Vågan ( sme, Vuogát) 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 ...

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 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 traditional district of

Lofoten Lofoten () is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolv� ...

. 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

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

of Svolvær. Some of the villages in Vågan include

Digermulen Digermulen is a village in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the southwestern tip of the large island of Hinnøya Hinnøya is the fourth-largest island in Norway, and the largest outside the Svalbard archipelago ...

Gimsøysand Gimsøysand or Gimsøy is a village in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located on the northeastern shore of the island of Gimsøya, southeast of the villages of Saupstad and Vinje. Gimsøy Church is located in ...

Gravermarka Gravermarka is a small village in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the western side of the island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago. The village of Sydalen lies about southeast of the village. Graver ...

, Henningsvær, Hopen, Kabelvåg, Kleppstad,

Laupstad Laupstad is a village in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the island of Austvågøya at the end of the Austnesfjorden, about north of the village of Liland. The European route E10 European route E10 i ...

, Liland,

Skrova Skrova is a small island group and village area in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Village The fishing village of Skrova lies on the northern part of the island group. It exists mostly on the island of ''Heimskrova'', but also ...

Straumnes Straumnes is a village in the municipality of Vågan in Nordland county, Norway. It is located just east of the village of Laukvika along the Vesterålsfjorden (a part of the Norwegian Sea) on the northwestern side of the island of Austvågøya ...

, and

Sydalen Sydalen is a village in the municipality of Vågan in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the west coast of the island of Austvågøya, about north of the Gimsøystraumen Bridge on the European route E10 European route E10 is t ...

. The municipality is the 210th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Vågan is the 115th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 9,724. 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 increased by 7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Vågan was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 Janu ...

law). In 1856, the northwestern part of Vågan Municipality (population: 987) was separated to form the new Gimsøy Municipality. On 1 July 1918, the town of Svolvær (population: 2,429) was separated to form its own municipality. This left Vågan with 3,399 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee ( no, Schei-komitéen) was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post- World War II. It convened in 1946, and its formal name was (The 1946 Committee on Munici ...

. On 1 January 1964, the municipalities of Gimsøy (population: 1,551), Svolvær (population: 3,952), and Vågan (population: 4,820) were merged to form the new, larger municipality of Vågan.

Name

The municipality (originally the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

) is named after the old ''Vågan'' farm (

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 ...

: ''Vágar''), since the first

Vågan Church Vågan Church ( no, Vågan kirke; nickname: ''Lofoten Cathedral'') is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Kabelvåg on the island of Austvågøya. It is the ch ...

was built there. The name is the

plural The plural (sometimes list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical number, grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the ...

form of ''vág'' which means "

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...

". The island of Austvågøya (Old Norse: ''Vágøy'') was named after this important site (which later led the neighboring island to be named Vestvågøya). The name was historically spelled ''Vaagan''.

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 30 March 1973. The arms show a white colored cod on a blue background. This was chosen because

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. ...

is the main source of income for the municipality. The cod was also part of the older arms of the town/municipality of Svolvær.

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 five parishes () within the municipality of Vågan. It is part of the

Lofoten prosti Lofoten () is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolvæ ...

(

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 Sør-Hålogaland.

Geography

The main population centres are the town of Svolvær and the villages of Kabelvåg and Henningsvær, located on the largest island, Austvågøya (although Svolvær and Henningsvær are partly located on smaller islands adjacent to the main island). All three have a picturesque situation under the rugged Lofoten mountains, facing the rough body of water called Vestfjorden. Vågan municipality includes over half of Austvågøya island, all of the islands of

Gimsøya Gimsøya is an island in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Gimsøya is situated between the islands of Austvågøya and Vestvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago. The island has a population (2016) of 181. The European route E ...

Stormolla Stormolla is an island in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the Lofoten islands, south of the large islands of Austvågøya and Hinnøya and northeast of the smaller islands of Litlmolla and Skrova. The highest p ...

Litlmolla Litlmolla is an uninhabited island in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The island lies east of the town of Svolvær in the Vestfjorden. The island is located in the Lofoten archipelago, south of the large island of Austvågøya, ...

