Kåfjord Municipality

Template:Native name, Template:Native name, or Template:Native name<ref name="sami name" /> is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Olderdalen. Other notable villages include Løkvollen, Manndalen, Birtavarre, Trollvik, Samuelsberg, Nordmannvik, and Djupvik.<ref name="snl1">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

The Template:Convert municipality is the 116th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Kåfjord is the 283rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,974. The municipality's population density is Template:Convert and its population has decreased by 11.1% over the previous 10-year period.<ref name="ssb pop">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ssb area">Template:Cite web</ref>

General information

The municipality of Kåfjord was established by a royal resolution that was approved on 21 June 1929 when the large Lyngen Municipality was divided into three: Lyngen in the northwest, Kåfjord in the northeast, and Storfjord Municipality in the south.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The initial population of Kåfjord was 2,482. Then on 1 January 1992, the Nordnes area along the Lyngen fjord in Lyngen Municipality (population: 38) was transferred to Kåfjord Municipality.<ref name="dag">Template:Cite web</ref>

On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed Troms og Finnmark county. Previously, it had been part of the old Troms county.<ref name="snl5">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> On 1 January 2024, the Troms og Finnmark county was divided and the municipality once again became part of Troms county.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Name

The municipality is named after the local Kåfjorden (Template:Langx). The meaning of the name is uncertain. One explanation is that the first element is derived from the word Template:Wikt-lang which means "side-chamber", here in the sense that this fjord is a smaller branch off of a main fjord. The last element is Template:Wikt-lang which means "fjord". Another interpretation is that the name is a Norwegianized form of the Sámi language name Template:Lang. The first element of the Sami name has an unknown meaning. The last element is Template:Wikt-lang which means "fjord". Thus its semi-translated name is something like "Gai-fjord" which could sound like the Norwegian name "Kåfjord".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The name of the municipality was simply Kåfjord from its establishment in 1926 until 2 May 1994 when the name was changed to Gáivuotna–Kåfjord. This new name combined the Sami and Norwegian names into one.<ref name="dag" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was the fifth municipality in Norway to get a Sami name. In 2005, the name was again changed such that either the Sami name (Template:Lang) or the Norwegian name (Template:Lang) could be used interchangeably.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2016, the name was changed again. This time, the Kven language name was added to the list of official names. All three names are equal and parallel names for the municipality. The spelling of the Sami and Kven language names change depending on how they are used. In Sami, it is called Template:Lang when it is spelled alone, but it is Template:Lang when using the Sami language equivalent to "Kåfjord municipality". In Kven, it is called Template:Lang when it is spelled alone, but it is Template:Lang when using the Kven language equivalent to "Kåfjord municipality".<ref name="sami name">Template:Cite web</ref>

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 20 January 1989. The official blazon is "Gules, a spinning wheel argent" (Template:Langx). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a spinning wheel. The spinning wheel has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The spinning wheel was chosen because it is a timeless symbol. Handicrafts have long and particular traditions in Kåfjord. It is also a unifying symbol for Kåfjord's population since many residents (at the time of the adoption of the arms) had had a spinning wheel in their homes while they were growing up. It also is meant as a symbol of frugality, self-sufficiency, and an industrious people.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The arms were designed by Harald O. Lindbach.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Churches

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

Churches in Gáivuotna-Kåfjord-Kaivuono

Parish (Template:Lang)	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Kåfjord	Kåfjord Church	Olderdalen	1949
	Birtavarre Chapel	Birtavarre	1937

History

In 1945, the villages of Kåfjord were burned to the ground during the retreat of German forces from Finland and Finnmark. This was as far west as the Wehrmacht used their scorched earth tactics.

Government

Kåfjord Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.<ref name="ks">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Nord-Troms og Senja District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council Template:Lang of Kåfjord is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party. Template:Div col Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Kommunestyre table Template:Div col end

Mayors

The mayors (Template:Langx) of Kåfjord:<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Template:Div col

• 1929-1942: Anton D. Meedby (LL)
• 1942-1943: Leif Caroliussen (NS)
• 1943-1945: Edvard A. Manndal (NS)
• 1945-1946: Anton D. Meedby (LL)
• 1946-1959: Anton Antonsen (Ap)
• 1960-1963: Peder Sandbukt (Ap)
• 1964-1967: Andor Sandvoll (LL)
• 1968-1971: Hans Berg (Ap)
• 1972-1975: Halfdan Hansen (LL)
• 1976-1977: Peder Sandbukt (LL)
• 1978-1987: Einar Storslett (LL)
• 1988-1989: Ansgar Hansen (LL)
• 1990-1991: Einar Storslett (LL)
• 1991-1993: Terje Solberg (LL)
• 1993-1999: Åge B. Pedersen (Ap)
• 1999-2003: Kristin Vatnelid Johansen (LL)
• 2003–2015: Bjørn Inge Mo (Ap)
• 2015-2019: Svein O. Leiros (Sp)
• 2019–present: Bernt Eirik Isaksen Lyngstad (Ap)

Geography

File:Kåfjorddalen.jpg

Kåfjord valley (Kåfjorddalen).

The municipality is situated on the eastern side of the Lyngen fjord, and around its eastern arm, the Kåfjord. The municipal centre is Olderdalen. Other villages include Birtavarre, Kåfjorddalen, Djupvik, Nordmannvik, and Manndalen, where the international indigenous peoples' festival Riddu Riđđu is hosted each year.

On the border with Finland, is the mountain Ráisduattarháldi which has a height of Template:Convert. The highest point in the municipality is the Template:Convert tall mountain Isfjellet.<ref name="elev" />

Economy

Fishing and small-scale farming have been the most important sources of income. Now many people work in education and other public services. The population has declined for many years, but the decline is now less rapid than earlier.<ref name="snl1" />

Population

The majority of the population is of Sami origin. Due to assimilation pressure from the Norwegian State, the language was largely lost in the 20th century. Efforts are being made to reintroduce the Northern Sami language which is largely concentrated in the municipality's largest village, Manndalen/Olmmáivággi.

Notable people

• Erik Johnsen, (Norwegian Wiki) (1844 in Kåfjord i Lyngen – 1941), a Laestadian preacher who received the King's Medal of Merit (Template:Lang) in 1938 for his work for the salvation of the soul.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Rolf Ketil Bjørn (1938 in Kåfjord – 2008), a businessperson and politician
• Jan Lindvall (born 1950 in Kåfjord), a retired cross-country skier who competed at the 1984 Winter Olympics

Gallery

• Shed with green roof at Lyngen fjord
  Shed with green roof at Lyngen fjord
• A view from the northeast coast of Kåfjorden
  A view from the northeast coast of Kåfjorden
• Fossheim
  Fossheim

External links

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway Template:In lang