Gimsøya is an island in

Vågan Municipality Vågan () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Lofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the List of to ...

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 ...

. Gimsøya is situated between the islands of

Austvågøya Austvågøya is the northeasternmost and largest of the larger islands in the Lofoten archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. It is located between the Vestfjorden and the Norwegian Sea. The island of Vestvågøya lies to the southwest and the ...

and

Vestvågøya Vestvågøya (or less-commonly: ''Vest-Vågøy'') is an island in the Lofoten archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. The island is located within Vestvågøy Municipality. The island lies between the islands of Austvågøya and Gimsøya to t ...

in the

Lofoten Lofoten ( , ; ; ) is an archipelago and a Districts of Norway, 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. T ...

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

. The island has a population (2016) of 181. The

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 ...

highway passes through Gimsøya linking the island to

by the Gimsøystraumen Bridge and to the island of

by the Sundklakkstraumen Bridge. The main population centres on Gimsøya include Vinje (where Gimsøy Elementary school is located), Hov (where the golf course is located), Hovsund (where the marina and the abandoned fish factory is located), Barstrand (where some fishing industry is located),

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 th ...

(where Gimsøy Church is located), and Årrstranda. Historically, the island made up a large part of the old

Gimsøy Municipality Gimsøy is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1856 until its dissolution in 1964. It was located in the northwestern part of what is now Vågan Municipality. The municipality consisted of the island ...

which existed from 1856 until its dissolution in 1964.

Geography

The southern and eastern part of Gimsøya is mountainous. The highest point is the tall Svarttinden (next to Bardstrandfjellet). In the north and west, the island is flat and

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

y, with the exception of the tall Hoven mountain. There are large protected areas in Gimsøya related to

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

and bird life. "Gimsøy marshes nature reserve" () is located on the island.

Beaches

The north-facing part of Gimsøy has great views of the open ocean, and is a popular place to watch the midnight sun. Both Hovstranda (Hov beach) by the camping site, Vinjestranda (Vinje beach) by Gimsøy landhandel (grocery store) and the smaller beaches are good places to see the midnight sun.

Media gallery

File:Sundklakkstraumen Bridge Lofoten 2009 - 2.JPG, Sundklakkstraumen Bridge File:Gimsoystraumen Bridge Lofoten 2009.JPG, Gimsøystraumen Bridge File:Gimsoy kirke.jpg, Gimsøy Church at Gimsøysand File:Abandoned house in Gimsøysand, Gimsøy Island, Lofoten, Norway.JPG, Abandoned house in Gimsøysand File:Shop and gas station on Gimsoy, Lofoten, Norway.jpg, Shop and gas station on Gimsøya

References

External links

Midnight Sun on GimsøyaGimsøy Landhandel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gimsoya Vågan Islands of Nordland