Vestvågøy 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 Leknes. Some of the villages in the municipality include Ballstad,

Borg The Borg are an alien group that appear as recurring antagonists in the ''Star Trek'' fictional universe. The Borg are cybernetic organisms (cyborgs) linked in a hive mind called "the Collective". The Borg co-opt the technology and knowledge ...

, Bøstad, Gravdal, Knutstad, Stamsund, and Tangstad. With over 11,300 inhabitants, Vestvågøy is the most populous municipality in all of the

and

Vesterålen Vesterålen is a district and archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. It is located just north of Lofoten and west of Harstad. It is the northernmost part of Nordland county. Sortland is the largest town, situated near the center of the arch ...

regions in Nordland county. The Lofotr museum in

shows a reconstructed

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

chieftain's residence, with a house measuring , built of

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

and turf. The municipality is the 232nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Vestvågøy is the 98th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 11,566. 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 6.6% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Vestvågøy was created on 1 January 1963 when the four municipalities on the island of Vestvågøya were merged into one municipality for the whole island. The old municipalities on the island were Borge (population: 4,056), Buksnes (population: 4,416),

Hol Hol is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. Administrative history The area of Hol was separated from the municipality Ål in 1877 to become a separate municipality. In 1937 a part of neighboring Uvdal with 220 inhabitants moved to Hol munic ...

(population: 3,154), and Valberg (population: 662). Initially, Vestvågøy had 12,288 residents. The borders have not changed since.

Name

The municipality is named after the island of Vestvågøya. 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 ...

name of the island was ''Lófót'' (see

) - but when ''Lofoten'' became the name of the whole

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arch ...

, the old name was replaced with ''Vestvågøy''. Vestvågøy can be broken down into three parts: ''vest-våg-øy'' which can be roughly translated as ''west-bay-island''.

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 7 September 1984. The arms show two dried codfish in white on a blue background. This was chosen since the municipality is one of the main Norwegian exporters of (dried) cod or

stockfish Stockfish is unsalted fish, especially cod, dried by cold air and wind on wooden racks (which are called "hjell" in Norway) on the foreshore. The drying of food is the world's oldest known preservation method, and dried fish has a storage lif ...

and has been since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

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 Vestvågøy. 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

Vestvågøy municipality is among the most scenic in Norway. It encompassed the whole island of Vestvågøya with the Norwegian Sea to the north and the Vestfjorden to the south. The island has rugged

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

s and peaks facing the southeastern coast. Towards the northwest, however, the land is flat, with extensive farmlands. Most people are found in the town of Leknes and in its "twin town" Gravdal, where

Nordland Hospital Nordland Hospital Trust ( Norwegian: ''Nordlandssykehuset'', NLSH) is a part of the Northern Norway Regional Health Authority and covers the specialist health services for areas north of Saltfjellet in Nordland county. The trust consists of a nu ...

is located. Along the southeastern coast, one finds picturesque fishing villages like Ballstad and Stamsund, where the Hurtigruten (coastal ferry) stops. The coastline is dominated by high mountains, such as the tall Skottinden, and on the west coast also sandy white

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc s ...

es. Uttakleiv the most romantic beach in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, according to the British newspaper

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

, and the neighbouring Hauklandsstranden is ranked by the Norwegian newspaper

Dagbladet ''Dagbladet'' (lit.: ''The Daily Magazine'') is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally ''Dagbladet'' is considered the main liberal newsp ...

as the best beach in Norway. In Leknes, the sun (

midnight sun The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When the midnight sun is seen in the Arctic, ...

) is above the horizon from May 26 until July 17, and in winter the sun does not rise from December 9 until January 4. The midnight sun is best viewed from the western beaches, such as Uttakleiv and Eggum.

