Gamvik

Gamvik kommune
Gáŋgaviikka gielda
Municipality
View of Mehamn on new year's day (during the polar night)

Flag

Coat of arms
Finnmark within
Norway

Gamvik within Finnmark
Coordinates: 71°02′28″N 27°51′05″E / 71.04111°N 27.85139°E / 71.04111; 27.85139Coordinates: 71°02′28″N 27°51′05″E / 71.04111°N 27.85139°E / 71.04111; 27.85139
Country Norway
County Finnmark
District Øst-Finnmark
Established 1 Jan 1914
Administrative centre Mehamn
Government
 • Mayor (2015) Trond Einar Olaussen (Ap)
Area
 • Total 1,416.34 km2 (546.85 sq mi)
 • Land 1,354.87 km2 (523.12 sq mi)
 • Water 61.47 km2 (23.73 sq mi)  4.3%
Area rank #60 in Norway
Population (2017)
 • Total 1,137 (Decrease from last year)
 • Rank #383 in Norway
 • Density 0.8/km2 (2/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years) 8.7%
Demonym(s) Gamviking or
Gamvikværing[1]
Time zone UTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code NO-2023
Official language form Neutral
Website gamvik.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

 Gamvik  (Northern Sami: Gáŋgaviika) is a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Mehamn. The other main villages in Gamvik include Gamvik and Skjånes. Gamvik is known as one of the poorest and most undeveloped municipalities in Norway. The number of inhabitants rose at one moment in 2012, but in 2014, after the fish factory closed, the population declined dramatically with the departure of the eastern European fishermen.

Most people live in the village of Mehamn (about 500 inhabitants), which has an airport, Mehamn Airport, and is also a port of call of the hurtigruten coastal boats. The Slettnes Lighthouse near the village of Gamvik is the northernmost lighthouse on the mainland of Europe. Nervei and Langfjordbotn are two very small villages in southern Gamvik that are only accessible by boat. Finnkongkeila is an abandoned village along the Tanafjorden.

The 1,416-square-kilometre (547 sq mi) municipality is the 60th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Gamvik is the 383rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,137. The municipality's population density is 0.8 inhabitants per square kilometre (2.1/sq mi) and its population has increased by 8.7% over the last decade.[2]

General information

View from Gamvik
View of the Slettnes Nature Reserve
View of Mehamn

The municipality of Gamvik was established on 1 January 1914 when the old Tana Municipality was divided into three municipalities: Tana (population: 1,426) in the south, Berlevåg (population: 784) in the northeast, and Gamvik (population: 1,371) in the northwest. The municipal boundaries have not changed since that time.[3]

Name

The Old Norse form of the name may have been Gangvík. The first element is then gangr which means "path" and the last element is vík which means "cove" or "wick".[4]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms is from modern times. They were granted on 28 September 1990. The arms show three gold/yellow fishing net sewing needles set diagonally on a red background. These needles are a characteristic maritime tool used for making and mending the fishing nets used by local fishermen. These arms were chosen to emphasize the importance of fishing in the area.[5]

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Gamvik. It is part of the Hammerfest prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.

Churches in Gamvik
Parish (Sokn)Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
GamvikGamvik ChurchGamvik1958
Hop ChurchSkjånes1977
Mehamn ChapelMehamn1965

History

In June 1972 construction started for [a landside terminal and] running a SOSUS cable into the sea.[6] The SOSUS station was one of more than twenty worldwide.[6]

1982 air crash

On 12 March 1982, a Widerøe Twin Otter, registration number LN-BNK, crashed into the sea near Mehamn, killing all fifteen on board. More than twenty years and four rounds of investigation later, this incident remains highly controversial in Norway.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Gamvik, 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 Øst-Finnmark District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Gamvik is made up of 13 representatives that are elected to four year terms. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:[8]

Gamvik Kommunestyre 2015–2019
Party NameName in NorwegianNumber of
representatives
 Labour PartyArbeiderpartiet7
 Progress PartyFremskrittspartiet2
 Socialist Left PartySosialistisk Venstreparti4
Total number of members:13

Geography

The municipality consists of the eastern half of the Nordkinn Peninsula. Kinnarodden, located in Gamvik, is the northernmost point of mainland Europe (the more well-known North Cape is located nearby on Magerøya island). The Tanafjorden flows along the eastern coast of Gamvik. Lebesby Municipality is located to the west and Tana Municipality is located to the south. Across the fjord to the east is Berlevåg Municipality.

Climate

Climate data for Slettnes Lighthouse
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) −1.9
(28.6)		 −2.0
(28.4)		 −1.1
(30)		 1.0
(33.8)		 4.7
(40.5)		 8.7
(47.7)		 11.9
(53.4)		 11.3
(52.3)		 8.7
(47.7)		 4.3
(39.7)		 1.2
(34.2)		 −0.8
(30.6)		 3.8
(38.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) −4.4
(24.1)		 −4.5
(23.9)		 −3.1
(26.4)		 −0.8
(30.6)		 2.8
(37)		 6.3
(43.3)		 9.3
(48.7)		 9.2
(48.6)		 6.7
(44.1)		 2.5
(36.5)		 −0.9
(30.4)		 −3.2
(26.2)		 1.7
(35.1)
Average low °C (°F) −7.3
(18.9)		 −7.4
(18.7)		 −5.8
(21.6)		 −3.2
(26.2)		 0.8
(33.4)		 4.3
(39.7)		 7.3
(45.1)		 7.2
(45)		 4.7
(40.5)		 0.3
(32.5)		 −3.4
(25.9)		 −5.9
(21.4)		 −0.7
(30.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 47
(1.85)		 37
(1.46)		 35
(1.38)		 34
(1.34)		 36
(1.42)		 37
(1.46)		 45
(1.77)		 46
(1.81)		 53
(2.09)		 67
(2.64)		 56
(2.2)		 46
(1.81)		 539
(21.22)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) 13.2 10.7 10.5 10.0 9.5 9.4 9.1 10.4 13.4 15.7 14.4 13.8 140.1
Source: Norwegian Meteorological Institute[9]

Birdlife

The area surrounding the lighthouse at Slettnes is also an interesting locality for those interested in birds and birdwatching. There is a nature reserve and bird observatory.

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  2. ↑ Statistisk sentralbyrå (2017). "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2017-09-09.
  3. ↑ Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå.
  4. ↑ Rygh, Oluf (1924). Norske gaardnavne: Finmarkens amt (in Norwegian) (18 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 237.
  5. ↑ "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 2017-08-20.
  6. 1 2 https://www.nrk.no/dokumentar/xl/hemmelige-rom-ii_-episode-2-1.12703387
  7. ↑ Hansen, Tore, ed. (2016-05-12). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
  8. ↑ "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway. 2015.
  9. ↑ "eKlima Web Portal". Norwegian Meteorological Institute. Archived from the original on 2004-06-14.
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