Leka is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denma ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

. It is part of the

Namdalen Namdalen ( sma, Nååmesjevuemie) is a traditional district in the central part of Norway, consisting of the municipalities Namsos, Grong, Overhalla, Røyrvik, Nærøysund, Høylandet, Flatanger, Lierne, Leka, and Namsskogan, all in Tr ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

. The

administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

of the municipality is the village of Leknes on the island of Leka. Steinstid sommer

Other villages in Leka include Sør-Gutvika and Madsøygrenda. The island municipality includes all of the island of Leka and part of the island of Austra as well as hundreds of smaller surrounding islands and skerries. Primarily a

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...

and farming community, Leka is the northernmost municipality in

county. The island of Leka has been inhabited for at least 10,000 years, as evidenced by cave drawings in the Solsem section of the island. The municipality is the 325th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Leka is the 348th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 570. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

is and its population has decreased by 0.5% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Leka was established on 1 October 1860 when it was separated from the large municipality of

Kolvereid Kolvereid is a town in the municipality of Nærøysund in Trøndelag county, Norway. The town of Kolvereid is located at the west end of the Kolvereidvågen bay, off of the inner part of the Foldafjord. The Norwegian County Road 770 runs throug ...

. Initially, the population of Leka was 1,702. On 1 January 1909, the southern district of Leka (population: 881) was separated from Leka to form the new municipality of Gravvik. This left Leka was 1,209 residents. The borders of Leka have not changed since then. On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old

Nord-Trøndelag Nord-Trøndelag (; "North Trøndelag") was a county constituting the northern part of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. The county was established in 1804 when the old Trondhjems amt was divided into two: Nordre Trondhjems amt and S ...

county to the new

county. On 8 June 2017, the Norwegian Parliament, the

Storting The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years ...

, voted to merge the municipalities of Leka,

Vikna Vikna is a large island archipelago and a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1869 until its dissolution in 2020 when it joined Nærøysund Municipality. It was part of the Namdalen region. The admini ...

Nærøy Nærøy () is a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it joined Nærøysund Municipality. It was part of the Namdalen region. Norway's smallest town, Kolvereid, w ...

, and

Bindal Bindal is a municipality in the Helgeland region in the extreme southwest part of Nordland county, Norway. The administrative centre is the village of Terråk. Other villages include Bindalseidet, Holm, Vassås, Horsfjord and Åbygda. The m ...

to form one, large municipality effective 1 January 2020. Leka and Bindal municipalities rejected the merger, but Vikna and Nærøy merged on that date to form the new municipality of

Nærøysund Nærøysund is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Namdalen. The municipality was established on 1 January 2020 after the merger of the old municipalities of Vikna and Nærøy. The municip ...

Toponymy

The

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

form of the name was ''Leka''. The meaning of the name is unknown, but it may come from the word ''lekke'' which can mean "gravelly ground".

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

was granted on 21 April 1989. The arms show the golden

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...

and

claw A claw is a curved, pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes (mammals, reptiles, birds). Some invertebrates such as beetles and spiders have somewhat similar fine, hooked structures at the end of the leg or tarsus ...

of an

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

on a red background. This is a reference to an incident which supposedly occurred in 1932, in which a three-year-old girl disappeared on the

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...

, and was subsequently discovered beneath the nest of a

White-tailed eagle The white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla'') is a very large species of sea eagle widely distributed across temperate Eurasia. Like all eagles, it is a member of the family Accipitridae (or accipitrids) which includes other diurnal raptors ...

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church ...

has one parish () within the municipality of Leka. It is part of the Namdal prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or reside ...

) in the

Diocese of Nidaros Nidaros is a diocese in the Lutheran Church of Norway. It covers Trøndelag county in Central Norway and its cathedral city is Trondheim, which houses the well-known Nidaros Cathedral. Since 10 September 2017, the Bishop of Nidaros is Herborg ...

Geography

Leka is an island municipality encompassing the main island of Leka, the western part of the island of Austra (with the biggest locality being Gutvik), and many other small islands in the surrounding area. The tiny island groups of Sklinna and Horta lie to the west of the main islands. Sklinna Lighthouse is located in the westernmost part of the municipality. Leka borders

and

municipalities to the south and

(in

Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, ...

county) to the north.

History

Dated to the

Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...

, the

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

Herlaugshaugen is one of the largest (in Norway) from that era.Mysteriet på Herlaugshaugen fortsetter - Nærmere undersøkelser av Herlaugshaugen på Leka har ikke gitt flere svar på hva som skjuler seg i haugen. De har likevel kartlagt noen nye funn.
[The mystery at Herlaugshaugen continues - Closer examinations of Herlaugshaugen at Leka has not given more answers about what is hiding in the mound. They have nevertheless identified some new discoveries.]

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Leka, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient Health care, health services, old age, senior citizen services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refe ...

and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or adminis ...

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types o ...

s. The municipality is governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elect a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

. The municipality falls under the Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

() of Leka is made up of 15 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featu ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Leka (incomplete list): *2019–present: Elisabeth Helmersen ( Ap) *2011-2019: Per Helge Johansen ( Sp) *2003-2011: Arve Haug (Sp) *2002-2003: Mari-Anne Hoff ( SV) *1999-2002: Elisabeth Helmersen (Ap) *1995-1999: Margrethe Holmboe Askeland (Sp) *1988-1995: Arve Haug (Sp)

Politics

In the 2007 municipal elections, Leka had the highest vote for the Centre Party in Norway, at 69.3 per cent.

Transportation

The island part of Leka (Skei) is connected to Gutvik by a ferry line, operated by Lekaferja.

Notable people

* Christopher Brinchmann (1864 in Leka – 1940) a Norwegian archivist, literary historian and critic * Annfinn Lund (1926 in Leka – 2001) a Norwegian civil servant and politician; the County Governor of Hedmark 1980/81 * Thomas Hjalmar Westgård (born 1995 in Leka) an Irish cross-country skier, competed in the

2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , wint ...

References

External links

*
Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every ye ...

{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Trøndelag 1860 establishments in Norway