, numerous other tiny islets, plus the southwestern tip of the island of Hinnøya. The Moholmen Lighthouse and

Skrova Lighthouse Skrova Lighthouse ( no, Skrova fyr) is a coastal lighthouse in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on a small skerry southwest of the island of Skrova which is in the Vestfjorden south of the island of Austvågøya. H ...

are both located in the Vestfjorden. Two notable mountains in the municipality are Higravstinden and

Svolværgeita Svolværgeita or Geita ( sme, Spålla) is a tall pinnacle at the southwest face of the mountain Fløyfjellet on the island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago. The high Fløyfjellet is located on the edge of the town of Svolvær in V� ...

. Other mountains include Fløyfjellet,

Trakta Litlkorsnestinden, or Trakta ( en, The Funnel), is a mountain in Hadsel Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The tall mountain lies on the island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago, just north of the Trollfjorden. The summit is t ...

, and Vågakallen.

Climate

Skrova near Svolvær has a temperate climate (marine west coast) in the 1991-2020 period.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Vågan, are responsible for

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/ kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in '' primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

, 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 Lofoten District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

() of Vågan is made up of 29 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 Vågan (incomplete list): *2019–present: Frank Johnsen ( Sp) *2011-2019: Eivind Holst ( H) *1999-2011: Hugo Bjørnstad ( Ap) *1983-1995: Steinar Molvik (Ap) *1911-1913: Jonas Pedersen ( V)

History and economy

Kabelvåg is the oldest

fishing village A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 ...

in Lofoten, where King Øystein built the first fishing shacks in the early 12th century. The Lofoten Cathedral, built in 1898, seats 1,200 people, and used to be filled to the last seat during the Lofoten fishing in the winter. Henningsvær has a picturesque situation on several islands, and is today more important for fishing. Svolvær is the municipal centre, and has an impressive number of artists' studios and galleries. In addition to the cod fisheries, salmon

fish farming upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland Fish farming o ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

are economically important in Vågan.

Transportation

The islands that make up Vågan are connected by several different bridges. The European route E10 highway connects the neighboring municipality of Vestvågøy to Vågan (Gimsøya island) by the

Sundklakkstraumen Bridge The Sundklakkstraumen Bridge ( no, Sundklakkstraumen bru) is a cantilever road bridge that crosses the Sundklakkstraumen strait between the islands of Gimsøya (in the municipality of Vågan) and Vestvågøya (in the municipality of Vestvågøy) ...

. Gimsøya island connects to Austvågøya island by the

Gimsøystraumen Bridge The Gimsøystraumen Bridge ( no, Gimsøystraumen bru / Gimsøybrua) is a cantilever road bridge that crosses the Gimsøystraumen strait between the islands of Austvågøya and Gimsøya in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The co ...

. The islands of Henningsvær are connected to Austvågøya by the Henningsvær Bridges. The rest of the small islands are only accessible by boats and ferries. In the town of Svolvær, the Svinøy Bridge connects the main part of town to the island of Svinøya.

Svolvær Airport, Helle Svolvær () is the administrative centre of Vågan Municipality in Nordland County, Norway. It is located on the island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago, along the Vestfjorden. The town has a population (2018) of 4,720 which gives th ...

is located just east of the town of Svolvær.

Sister cities

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Notable people

Eystein I of Norway Eystein Magnusson (Old Norse: ''Eysteinn Magnússon'', Norwegian: ''Øystein Magnusson''; c. 1088 – 29 August 1123) was King of Norway (as Eystein I) from 1103 to 1123 together with his brothers Sigurd the Crusader and Olaf Magnusson, although ...

(ca.1088–1123) King of Norway, 1103 to 1123; founded Vågan * Paul Egede (1708 in Kabelvåg – 1789) a Dano-Norwegian theologian, scholar and Lutheran missionionary to the

Kalaallit Kalaallit make up the largest group of the Greenlandic Inuit and are concentrated in Kitaa. It is also a contemporary term in the Greenlandic language for the indigenous people living in Greenland (Greenlandic ''Kalaallit Nunaat'').Hessel, 8 Th ...

people in Greenland * Niels Rasch Egede (1710 in Vågan – 1782) a Danish-Norwegian merchant and Lutheran missionary in Greenland * Gunnar Berg (1863 on Svinøya – 1893) painted the everyday life of local fishermen in Lofoten * Martin Hoff Ekroll (1865 in Skroven – 1916) a merchant, mountaineer and Arctic explorer * Erna Schøyen (born 1887 in Kabelvåg – 1968) a Norwegian actress * Gisken Wildenvey (1892 at Austvågøy – 1985) a novelist and author of short stories *

Soffi Schønning Soffi Schønning (October 2, 1895 – September 9, 1994) was a Norwegian operatic soprano. Schønning was born in Kabelvåg. She studied under Borghild Langaard in Christiania, and under Mme. Luisa Cappiani in London . She made her professiona ...

