Balsfjord

Balsfjord kommune Báhccavuona suohkan Paatsivuonon komuuni
Municipality
View of Nordkjosbotn
Coat of arms Troms within Norway
Balsfjord within Troms
Coordinates: 69°18′17″N 19°12′13″E / 69.30472°N 19.20361°E / 69.30472; 19.20361Coordinates: 69°18′17″N 19°12′13″E / 69.30472°N 19.20361°E / 69.30472; 19.20361
Country	Norway
County	Troms
District	Hålogaland
Established	1860
Administrative centre	Storsteinnes
Government
• Mayor (2015)	Gunda Johansen (Ap)
Area
• Total	1,496.91 km2 (577.96 sq mi)
• Land	1,440.83 km2 (556.31 sq mi)
• Water	56.08 km2 (21.65 sq mi)  3.7%
Area rank	#52 in Norway
Population (2017)
• Total	5,685
• Rank	#185 in Norway
• Density	3.9/km2 (10/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	2.1%
Demonym(s)	Balsfjording[1]
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-1933
Official language form	Bokmål
Website	balsfjord.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Balsfjord (Northern Sami: Báhccavuotna or Kven: Paatsivuono) is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Storsteinnes. Other villages include Mestervik, Mortenhals, and Nordkjosbotn.

The 1,497-square-kilometre (578 sq mi) municipality is the 52nd largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Balsfjord is the 185th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 5,685. The municipality's population density is 3.9 inhabitants per square kilometre (10/sq mi) and its population has increased by 2.1% over the last decade.^[2]

The municipality surrounds two fjords: Malangen and Balsfjorden, surrounded by comparatively rich farmlands under majestic peaks including the southern end of the Lyngen Alps.

General information

Balsfjord municipality

Balsfjord was originally a part of the great Tromsøe landdistrikt municipality, but it was separated from this in 1860 to form its own municipality. Balsfjord had an initial population of 3,610. On 1 January 1871, the northwestern part of the municipality (population: 1,425) was separated from it to create the new Malangen Municipality. This left Balsfjord with 2,255 inhabitants. On 1 January 1875, a part of Lyngen Municipality (population: 7) was transferred to Balsfjord. On 1 January 1905, a part of Balsfjord (population: 5) was transferred to Målselv Municipality.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, most of Balsfjord Municipality was merged with most of neighboring Malangen municipality to form a new, larger municipality of Balsfjord (population: 6,993). Also on that day, the Skogli ved Heia area (population: 2) was transferred to the neighboring Målselv Municipality and the uninhabited Elvebakken farm was transferred to the neighboring Storfjord Municipality. On 1 January 1966, the Sørelvmo area of Balsfjord (population: 131) was transferred to Målselv Municipality.^[3]

Name

Part of Balsfjord in February

The municipality is named after the local fjord: Balsfjorden (Northern Sami: Báhccavuotna). The meaning of the first element is uncertain, but is likely associated with the Norse god Baldr or the Old Norse word bals meaning lump.^[4][5]

History

Stabben: A stone previously used as worship place by the Sami people. Located at Sand.

Balsfjord church.

The Sami people were the original inhabitants of the area, but around 1800 new settlers came from Finland, from the coast, and from Southern Norway, and today very few traces of Sami culture survive. From the 18th century until the 20th century, trappers from Balsfjord were active in the Arctic, hunting in areas from Greenland to Novaya Zemlya.

Mindekirken movement

According to the book Tromsø City History (Norwegian: Tromsø by Histori) written by Nils Andreas Ytreberg (1896–1987) (published in Norwegian), during the mid-19th century, Balsfjord became the religious home of a group of "mindekirken" or "freechurch dissenters" who split from the state church parish in Tromsø. The mindekirken movement in the Troms region was led by the seminary student, Johannes Andreas Johannessen Bomstad (born at Balsfjord on 23 August 1821), who split from the state church at the age of 28, under the leadership of the first Norwegian mindekirken movement leader, Rev. Lammers from Oslo. In 1856, Bomstad and his original followers established their own church which they called the "Free Apostolic Christian Church" in Balsfjord.

"Rev. Bomstad" and his followers were said to have struggled and protested against the Tromsø state church minister and the Troms Bishop's religious rulings, eventually leading to a riot in the town of Tromsø, when state-church members yelled at Bomstad and his fellow dissenters to "go back to Kautokeino (A small village in the most northern districts of Norway)". In 1862, Bomstad led a group of "mindekirken colonists" to America, traveling first to Bergen, where they sailed in mid-May 1862 aboard the Sleipner, arriving at the inland port of Chicago, Illinois on 2 August 1862. Their voyage was also noteworthy as the first transatlantic voyage sailing directly from Europe to the port of Chicago (other previous transoceanic ships disembarked first at Quebec, Canada.) After arriving in Chicago, the mindekirken colonists traveled overland to the area of St. Peter, Minnesota, where they remained during the "Dakota War of 1862".

Rev. Bomstad left St. Peter traveling by mule to Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, where near the east bank of a lake (previously called "Lake Lillian"), he became the founding father of Lake Lillian, Minnesota in May 1864 (one hour ahead of the town's next settler, Mr. O.E. Hart, previously of New York). After staking his original claim, a month later on 3 June 1864, Rev. Bomstad led the rest of the colonists from St. Peter to their new settlement at Lake Lillian, where they built dugout shelters to live in that first year (on the site later occupied by the First M.E. Methodist Church of Lake Lillian.) A few months later he and his family finished building and moved into their log cabin home.

Balsfjord panorama

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Balsfjord, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor.^[7] The municipality falls under the Nord-Troms District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Climate

Economy

Farming is the single most important industry, although there is also some manufacturing. The Tine dairy factory at Storsteinnes is one of the largest producers of the Norwegian brown cheese (brunost). They also make their own brand of cheese, called Balsfjord, from goat's milk.

Bukkhammeren: rock carving from 4600 BCE at Tennes.

Transportation

European route E6 and European route E8 meet at the village of Nordkjosbotn, making it a major crossroad.

Attractions

Apart from the impressive scenery, attractions include the 6000-year-old rock carvings at Tennes (close to the Balsfjord Church), the old trading centre of Nordby, a Sami camp at Heia open over the summer months and the 18th century sawmill at Aursfjord. There is also a smaller field of rock carvings at Åsli. The Malangen Brygger resort on the water's edge has opened on the Malangen Peninsula and will expand further in May 2010 when a hotel and conference centre open.

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Balsfjord include:

• Andreas Beck (1864–1914), explorer
• Gunda Johansen (born 1952), local politician

References

External links

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
• Media related to Balsfjord at Wikimedia Commons
• Troms travel guide from Wikivoyage
• The dictionary definition of balsfjord at Wiktionary