ). Indre is part of the current administrative region of Centre ...

(

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

) in the

Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland Nord-Hålogaland () is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers the Church of Norway churches in Troms and Finnmark counties as well as in the territory of Svalbard. The diocese is seated in the city of Tromsø at the Tromsø Cathedral, t ...

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.

lies to the west,

Salangen Municipality Salangen is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sjøvegan, where most of the people in the municipality live. Other villages ...

and

Bardu Municipality Bardu ( and ) is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Setermoen, the largest urban area in the municipality. The municipality is the 18th largest by area out of the 357 municip ...

are to the south,

Målselv Municipality Målselv () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Moen, Troms, Moen. The main commercial centre of the municipality is the ...

is to the east, and

Senja Municipality Senja is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. It was established on 1 January 2020 when the municipalities of Berg, Lenvik, Torsken, and Tranøy were merged into one municipality. It is located in the traditional district of Hålogaland. ...

is to the north.

Climate

Sørreisa has

continental subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

. The

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

subtype for this climate is " Dfc". The

Norwegian Meteorological Institute The Norwegian Meteorological Institute (), also known internationally as MET Norway, is Norway's national meteorological institute. It provides weather forecasts for civilian and military uses and conducts research in meteorology, oceanography an ...

has been operating a weather station in Sørreisa for many years.

Government

All municipalities in Norway are responsible for

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

services,

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

zoning In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for ...

economic development In economics, economic development (or 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 object ...

, and municipal

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s and utilities. 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, borough cou ...

of directly elected representatives. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Nord-Troms og Senja District Court and the

Hålogaland Court of Appeal The Hålogaland Court of Appeal () 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 well as the island territor ...

Municipal council

The

of Sørreisa is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, 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 oft ...

Mayors

The

mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

of Sørreisa: * 1886–1888: Jacob Moe * 1889–1907: Johan Jørgensen * 1908–1925: Ingvald Andersen ( V) * 1926–1928: Hans Nordgård * 1929–1940: Kristian Simonsen ( Ap) * 1942–1945: Oliver Krogstad ( NS) * 1945–1952: Kristian Simonsen ( Ap) * 1953–1969: Thoralf Dalseth ( Ap) * 1970–1982: Arnold W. Johansen ( Ap) * 1982–1991: Kjell Bakkland ( Ap) * 1992–1999: Paul Dahlø ( Ap) * 1999–2007: Magnor Olsen ( Ap) * 2007–2011: Knut H. Olsen ( H) * 2011–2015: Paul Dahlø ( Ap) * 2015–present: Jan-Eirik Nordahl ( Ap)

Notable people

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

(1874 in Sørreisa – 1960) a Norwegian women's leader *

Berger Torrissen Berger Torrissen or Birger Tørrissen (September 16, 1901 – February 28, 1991) was an American skier. He was born in Sørreisa Municipality, Norway, and later immigrated to the United States. He competed for the United States in Nordic com ...

(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 () and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936, were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 February 1936 in the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Nazi Ger ...

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

Norwegian Tax Administration The Norwegian Tax Administration () 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 at Helsfyr in Oslo. ...

from 1982 to 1994 *

Herborg Finnset Herborg Oline Finnset (born 28 March 1961 in Sørreisa, Troms) is a Norwegian prelate of the Church of Norway who is the Bishop of Nidaros as of 2018. Finnset is one of the forces behind Tromsø Church Music Festival. Biography Finnset graduat ...

(born 1961 in Sørreisa) a Norwegian prelate of the Church of Norway and the Bishop of Nidaros 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 * Erik Valnes (born 1994) a Norwegian cross-country skier

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 Statistics Norway (, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every year on its web site. All rele ...

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sorreisa Municipalities of Troms 1886 establishments in Norway