Alta-Talvik or Alten-Talvig is a former municipality in

Finnmark Finnmark (; ; ; ; ) is a counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland's Lapland (Finland), Lapland region to the south, and Russia's Murmansk Oblast to the east, and by water, the Norweg ...

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1863. It was located along the

Altafjorden The Altafjord (; ; ) is a fjord in Alta Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The long fjord stretches from the town of Alta in the south to the islands of Stjernøya and Seiland. The long river Altaelva empties into the fjord at the tow ...

and the river

Altaelva Altaelva (; ; ) is the third-longest river in Finnmark county, Norway. The river begins in the mountains and lakes in Kautokeino Municipality, near the border with Finnmark county and Finland, just south of Reisa National Park. The long river t ...

with the same borders as the present-day

Alta Municipality Alta (; ; ; ) is the most populated List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Finnmark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Alta (town), town of Alta. Some of the main villages in the ...

. The

administrative centre An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

was the village of

Alta Alta or ALTA may refer to: Acronyms * Alt-A, short for Alternative A-paper, is a type of US mortgage * American Land Title Association, a national trade association representing the land title industry * American Literary Translators Association, ...

(in 2000, the village was declared a town). The

European route E6 European route E6 (, , or simply E6) is the main north–south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the countr ...

highway runs through the area today. Some of the notable villages in the municipality included Kåfjord, Komagfjord, Kvenvik, Langenes, Langfjordbotn,

Leirbotn Leirbotn is a village in Alta Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The village is located along the Altafjorden, about west of the European route E06 highway in the northeastern part of Alta Municipality. The village, together with Kviby and ...

Rafsbotn , , or is a village in Alta Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The village sits at the southeast end of the Altafjorden, along the European route E6 highway, about northeast of the town of Alta. The name comes from the Sami place name w ...

, Talvig, and

Tverrelvdalen , , or is a village area in the Tverrelvdalen valley in Alta Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. It is a suburb to the southeast of the town of Alta. The river ''Tverrelva'' runs through the valley and village area. The village has a pop ...

. The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

had churches in Alten-Talvig:

Alta Church Alta Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Alta Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the Bossekop area in the town of Alta. It is one of the churches for the Alta parish which is part of the Alta prosti (d ...

Talvik Church Talvik Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Alta Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the village of Talvik, along the Altafjorden and the European route E06 highway. It is main church for the Talvik parish ...

, and

Kåfjord Church Kåfjord Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Gáivuotna Municipality (''Kåfjord'') in Troms county, Norway. It is located in the village of Olderdalen. It is the church for the Kåfjord parish which is part of the Nord-Troms ...

History

The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of ''Alten-Talvig'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...

law). According to the 1835 census, the area had a population of 3,085. In 1863, the municipality of Alten-Talvig was dissolved and its area was split to create two new municipalities: Alten Municipality (population: 2,442) in the south and Talvig Municipality (population: 1,938) in the north. The two municipalities lasted for 101 years independently. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee () was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a ...

. On 1 January 1964, Talvik and Alta were merged back together to form the new

Name

The parishes of Alten and Talvig were combined to form the municipality in 1838 and it was named ''Alten-Talvig'', by combining the two old parish names together. During its existence, the name was always spelled ''Alten-Talvig'', however, after this time, there were spelling reforms for the

Norwegian language Norwegian ( ) is a North Germanic language from the Indo-European language family spoken mainly in Norway, where it is an official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelli ...

and the correct present-day spelling is ''Alta-Talvik'', so that is the spelling that is commonly seen now, although it was never spelled that way during its existence. The first element comes from the local

. The name possibly comes from the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

words or which refer to a

swan Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...

. It could also be the Norwegianization of the Finnish word () which refers to a "lowland". Prior to 1918, the name was written ''Alten''. The second element of the name comes from the old ''Talvig'' farm since the first

was built there. The first element of the name is rather uncertain. If the first part was of

origin then it is derived from the word which means "

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

" (due to the large number of pine trees in the area). The other explanation is that it is a corruption of the

Northern Sami Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

word or the longer name which translates as "fog" or "fog bay". The early Norwegian settlers would have translated that as (meaning "fog bay") and this could have been corrupted from to . The last part of the name is which means "inlet" or "cove".

Geography

The municipality was located along the

and the inland areas around the

river. The municipality also included the southern parts of the islands of

Seiland or is a substantial island off Norway's northern coast, covering about . It is the eighth largest island in Norway proper, located in Finnmark county. It sits within the Caledonian orogenic zone, a mountain‑building belt formed during t ...

and

Stjernøya or is an island in western Finnmark county, Norway. The island sits at the mouth of the Altafjorden on the south side of the Sørøysundet strait. It is divided among the municipalities of Loppa, Hasvik, and Alta. The highest point on th ...

. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Store Haldi.

Government

During its existence, this municipality was 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, borough cou ...

of directly elected representatives. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

was

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the

Hålogaland Court of Appeal The Hålogaland Court of Appeal () is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Tromsø. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Nordland, Troms, and Finnmark as well as the island territor ...

Mayors

The

mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

() of Alta-Talvik: *1838-1842: John Andreas Gill *1843-1845: Ellert Michael Ellertsen *1845-1847: Niels Frederik Julius Aars *1847-1849: Theodor Bergmann Borchgrevink *1849-1851: Carl Norum *1851-1853: Theodor Bergmann Borchgrevink *1853-1855: Thomas Thomesen *1855-1857: Theodor Bergmann Borchgrevink *1857-1859: Lars Olsen Follum *1859-1861: Martin Heggelund Hjort Stuwitz *1861-1863: Lars Olsen Follum

References

External links

* {{Authority control Alta, Norway Former municipalities of Norway 1838 establishments in Norway 1863 disestablishments in Norway Populated places established in 1838 Populated places disestablished in 1863