Astafjord is a former municipality in

Troms Troms (; ; ; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. It borders Finnmark county to the northeast and Nordland county in the southwest. Norrbotten Län in Sweden is located to the south and further southeast is a shorter border with ...

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 1926 until its dissolution in 1964. The area now makes up the eastern part of

Tjeldsund Municipality or is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The southwestern part of the municipality is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Ofoten and the rest of the municipality is ...

, surrounding the Grovfjorden. The

administrative center 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 Belgiu ...

of the former municipality was the village of Grov where

Astafjord Church Astafjord Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Tjeldsund Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is located in the village of Grov. It is the church for the Astafjord parish which is part of the Trondenes prosti (deanery) in t ...

is located. The

Astafjorden or is a fjord (more accurately, a strait) in Troms county, Norway. It flows through the municipalities of Salangen, Gratangen, Ibestad, and Tjeldsund. The long fjord flows from the Salangen fjord in the east to the Vågsfjorden in the we ...

(

strait A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...

) flowed along the northern part of the municipality and it was the namesake for the municipality. Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 277th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Astafjord Municipality was the 595th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,126. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was and its population had decreased by 2.3% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Historically, Astafjord was a

prestegjeld A ''prestegjeld'' was a geographic and administrative area within the Church of Norway (''Den Norske Kirke'') roughly equivalent to a parish. This traditional designation was in use for centuries to divide the kingdom into ecclesiastical areas tha ...

that encompassed a large part of southern Troms county, including the present-day municipalities of

Bardu Bardu may refer to: People * Bardu Ali (1906–1981), an American jazz and R&B singer, guitarist, and promoter Places *Bardu Municipality, a municipality in Troms county, Norway * Bardu Church, a church in Bardu Municipality in Troms county, Norw ...

, Gratangen,

Ibestad Ibestad may refer to: Places *Ibestad Municipality, a municipality in Troms county, Norway *''Ibestad'', also known as Hamnvik, a village within Ibestad Municipality in Troms county, Norway *Ibestad Church, a church in Ibestad Municipality in Troms ...

, Lavangen,

Salangen Salangen may refer to: Places *Salangen Municipality, a municipality in Troms county, Norway *Salangen (fjord) or is a fjord in Salangen Municipality and Ibestad Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The fjord flows to the northeast from the ...

, and most of

Tjeldsund Tjeldsund may refer to: Places *Tjeldsund Municipality, a municipality in Troms county, Norway * Tjeldsund Bridge, a suspension road bridge that crosses the Tjeldsundet strait in Troms county, Norway * Tjeldsund Church, a church in Tjeldsund Munici ...

. When municipalities were created in Norway in 1838, the old parish was created as

Ibestad Municipality Ibestad () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Central Hålogaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the vil ...

(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). Astafjord Municipality was established on 1 July 1926 when the large

was separated into four municipalities:

(population: 1,768), Andørja Municipality (population: 1,420), Astafjord Municipality (population: 1,018), and

Gratangen Municipality or 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. The municipality is the 261st largest by area out of the 35 ...

(population: 1,967). 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, Astafjord (population: 1,120) was merged with the part of

Skånland Municipality Skånland () is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Troms Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1926 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Tjeldsund Municipality. It was p ...

on the mainland (population: 2,246) to create a new larger

(the rest of the old Skånland on the island of Rolla joined

Name

The municipality was named after the

strait which was named after the old ''Ånstad'' farm (). The first element of the old name comes from the male name ''Arna'' or "Arne", the second element means "home" or "

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

", and the last element is identical with the word for "

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

". Thus, the name literally means the "fjord by Arne's farm".

Churches

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 ...

did not have any churches within Astafjord Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the

Skånland Church Skånland Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Tjeldsund Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is located in the village of Evenskjer. It is the church for the Skånland parish which is part of the Trondenes prosti (deanery) ...

within the

Trondenes prosti Trondenes is a neighborhood and parish in the town of Harstad in Harstad Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The area is located on the northern end of the town, on a peninsula in the Vågsfjorden. The village is notable for the Trondenes Fo ...

(

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the 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 residence of ...

) in the

Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland Nord-Hålogaland () is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers the Church of Norway churches in Troms and Finnmark counties as well as in the territory of Svalbard. The diocese is seated in the city of Tromsø at the Tromsø Cathedral, t ...

Geography

The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Skittendalstinden.

Government

While it existed, Astafjord Municipality was responsible for

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

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

services,

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

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. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

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

economic development In economics, economic development (or 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 object ...

, and municipal

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s and utilities. 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, 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 ...

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

() of Astafjord was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position: *1926-1929: Martin Rasmussen *1929-1932: Viggo Tande *1933-1942: Hartvik Nilsen *1945-1945: Viggo Tande *1945-1945: Peder Dyrstad *1946-1963: Peder Ellefsen

Municipal council

The

of Astafjord was made up of 15 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, 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 oft ...

References

{{authority control Former municipalities of Norway Tjeldsund 1926 establishments in Norway 1964 disestablishments in Norway Populated places established in 1926 Populated places disestablished in 1964