Climate

There is an official weather station at Leknes Airport. Autumn and winter is much wetter than spring and summer. The driest month (July) get less than one fift of the precipitation in the wettest month (December). 2010-08-03_-_Lofoten_Vestvågøy_-_Borg

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Vestvågøy, 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 Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

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 Lofoten District Court ( no, Lofoten tingrett) was a district court in Nordland county, Norway. The court was based in the town of Svolvær. The court existed until 2021. It served the municipalities of Flakstad, Moskenes, Vestvågøy, and V� ...

and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

() of Vestvågøy is made up of 33 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:

Transportation

Leknes is the municipal and

and is situated in the geographical middle of Lofoten, approximately west of Svolvær and east of Å. Leknes is the trading and shopping centre of Lofoten, only rivaled by Svolvær. Leknes Airport is for smaller aircraft, with 7 daily scheduled flights to

Bodø Bodø (; smj, Bådåddjo, sv, Bodö) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland coun ...

and some daily flights to Svolvær and Røst with

Widerøe Widerøes Flyveselskap AS, trading as Widerøe, is a Norwegian airline, and is the largest regional airline operating in the Nordic countries. The airline's fleet of 40 Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft, and 3 Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, serves over 40 ...

airlines. There is a small bus

terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together * Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devi ...

which serves as a hub with bus links to the rest of Lofoten. The ''Leknes Havn'' (

harbor A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

) is one of Norway's most important and visited harbors for

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...

s. Hurtigruten has been an important means of communication for a century. It docks in Stamsund twice every night, one heading south towards

the other heading north towards Svolvær. The European route E10 highway crosses the municipality (and island) with 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) ...

connecting to

Vågan Vågan ( sme, Vuogát) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Lofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Svolvær. Some of the villages in Vågan include Digermulen, ...

in the north and the Nappstraumen Tunnel connecting to Flakstad in the south.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Vestvågøy is twinned with: * Skeiða- og Gnúpverjahreppur,

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

Notable residents

* Hartvig Jentoft (1693 in Borge – 1739) a Norwegian tradesman and sailor * Karl Uchermann (1855 in Borge – 1940) a Norwegian painter of dogs and altarpieces * Mikael Heggelund Foslie (1855 in Borge – 1909) a botanist and

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular micr ...

ologist * Jens R. Nilssen (1880 in Valberg – 1964) a Norwegian illustrator, comics creator and cartoonist *

Edvarda Lie Edvarda Klaudine Lie (April 3, 1910 – June 8, 1983) was a Norwegian painter, drawer, and illustrator. Edvarda Lie was born in Meldal and grew up in Vestvågøy. She created illustrations for many newspapers and magazines, including A-magasine ...

(1910–1963) a painter, drawer and illustrator; brought up in Vestvågøy * Boy Rist (1912 in Gravdal – 1972) a naval officer, member of the Norwegian resistance in WWII * Harald Sverdrup (1923 in Gravdal – 1992) a Norwegian poet and children's writer * Kari Wærness (born 1939 in Leknes) a Norwegian sociologist * Søren Fredrik Voie (born 1949 in Vestvågøy) a politician, Mayor of Vestvågøy 1983-1987 * Guri Ingebrigtsen (1952–2020) a Norwegian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

; Mayor of Vestvågøy 1999 to 2007 * Rahim Aga Khan (born 1971) son of

Prince Karim Aga Khan Shāh Karim al-Husayni (born 13 December 1936), known by the religious title Mawlānā Hazar Imam by his Ismaili followers and elsewhere as Aga Khan IV, is the 49th and current Imam of Nizari Ismailis, a denomination within Shia Islam. He ...

, bought a house in Unstad in 2019

Media gallery

Unnstad.JPG, Unstad; Vestvågøy has the largest areas of lowland in Lofoten Bulitinden-vestvagoya-lofoten-norway.jpg, View south-west from the summit of Bulitinden Sundklakkstraumen bru.JPG, Sundklakkstraumen Bridge File:Lake_near_Borg.jpg, Near Borg in Vestvågøy Vestvagoya-skottinden-winter.jpg, The mountain Skottinden in winter sunshine

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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vestvaagoy Municipalities of Nordland Populated places of Arctic Norway 1963 establishments in Norway