Editing Tjeldsund Municipality (section)

==General information==
[[File:Saetertinden.jpg|thumb|left|Sætertinden mountain at the Tjeldsund-Harstad municipality border.]]
The municipality of Tjeldsund was established on 1 January 1909 when it was separated from the large [[Lødingen Municipality]]. Tjeldsund encompassed the eastern part of Lødingen prior to the division. Initially, Tjeldsund had a population of 1,404.<ref name="Dag" />

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the [[Schei Committee]]. On 1 January 1964, the western part of the island of [[Tjeldøya]] (population: 297) was transferred to Tjeldsund Municipality from Lødingen Municipality, uniting the whole island within the same municipality. On the same date, the unpopulated ''Ramnes'' area of [[Evenes Municipality]] was also transferred to Tjeldsund Municipality.<ref name="Dag">{{Cite book |last=Jukvam |first=Dag |url=http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/90/rapp_9913/rapp_9913.pdf |title=Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen |publisher=[[Statistics Norway|Statistisk sentralbyrå]] |year=1999 |isbn=9788253746845 |language=no}}</ref>

On 1 January 2020, Tjeldsund Municipality merged with the neighboring [[Skånland Municipality]] and at the same time the new municipality became a part of the newly formed [[Troms og Finnmark]] county (prior to the merger, Skånland was located in the old [[Troms]] county and Tjeldsund was in [[Nordland]] county).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Den nye kommunen |url=https://tjeldsund2020.no/den-nye-kommunen/ |access-date=2019-01-03 |website=Tjeldsund2020.no |language=no}}</ref><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, [[Troms og Finnmark]] county was divided and the municipality became part of the newly re-created [[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 [[Tjeldsundet]] [[strait]] which runs between the islands of [[Tjeldøya]] and [[Hinnøya]]. The first element is the (uncompounded) [[Old Norse]] name of the island of [[Tjeldøya]] ({{lang|non|Tjöld}} or {{lang|non|Tjalda}}). The name of the island is probably derived from the word {{wikt-lang|non|tjald}} which means "tent" or the similar word {{wikt-lang|non|tjaldr}} which means "[[Eurasian oystercatcher|oystercatcher]]". The last element is {{wikt-lang|no|sund}} which means "[[strait]]" or "[[Sound (geography)|sound]]".<ref name="snl">{{Cite web |last=Store norske leksikon |author-link=Store norske leksikon |title=Tjeldsund |url=http://snl.no/Tjeldsund |access-date=2012-06-11 |language=no}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rygh |first=Oluf |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4i5MAQAAIAAJ |title=Norske gaardnavne: Nordlands amt |date=1905 |publisher=W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri |edition=16 |location=Kristiania, Norge |page=301 |language=no |authorlink=Oluf Rygh}}</ref> On 1 January 2020, when [[Skånland Municipality]] became a part of Tjeldsund, the new municipality kept the name ''Tjeldsund'', but also added a co-equal, official name in the [[Sami language]]: {{lang|se|Dielddanuorri}}.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-12-19 |title=Forskrift om sammenslåing av Skånland kommune og Tjeldsund kommune til Tjeldsund kommune, Nordland og Troms |url=https://lovdata.no/dokument/LF/forskrift/2017-12-19-2180?q=Dielddanuori%20suohkan |access-date=2023-11-19 |publisher=LovData.no |language=no}}</ref> The two names can be used interchangeably for the municipality. The spelling of the Sami language name changes depending on how it is used. It is called {{lang|se|Dielddanuorri}} when it is spelled alone, but it is {{lang|se|Dielddanuori suohkan}} when using the Sami language equivalent to "Tjeldsund 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 29 June 1990. The official [[blazon]] is ''"[[Argent]], a cross of St. Anthony [[Azure (heraldry)|azure]]"'' ({{langx|no|I sølv et blått Antonius-kors}}). This means the arms have a [[field (heraldry)|field]] (background) that 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 [[charge (heraldry)|charge]] is a [[Cross of Tau|Cross of Saint Anthony]] which has a tincture of [[azure (heraldry)|azure]]. The blue color in the field symbolizes the importance of the sea. The cross is a [[canting arms|canting]] of the letter [[T]], the first letter of the name Tjeldsund. The blue cross shape also stands for the [[confluence]] of the [[Tjeldsundet]] and [[Ramsundet]] straits which run between the mainland and the islands of [[Tjeldøya]] and [[Hinnøya]]. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen |url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Tjeldsund |access-date=2023-01-29 |publisher=Heraldry of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Tjeldsund, Nordland (Norway) |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/no-18-52.html |access-date=2023-01-29 |website=Flags of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1990-08-17 |title=Godkjenning av våpen og flagg |url=https://lovdata.no/dokument/LF/forskrift/1990-06-29-526 |access-date=2023-01-29 |website=Lovdata.no |publisher=Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet |language=no}}</ref>

===Churches===
The [[Church of Norway]] has four parishes ({{lang|no|sokn}}) within Tjeldsund Municipality. It is part of the [[Trondenes prosti]] ([[deanery]]) in the [[Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland]].

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ style="font-size:medium"|'''''Churches in Tjeldsund'''''
!Parish ({{lang|no|sokn}})!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built
|-
|Astafjord||[[Astafjord Church]]||[[Grov, Troms|Grov]]||1978
|-
|Skånland||[[Skånland Church]]||[[Evenskjer]]||1901
|-
|rowspan="3"|Tjeldsund||[[Tjeldsund Church]]||[[Hol, Tjeldsund|Hol i Tjeldsund]]||1863
|-
|[[Fjelldal Chapel]]||[[Fjelldal]]||1960
|-
|[[Ramsund Chapel]]||[[Ramsund, Norway|Ramsund]]||1964
|-
|Tovik||[[Tovik Church]]||[[Tovika]]||1905
|}