or is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

Narvik Municipality () is the third-largest List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Narvik (town), town of Narvik. Some of the notable villag ...

Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...

county,

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 village is located at the end of Herjangsfjorden, an arm of

Ofotfjorden The Ofotfjord (; ) is a fjord in Nordland county, Norway. It is an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, located about north of the Arctic Circle. The long Ofotfjord is Norway, Norway's 12th longest fjord and it is also the 18th deepest, with a maximum d ...

. Bjerkvik sits less than south of the border of

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 and about across the fjord from the town of Narvik. The village has a population (2023) of 1,088 and a

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 ...

of . 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 ...

and

European route E10 European route E10 is the second shortest Class A road which is part of the International E-road network. It begins in Å, Norway, and ends in Luleå, Sweden. The road is about in length. The Norwegian part of the road is also named Kong Ol ...

highways meet in Bjerkvik, a central location on the roads connecting

Harstad Harstad may refer to: Places *Harstad (town) Harstad (; ) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Harstad Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is also the administrative centre of Harstad Municipality. The city has a populati ...

Narvik () is the third-largest List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Narvik (town), town of Narvik. Some of the notable villag ...

, and

Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...

Elvegårdsmoen Elvegårdsmoen is a military training camp site in Narvik Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the inner end of Herjangsfjorden, on the southeast side of the village of Bjerkvik. The site was of some importance during the Ge ...

military camp lies on the eastern edge of the village near the lake Hartvikvatnet. Bjerkvik School is an elementary and secondary school in Bjerkvik. The school has about 200 pupils. The village also has two gas stations and three grocery stores. Bjerkvik Church was built here in 1955 to serve the northern part of the municipality.

History

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Bjerkvik was almost destroyed by the bombardment of gunfire from allied warships that caused significant civilian casualties. A landing was also conducted in the area by a Franco-British forces, pushing the german forces several miles away. The worst

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...

disaster in modern Norwegian history took place in Vassdalen near Bjerkvik in March 1986 when 16 Norwegian soldiers on exercise were killed.

Media gallery

File:Europastrasse Kreisverkehr E 6 und E 10.jpg, The

and E10 roads meet in Bjerkvik File:Bjerkvik.jpg, Bjerkvik File:Bjerkvik kirke.jpg, Bjerkvik Church File:Bjerkvik (4).jpg, View at low tide

References

{{authority control Narvik Villages in Nordland Populated places of Arctic Norway