Leknes () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Vestvågøy Municipality Vestvågøy 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 t ...

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 town is also 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 ...

(with 11,619 inhabitants, it is the most populous municipality in

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 ...

and

Vesterålen Vesterålen ( , ; ) is a district and archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. It is located just north of Lofoten and west of Harstad. It is the northernmost part of Nordland county. Sortland is the largest town, situated near the center of the a ...

). Leknes was designated a "

" () in 2002. The town has a population (2023) of 3,763 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 town is situated in the geographical middle of the Lofoten archipelago on the island of

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 ...

. It is approximately west of the town of

Svolvær (Norwegian language, Norwegian, ), , or is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the administrative centre of Vågan Municipality in Nordland County, Norway. It is located on the island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago, alon ...

and east of the village of Å in

Moskenes Municipality Moskenes is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality comprises the southern part of the island of Moskenesøya in the traditional district of Lofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Reine. O ...

. Leknes is one of the few towns in Lofoten that does not depend on fisheries and does not have its town centre by the sea. Because of this, and because of its rapid growth in recent years, it does not have the same traditional wooden architecture as most fishing villages in Lofoten. However, the natural surroundings are among the most stunning in Norway, with mountains, peaks, cliffs, and white sandy beaches. The town's harbour ''Leknes Havn'' is one of Norway's most important and visited harbours for cruise ships. The old school in the

Fygle Leknes () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Vestvågøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The town is also the administrative centre of Vestvågøy Municipality (with 11,619 inhabitants, it is the most populous municipality ...

neighborhood has been converted into a museum. Hol Church is located on the eastern edge of the town. Leknes and the neighboring villages of

and Gravdal have grown together over the years through

conurbation A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...

. One branch of the

Nordland Hospital Nordland Hospital Trust (, ) is a part of the Northern Norway Regional Health Authority and covers the specialist health services for areas in Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norw ...

is located in Gravdal, which is located about southwest of the centre of Leknes. In Leknes, the sun (

midnight sun Midnight sun, also known as polar day, is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When midnight sun is see ...

) is above the horizon from May 26 to July 17, and in the winter, the sun does not rise in Leknes from December 9 to January 4.

Transportation

Leknes is the trading and shopping centre of Lofoten, only rivaled by

. 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 runs through the town connecting all the main islands of Lofoten to the mainland. Leknes also has an airport,

Leknes Airport Leknes Airport (; ) is a regional airport serving the town of Leknes and the surrounding areas in the Lofoten archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. The airport is located just outside Leknes in Vestvågøy Municipality. The European rou ...

, for

regional aircraft A regional airliner, commuter airliner or feeder liner is a small airliner that is designed to fly up to 100 passengers on short-haul flights, usually feeding larger carriers' airline hubs from small markets. This class of airliners is typically ...

, with 7 daily scheduled flights to Bodø and 1 daily flight to

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 ...

with the airline

Widerøe Widerøes Flyveselskap AS, trading as Widerøe, is a Norwegian airline, and the largest regional airline operating in the Nordic countries. The airline's fleet of 48 aircraft includes 45 De Havilland Dash 8 turboprops as well as 3 Embraer 1 ...

. The town has a small bus terminal that is a hub with bus links to the rest of Lofoten.

Climate

The weather station is located at the small Leknes Airport. The all-time high is recorded July 2018, and the all-time low is from February 2019. Winters get abundant precipitation in Leknes. Summers are much drier with only 25 % of the winter precipitation. The weather station started up in 1972; records available since 2002.

Media

The newspaper ''

Lofot-Tidende ''Lofot-Tidende'' (The Lofoten Times) is a Norwegian newspaper published in Leknes in Vestvågøy Municipality. It is published once a week, on Wednesdays. ''Lofot-Tidende'' covers events in the municipalities of Vestvågøy, Flakstad, and Mosken ...

'' has been published in Leknes since 1987.

References

{{authority control Vestvågøy Cities and towns in Norway Populated places in Nordland Populated places of Arctic Norway