Editing Kvænangen Municipality (section)

==General information==
The [[prestegjeld|parish]] of Kvænangen was established as a municipality in 1863 when it was separated from the large [[Skjervøy Municipality]]. The initial population of Kvænangen was 1,677. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the [[Schei Committee]]. On 1 January 1965, the Meiland area (population: 12) of Skjervøy Municipality was transferred to Kvænangen. On 1 January 1972, the uninhabited area of Mannskarvik was transferred from Skjervøy to Kvænanagen.<ref>{{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 (originally the [[prestegjeld|parish]]) is named after the local [[Kvænangen (fjord)|Kvænangen]] fjord ({{langx|non|Kven(a)angr}}) since the fjord is the central geographic feature for the municipality. The first element {{lang|non|kven}} is the [[plural]] [[genitive case]] of the name of the [[Kven people]] who at one time were the majority of the local residents. The last element is {{lang|non|angr}} which means "[[fjord]]".<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=189 |language=no |authorlink=Oluf Rygh}}</ref>

===Coat of arms===
The [[coat of arms]] was granted on 13 July 1990. The official [[blazon]] is ''"[[Argent]], a harebell plant [[Azure (heraldry)|azure]]"'' ({{langx|no|I sølv en blå blåklokkeplante}}). This means the arms have a [[field (heraldry)|field]] (background) with 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 [[charge (heraldry)|charge]] is a [[harebell]] plant that has a tincture of [[azure (heraldry)|azure]]. The plant is a typical plant for the area with its harsh and cold climate. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen.<ref name="snl" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen |url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Kvænangen |access-date=2023-01-27 |publisher=Heraldry of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kvænangen, Troms (Norway) |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/no-19-43.html |access-date=2023-01-27 |website=Flags of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1990-07-13 |title=Godkjenning av våpen og flagg |url=https://lovdata.no/dokument/LF/forskrift/1990-07-13-572 |access-date=2023-01-27 |website=Lovdata.no |publisher=Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet |language=no}}</ref>

===Churches===
The [[Church of Norway]] has one parish ({{lang|no|sokn}}) within the municipality of Kvænangen. 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 Kvænangen'''''
!Parish ({{lang|no|sokn}})!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built
|-
|rowspan="3"|Kvænangen||[[Burfjord Church]]||[[Burfjord]]||2009
|-
|[[Sekkemo Church]]||[[Sekkemo]]||1956
|-
|[[Skorpa Church]]||[[Skorpa, Troms|Skorpa]]||1850
|}