Ibestad () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

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 ...

. It is part of the

traditional region A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

Central Hålogaland Central Hålogaland () is a district of Northern Norway constituting the traditional districts of Ofoten, Lofoten, Vesterålen, and southern Troms. It has a population of 117,000, with the largest towns being Harstad (23,000) and Narvik (18,000) ...

. 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 ...

of the municipality is the village of

Hamnvik Hamnvik, also known as or is the administrative centre of Ibestad Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is located on the eastern tip of the island of Rolla. The village has a population (2023) of 446 and a population density Population ...

. Some of the other larger villages in Ibestad include

Engenes Engenes is a small fishing village in Ibestad Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is located on the northwestern tip of the island of Andørja. The village is home to Andørja Church Andørja Church () is a parish church of the Church of ...

, Laupstad, Rollnes, Sørrollnes,

Sørvika Sørvika is a village in Harstad Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is located along the Vågsfjorden on the island of Hinnøya about south of the town of Harstad Its population (2001) is about 451. The village includes the ''Sørvik ...

, and Å. The municipality is the 293rd largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Ibestad is the 313th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,311. 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 ...

is and its population has decreased by 8.7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Ibestad was established 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). Initially, Ibestad Municipality covered a large area from the Vågsfjorden strait to the border with

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

(the old

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 ...

parish). In 1854, the rural eastern half of the municipality (population: 757) was separated from Ibestad Municipality to form the new

Bardu Municipality Bardu ( and ) is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Setermoen, the largest urban area in the municipality. The municipality is the 18th largest by area out of the 357 municip ...

. This left Ibestad with 4,741 residents. Then, on 1 January 1871, the northeastern part of the municipality (population: 1,384) was separated from Ibestad to form the new

Salangen Municipality Salangen is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sjøvegan, where most of the people in the municipality live. Other villages ...

. This left Ibestad with 4,301 inhabitants. On 1 January 1907, the easternmost area of Ibestad (population: 1,536) became the separate

Lavangen Municipality or is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tennevoll. Other villages in Lavangen include Fossbakken and Spansdalen (in the inland areas) and Kjeiprød, Røkenes, Låternes ...

. Ibestad had 5,709 residents remaining after the split. In 1926, Ibestad Municipality was divided into four separate municipalities:

Andørja Municipality Andørja is a Former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Troms Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1926 until its dissolution in 1964. The area now makes up the northeastern half of Ibestad Municipal ...

(population: 1,420) in the northeast,

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) in the southeast,

Astafjord Municipality Astafjord is a Former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Troms Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1926 until its dissolution in 1964. The area now makes up the eastern part of Tjeldsund Municipality, ...

(population: 1,018) in the southwest, and (a much smaller) Ibestad Municipality (population: 1,768) in the northwest. 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, Ibestad Municipality (population: 1,821) was merged with

(population: 1,330) and 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 ...

located on the island of Rolla (population: 143), creating a new Ibestad Municipality with a total of 3,294 residents. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed

Troms og Finnmark Troms og Finnmark (; ; ; ) was a county in northern Norway that existed from 2020 to 2023. The county was established on 1 January 2020 as the result of a regional reform. It was the largest county by area in Norway, encompassing about , and w ...

county. Previously, it had been part of the old

county. On 1 January 2024, the

county was divided and the municipality once again became part of

county.

Name

The municipality (originally 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 ...

) is named after the old ''Ibestad'' farm () since the first

Ibestad Church Ibestad Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Ibestad Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is located in the village of Hamnvik in eastern part of the island of Rolla. It is the main church for the Ibestad parish which is pa ...

was built there. The first element is the

genitive case In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive ca ...

of the male name . The last element is which means "

homestead Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (building), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses * Nguni homestead, a cluster of houses inhabited by a single extended family, typically with a kraal ...

" 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 ...

". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled ''Ibbestad''. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to ''Ibestad''.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted on 19 December 1986. The official

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

is ''"

Azure Azure may refer to: Color * Azure (color), a hue of blue ** Azure (heraldry) ** Shades of azure, shades and variations Arts and media * ''Azure'' (Art Farmer and Fritz Pauer album), 1987 * Azure (Gary Peacock and Marilyn Crispell album), 2013 * ...