(1895 in Kabelvåg – 1994) a Norwegian operatic soprano * Ellen Einan (1931 in Svolvær – 2013) a Norwegian poet and illustrator *

Dagfinn Bakke Dagfinn Bakke (16 August 1933 – 1 January 2019) was a Norwegian painter, illustrator and printmaker. Career Bakke was born in Lødingen, and settled in Svolvær. From 1952 he worked as illustrator for the magazine '' Magasinet For Alle''. From ...

(1933–2019 in Svolvær) a Norwegian painter, illustrator and printmaker * Hans Christian Alsvik (1936 in Svolvær – 2011) a Norwegian television presenter *

Jack Berntsen Joakim Jan Aril "Jack" Berntsen (14 October 1940 – 5 October 2010) was a Norwegian philologist, songwriter and folk singer. He was born in Kjøpsvik, Tysfjord. He grew up in Hamarøy, and resided in Svolvær from 1968. Berntsen founded ...

(1940–2010) a philologist, songwriter and folk singer; lived in Svolvær from 1968 * Inger Johanne Grytting (born 1949 in Svolvær) an artist, lives and works in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

* Maryon Eilertsen (1950 in Svolvær – 2015) a Norwegian actress and theatre director * Kari Bremnes (born 1956 in Svolvær) a Norwegian singer and songwriter *

Marit Andreassen Marit Adeleide Andreassen (born 29 March 1966 in Svolvær, Nordland) is a Norwegian actress, born in Svolvær. She graduated from the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre in 1993, and has since worked both at Oslo Nye Teater and at Nationalthea ...

(born 1966 in Svolvær) a Norwegian actress IMDb Database
retrieved 17 January 2021 * Maria Strømme (born 1970 in Svolvær) a physicist and academic who lives and works in Sweden

Sport

Terje Hanssen Terje Hanssen (born 20 September 1948 in Kabelvåg, Lofoten) is a former Norwegian biathlete. At the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, he finished fifth with the Norwegian relay team. He received a bronze medal in the relay at the 1974 Biat ...

(born 1948 in Kabelvåg) a former biathlete, competed at the

1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (german: XII. Olympische Winterspiele, french: XIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 ( bar, Innschbruck 1976, label= Austro-Bavarian), was a ...

Ørjan Løvdal Ørjan Løvdal (born 24 September 1962 in Svolvær, Norway) is a Norwegian ice hockey player and coach. He spent most of his career with Stjernen Hockey of the Norwegian Elitserien. He also played for the Norwegian national ice hockey team, and ...

(born 1962 in Svolvær) a Norwegian ice hockey player and coach * Cato André Hansen (born 1972 in Strauman) a football coach and former player with 234 caps for

FK Bodø/Glimt Fotballklubben Bodø/Glimt () is a Norwegian professional football club from the town of Bodø that currently plays in Eliteserien, the Norwegian top division. The club was founded in 1916 and is frequently referred to by its original club n ...

* Stig Johansen (born 1972 in Kabelvåg) a former footballer with 305 club caps and 3 for

Gallery

File:Austnesfjorden_20170720_174113.jpg, Austnesfjorden File:Lofoten-4.jpg, Henningsvær. File:Vagakallen wiki.jpg, Vågakallen towers over Henningsvær, seen from Kabelvåg. File:Vågan kirke-Kabelvåg.jpg, Kabelvåg landscape with the Vågan Church; early June 2009.

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 ...

Lofoten Golf Links
Golf court at Gimsøy in Vågan
Laukvikøyene nature reserve, a wetland area with rich bird life

Polarlightcenter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaagan Municipalities of Nordland Populated places of Arctic Norway 1838 establishments in Norway