Editing Kåfjord Municipality (section)

==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>{{Cite journal |year=1929 |title=Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. 1929. Samling af Love, Resolutioner m.m |url=https://www.nb.no/items/URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2015110481051_001?page=289 |journal=[[Norsk Lovtidend]] |language=no |location=Oslo, Norway |publisher=Grøndahl og Søns Boktrykkeri |pages=284}}</ref> The initial population of Kåfjord was 2,482. Then on 1 January 1992, the Nordnes area along the [[Lyngen (fjord)|Lyngen]] fjord in Lyngen Municipality (population: 38) was transferred to Kåfjord Municipality.<ref name="dag">{{Cite web |last=Jukvam |first=Dag |year=1999 |title=Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen |url=http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/90/rapp_9913/rapp_9913.pdf |publisher=[[Statistics Norway|Statistisk sentralbyrå]] |language=no}}</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">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Troms og Finnmark |encyclopedia=[[Store norske leksikon]] |publisher=[[Kunnskapsforlaget]] |url=https://snl.no/Troms_og_Finnmark |access-date=2019-12-26 |date=2019-12-24 |editor-last=Mæhlum |editor-first=Lars |language=no}}</ref> On 1 January 2024, the [[Troms og Finnmark]] county was divided and the municipality once again became part of [[Troms]] county.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-05 |title=Fylkesinndelingen fra 2024 |url=https://www.regjeringen.no/no/tema/kommuner-og-regioner/kommunestruktur/fylkesinndelingen-fra-2024/id2922222/ |publisher=Regjeringen.no |language=no}}</ref>

===Name===
The municipality is named after the local [[Kåfjorden (Troms)|Kåfjorden]] ({{langx|non|Kofafjǫrðr}}). The meaning of the name is uncertain. One explanation is that the first element is derived from the word {{wikt-lang|non|kofi}} which means "side-chamber", here in the sense that this fjord is a smaller branch off of a main fjord. The last element is {{wikt-lang|non|fjǫrðr}} which means "[[fjord]]". Another interpretation is that the name is a Norwegianized form of the [[Sámi languages|Sámi language]] name {{lang|se|Gáivuotna}}. The first element of the Sami name has an unknown meaning. The last element is {{wikt-lang|se|vuotna}} which means "[[fjord]]". Thus its semi-translated name is something like "Gai-fjord" which could sound like the Norwegian name "Kåfjord".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rygh |first=Oluf |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=py5MAQAAIAAJ |title=Norske gaardnavne: Tromsø amt |date=1911 |publisher=W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri |edition=17 |location=Kristiania, Norge |page=152 |language=no |authorlink=Oluf Rygh}}</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>{{Cite web |date=5 July 2002 |title=Ot.prp. nr. 111 (2001-2002) |url=http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/fad/dok/regpubl/otprp/20012002/Otprp-nr-111-2001-2002-.html?id=125740 |access-date=2008-12-02 |publisher=regjeringen.no |language=no}}</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 ({{lang|se|Gáivuotna}}) or the Norwegian name ({{lang|no|Kåfjord}}) could be used interchangeably.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Endring av skrivemåten for tospråklige kommunenavn |url=http://www.lovdata.no/cgi-wift/wiztldles?doc=/usr/www/lovdata/for/lf/ov/ov-20041210-1636.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328045747/http://www.lovdata.no/cgi-wift/wiztldles?doc=%2Fusr%2Fwww%2Flovdata%2Ffor%2Flf%2Fov%2Fov-20041210-1636.html |archive-date=March 28, 2014 |access-date=2008-12-02 |language=no}}</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 {{lang|se|Gáivuotna}} when it is spelled alone, but it is {{lang|se|Gáivuona suohkan}} when using the Sami language equivalent to "Kåfjord municipality". In Kven, it is called {{lang|fkv|Kaivuono}} when it is spelled alone, but it is {{lang|se|Kaivuonon komuuni}} when using the Kven language equivalent to "Kåfjord municipality".<ref name="sami name">{{Cite web |title=Stadnamn og rettskriving |url=https://www.kartverket.no/til-lands/stadnamn/stadnamn-og-offisielle-sprak-i-noreg |access-date=2023-11-19 |publisher=[[Kartverket]] |language=no}}</ref>

===Coat of arms===
The [[coat of arms]] was granted on 20 January 1989. The official [[blazon]] is ''"[[Gules]], a spinning wheel [[argent]]"'' ({{langx|no|I rødt en sølv rokk}}). This means the arms have a red [[field (heraldry)|field]] (background) and the [[charge (heraldry)|charge]] is a [[spinning wheel]]. The spinning wheel has a [[tincture (heraldry)|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>{{Cite web |title=Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen |url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=K%C3%A5fjord |access-date=2023-01-26 |publisher=Heraldry of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kåfjord, Troms (Norway) |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/no-19-40.html |access-date=2023-01-26 |website=Flags of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1989-03-17 |title=Godkjenning av våpen og flagg |url=https://lovdata.no/dokument/LF/forskrift/1989-01-20-33?q=flagg |access-date=2023-01-26 |website=Lovdata.no |publisher=Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet |language=no}}</ref> The arms were designed by Harald O. Lindbach.<ref>{{Cite news |last=W. Tengelsen |first=Torstein |date=31 October 1989 |title=Symbolet til India også Kåfjords |trans-title=Indian Symbol also Kåfjord's |work=[[Framtid i Nord]] |page=2 |language=Norwegian Bokmål |volume=2 |issue=80}}</ref>

===Churches===
The [[Church of Norway]] has one parish ({{lang|no|sokn}}) within the municipality. It is part of the [[Nord-Troms prosti]] ([[deanery]]) in the [[Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland]].

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ style="font-size:medium"|'''''Churches in Gáivuotna-Kåfjord-Kaivuono'''''
!Parish ({{lang|no|sokn}})!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built
|-
|rowspan="2"|Kåfjord||[[Kåfjord Church]]||[[Olderdalen]]||1949
|-
|[[Birtavarre Chapel]]||[[Birtavarre]]||1937
|}