, a cross formy within and conjoined to an annulet

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

"'' (). This means the arms have a blue

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

(background) and the

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

is a cross formy inside an annulet (circle). The charge has a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The design is reminiscent of the

, built around the year 1200. It is one of the northernmost stone churches in the world. In the 1960s a 13th-century

gravestone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...

was found at the church which had the same type of "wheel cross" design. This design was eventually chosen for the Ibestad coat of arms. These types of crosses were often used as ornaments in wooden

stave church A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts ...

es. The arms were designed by Steinar Hanssen.

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 ...

has two parishes () within Ibestad Municipality. It is part of 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 municipality encompasses the islands of Andørja and Rolla and the tiny surrounding islets. The two main islands are connected by the undersea

Ibestad Tunnel The Ibestad Tunnel is an undersea tunnel in Ibestad Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The tunnel connects the islands of Rolla and Andørja. The western end of the tunnel begins in the village of Hamnvik on Rolla. Then the tunnel goes under ...

. The Mjøsund Bridge connects Andørja to

on the mainland. There is a regular ferry connection from Sørrollnes on Rolla to the town of Harstad. 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 ...

forms the southeastern border of the municipality and the Vågsfjorden forms the western and northern borders. The small Mjøsundet strait forms the eastern border. The highest point in Ibestad Municipality is the tall mountain

Langlitinden Langlitinden is the highest mountain on the island of Andørja and is also the highest mountain on any Norwegian island (except Beerenberg, Jan Mayen). It is located on the northeastern part of the island in Ibestad Municipality in Troms county, ...

Climate

Government

Ibestad Municipality is 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 is under the jurisdiction of the

Midtre Hålogaland District Court Midtre Hålogaland District Court () is a district court located in Troms and Nordland, Norway. This court is based at three different courthouses which are located in Harstad, Narvik, and Sortland. The court is subordinate to the Hålogaland Cou ...

and 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 ...

Municipal council

The

of Ibestad is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and 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 ...

Mayors

The

() of Ibestad is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position: *1838–1845: Peter Munch Brager *1846–1847: Poul Irgens Holst *1848–1849: Nikolai Normann Dons *1850–1855: Jørris Schjelderup Hanssen *1856–1857: Jens Bing Dons, Jr. *1858–1862: Fredrik Hegge *1863–1868: Jens Bing Dons, Jr. *1869–1872: Peder B. Dons *1873–1876: Johan Barak Dønnesen *1877–1880: Peder B. Dons *1881–1882: Konrad Saugestad *1883–1884: Andreas Simon Olsen *1885–1888: Konrad Saugestad *1889–1890: Peder B. Dons *1891–1898: Konrad Saugestad *1899–1907: Johan Laurits Johansen *1908–1910: Helge Hallesen ( V) *1911–1913: Martin Rasmussen ( V) *1914–1919: John Lind-Johansen ( Ap) *1923–1940: Håkon Breivoll ( Ap) *1941–1945: Fridtjof Kjæreng ( NS) *1945-1945: Håkon Breivoll ( Ap) *1946–1953: Hans Simonsen ( Ap) *1954–1957: Einar Horsberg ( V) *1957–1959: Hans Simonsen ( Ap) *1960–1961: Einar Horsberg ( V) *1962–1963: Ove Bergvoll ( Ap) *1964–1967: Olav Eriksen ( Ap) *1968–1975: Peder H. Pedersen ( Sp) *1976–1979: Odd Jacobsen ( Ap) *1980–1983: Peder H. Pedersen ( Sp) *1984–2007: Arne Olav Ekman ( H) *2007–2011: Marit Johansen ( Ap) *2011–2023: Dag Brustind ( H) *2023-present: Jim Kristiansen ( H)

Notable people

* Håkon Martin Breivoll (1886 in Ibestad – 1955), a Norwegian politician who was Mayor of Ibestad municipality from 1922 to 1940

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, 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 year on its web site. All rele ...

{{authority control Municipalities of Troms Populated places of Arctic Norway 1838 establishments in Norway Populated places established in 1838