Lebesby ( and ) 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' ...

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

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 Kjøllefjord. Other villages in the municipality include Ifjord, Kunes,

Lebesby Lebesby ( and ) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Finnmark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kjøllefjord. Other villages in the municipality include Ifjord, ...

, and Veidnes. The municipality is the 8th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Lebesby is the 320th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,215. 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 9.4% over the previous 10-year period. The municipality consists of the western half of the

Nordkinn Peninsula Cape Nordkinn ( or ) at is the northernmost point on the Nordkinn Peninsula in county, Norway. It is notable for being the extreme points of Norway, northernmost point of mainland Norway, and by extension the extreme points of Europe, northernm ...

, along with areas around the

Laksefjorden ( Norwegian; ), , or is a fjord located entirely in Lebesby Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. At long, it is the third-longest fjord in Finnmark county after the Porsangerfjorden and Varangerfjorden. The fjord is situated in a sparsel ...

. Most people live in the village of Kjøllefjord. This municipality is dominated by ethnic Norwegians, whereas the areas around the Laksefjorden are predominantly

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ne ...

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

is the mainstay of the population.

Economy

There are 17

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...

s that generate electrical power in Kjøllefjord, as of 2024. The world's northernmost dairy farm that produces milk () is located in Bekkarfjord.

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 Lebesby 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). In 1864, the eastern part of Lebesby that surrounds the Tanafjorden (population: 1,388) was separated to become the new Tana Municipality. Tana was later separated into three: Tana Municipality,

Gamvik Municipality () is a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Mehamn. The other notable villages in Gamvik include Gamvik and Skjånes. Gamvik is known as one of the poorest and most undevelo ...

, and Berlevåg Municipality. The borders of Lebesby have remained unchanged since that time. 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 origins of the municipal name are uncertain. There are two main possibilities. ''Lebesby'' may be a Norwegianized form of a

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 ...

name . The first element is the genitive form of the word which means " grey alder". The last element is which means "reindeer camp" or "dwelling place". A second option for the origin of the name is that ''Lebesby'' is a

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

of 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 ...

word . The first element is which is a male name from long ago. The last element is which means "dwelling place" or "farmstead".

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 22 July 1988. 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 ''" Per fess embattled grady with three steps and two peaks Or and

Sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaz ...

"'' (). This means the arms have a field (background) that is divided by a line that is "embattled grady". A line embattled grady consists of series of two or three steps, as if each merlon has a smaller merlon atop it. The field below the line 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 ...

sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaz ...

and the field above the line has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The idea is that the arms represent the ''Finnkirka'' ("the Finn Church"), a

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of Rock (geology), rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. ...

by the sea in the municipality. This cliff formation has the appearance of a church, and in former times was used by

Sami people Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...

as a place of sacrifice. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen.

Geography

The municipality consists of the areas around the

, including the eastern part of the Sværholt Peninsula and the western half of the

. At the entrance to the Kjøllefjorden at the northwestern tip of the Nordkinn Peninsula, one finds the spectacular ''Finnkirka'' sea cliff, so named because of its soaring spires that look like a church. On the other side of the Oksefjorden on the northern end of the peninsula, the

Kinnarodden Cape Nordkinn ( or ) at is the northernmost point on the Nordkinn Peninsula in county, Norway. It is notable for being the extreme points of Norway, northernmost point of mainland Norway, and by extension the extreme points of Europe, northernm ...

cape (shared with

) is the northernmost point on the European mainland. There are several large lakes in the municipality including Kjæsvannet, Store Måsvannet, and Suolojávri. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Rásttigáisá.

Birdlife

The same seacliffs mentioned above hold large numbers of breeding

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...

s. In fact Norway's third largest seabird colony can be found in the municipality. Experiencing a seabird colony is one of nature's great experiences, here you can see and listen to thousands of birds with such species as

fulmar The fulmars are tube-nosed seabirds in the family Procellariidae. The family includes two extant species, and two extinct fossil species from the Miocene. Fulmars superficially resemble gulls, but are readily distinguished by their flight on s ...

and

Atlantic puffin The Atlantic puffin ('), also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family (biology), family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin being found ...

being a part of a fascinating

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

Flora

The world's northernmost

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

forest is located in this municipality, near Oksefjorden, east of Kjøllefjord ().

Climate

Government

Lebesby 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 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 ...

is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Indre og Østre Finnmark District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

of Lebesby is made up of 17 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

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 Lebesby: *1838-1840: Johan Karsten Garmann Schancke *1840-1843: Nils Pedersen *1843-1845: Jørres Schelderup Hansen *1846-1854: Henning Briks *1855-1857: Nicolai Christian Lassen *1858-1863: Bernhard Kock *1864-1867: Johan Fredrik Lindstrøm *1868-1873: Oluf August Ingemann Melbye *1874-1892: N. Johansen *1893-1895: J.B. Bøgeberg *1896-1898: Ole Moen *1899-1907: N. Johansen *1908-1913: O. Klykken *1914-1914: Andreas Olai Knutsen Steffensen *1914-1916: Johan Hustad *1917-1919: Wilhelm Lund *1920-1925: Ole Konrad Steinholt *1926-1928: Johan P. Olsen *1929-1931: Charlo Klykken *1932-1934: Johan P. Olsen *1935-1941: Karl Fosslund *1941-1942: Jens A. Horst *1942-1945: Sigvald Tryggeseth ( NS) *1945-1945: Adolf Hansen *1945-1945: Arne Moilanen *1946-1950: Hans Martin Hanssen ( Ap) *1950-1951: Bertin Jonassen *1952-1955: Edmund Wallenius *1956-1957: Viggo Lund *1958-1959: Gerhard Charlo Øfeldt *1959-1961: Viggo Lund *1961-1975: Aksel Samuelsberg ( Ap) *1975-1979: Magnor Mathisen ( Ap) *1979-1988: Edmund Varfjell ( Ap) *1988-1998: Kristin Berg Nilsen ( Ap) *1998-2010: Harald Larssen ( Ap) *2010-2019: Stine Akselsen ( Ap) *2019–present: Sigurd Kvammen Rafaelsen ( Ap)

Culture

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 the municipality of Lebesby. It is part of the Hammerfest prosti (

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.

Notable people

* Einar Wøhni (1920 in Lebesby – 1987), a politician * Gørild Mauseth (born 1972 in Kjøllefjord), an actress. Retrieved 17 August 2020.

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 ...

About Lebesby
{{authority control Municipalities of Finnmark Populated places of Arctic Norway 1838 establishments in Norway Populated places established in 1838