Gratangen

Gratangen kommune
Rivttága suohkan
Municipality

Coat of arms

Troms within
Norway

Gratangen within Troms
Coordinates: 68°41′24″N 17°32′30″E / 68.69000°N 17.54167°E / 68.69000; 17.54167Coordinates: 68°41′24″N 17°32′30″E / 68.69000°N 17.54167°E / 68.69000; 17.54167
Country Norway
County Troms
District Central Hålogaland
Established 1 July 1926
Administrative centre Årstein
Government
  Mayor (2015) Eva Ottesen (Ap)
Area
  Total 312.74 km2 (120.75 sq mi)
  Land 305.40 km2 (117.92 sq mi)
  Water 7.34 km2 (2.83 sq mi)  2.3%
Area rank #272 in Norway
Population (2017)
  Total 1,121
  Rank #385 in Norway
  Density 3.7/km2 (10/sq mi)
  Change (10 years) -8.6%
Demonym(s) Gratangsværing[1]
Time zone UTC+01:00 (CET)
  Summer (DST) UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code NO-1919
Official language form Neutral
Website gratangen.kommune.no

Gratangen (Northern Sami: Rivttága suohkan) is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Central Hålogaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Årstein.[2]

The 313-square-kilometre (121 sq mi) municipality is the 272nd largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Gratangen is the 385th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,121. The municipality's population density is 3.7 inhabitants per square kilometre (9.6/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 8.6% over the last decade.[3]

The largest settlement in the municipality is Årstein, which is located approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of the town of Narvik and 85 kilometres (53 mi) east of the town of Harstad. Other villages in Gratangen include Elvenes, Fjordbotn, and Hilleshamn. The European route E6 highway runs through the southeastern part of the municipality.[2]

General information

Map of Gratangen

The municipality of Gratangen was established on 1 July 1926 when it was separated from the large municipality of Ibestad. The initial population of Gratangen was 1,967. The municipal boundaries have not changed since that time.[4]

Name

The municipality is named after the Gratangen fjord (Old Norse: Grjótangr). The first element is grjót which means "stone" and the last element is angr which means "fjord".[2]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms is from modern times; they were granted on 15 June 1990. The arms are blue with a gray or white chevron to represent the mountains surrounding the Gratangen fjord.[2][5]

Churches

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

Churches in Gratangen
Parish (Sokn)Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
GratangenGratangen ChurchÅrstein1971

History

View of the mountains of Gratangen

Gratangen was the site of the Battle of Gratangen, one of the first battles between the German 3rd Mountain Division under Eduard Dietl and the Norwegian 6th Division under General Carl Gustav Fleischer after the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940.

Geography

The municipality encompasses the land on both sides of the Gratangen and southeast of the Astafjorden. The municipality borders Skånland to the west, Ibestad (across the Astafjorden) to the north, Lavangen to the east, and Narvik (in Nordland county) to the south.

The municipality is very mountainous, with only one third of the land being below the tree line of 250 to 300 metres (820 to 980 ft) above sea level. Most of the livable land is a narrow area along both sides of the fjord, several side valleys that branch away from the fjord, plus the Fjordbotn area at the head of the fjord.

Climate

Climate data for Årstein
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Daily mean °C (°F) −6.2
(20.8)
−5.4
(22.3)
−2.6
(27.3)
1.4
(34.5)
6.7
(44.1)
10.8
(51.4)
13.0
(55.4)
11.9
(53.4)
7.2
(45)
2.6
(36.7)
−2.1
(28.2)
−4.6
(23.7)
2.7
(36.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 87
(3.43)
79
(3.11)
62
(2.44)
56
(2.2)
45
(1.77)
55
(2.17)
70
(2.76)
82
(3.23)
111
(4.37)
136
(5.35)
95
(3.74)
102
(4.02)
980
(38.58)
Source: Norwegian Meteorological Institute[6]

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Gratangen, 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 Trondenes District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Gratangen is made up of 15 representatives that are elected to four year terms. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:[8]

Gratangen Kommunestyre 2015–2019
Party NameName in NorwegianNumber of
representatives
 Labour PartyArbeiderpartiet7
 Centre PartySenterpartiet3
 Local ListsLokale lister5
Total number of members:15

References

  1. "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Thorsnæs, Geir; Dalfest, Terje, eds. (2018-02-12). "Gratangen". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  3. Statistisk sentralbyrå (2017). "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2017-09-09.
  4. Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå.
  5. "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
  6. "eKlima Web Portal". Norwegian Meteorological Institute. Archived from the original on 2004-06-14.
  7. Hansen, Tore, ed. (2016-05-12). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  8. "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway.
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