Lenvik () is a former municipality in

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 ...

. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020. The municipality was partly situated on the mainland and partly on the island of Senja in what is now

Senja Municipality Senja is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. It was established on 1 January 2020 when the municipalities of Berg, Lenvik, Torsken, and Tranøy were merged into one municipality. It is located in the traditional district of Hålogaland. ...

. 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 ...

was the

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 ...

Finnsnes is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town that is the administrative centre of Senja Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The town is located on the mainland part of Norway, just across the Gisundet strait from the Senja (island), island of ...

, where the

Gisund Bridge Gisund Bridge () is a cantilever road bridge on Norwegian County Road 86 in Senja Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The bridge crosses the Gisundet strait from the town of Finnsnes on the mainland to the village of Silsand on the island of ...

connects Senja to the mainland on Norwegian County Road 86. Other villages in the municipality included Aglapsvik, Gibostad, Botnhamn,

Fjordgård Fjordgård or Fjordgard is a small fishing village in Senja Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is located on the northern part of the island of Senja, the second largest island in Norway. Fjordgård lies on the west side of the fjord ''Ør ...

, Finnfjordbotn, Husøy, Langnes, Laukhella,

Silsand or is a village in Senja Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is located on the eastern shore of the large Senja (island), island of Senja. The village has a population (2023) of 1,638 and a population density of . Silsand is now consider ...

, and

Rossfjordstraumen or is a village in Senja Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It serves as a community center for the areas around the Rossfjorden and the lake Rossfjordvatnet. It is located about northeast of the town of Finnsnes, and about northeast of th ...

. Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the municipality was the 126th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Lenvik was also the 101st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 11,679. 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 ...

was and its population has increased by 4.2% over the previous decade.

General information

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 Lenvik 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 1848, most of the mainland parts of Lenvik (population: 2,616) were separated to form the new

Målselv Municipality Målselv () 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 Moen, Troms, Moen. The main commercial centre of the municipality is the ...

, leaving Lenvik with 3,029 residents. Then in 1855, the northern part of Lenvik (population: 811) was separated to form the new

Hillesøy Municipality Hillesøy is a Former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Troms Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1855 until its dissolution in 1964. It was located on both sides of the Malangen (fjord), Malangen f ...

. This left Lenvik with 2,757 inhabitants. On 1 January 1871, a small part of Lenvik (population: 70) was transferred to the neighboring

Malangen Municipality Malangen ( or ) is a former municipality in Troms county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1871 until its dissolution in 1964. The old municipality surrounded the Malangen fjord and today that area is divided between several municipalit ...

. 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, the following areas were merged into Lenvik: *the part of

Sørreisa Municipality Sørreisa () 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 Sørreisa (village), Sørreisa. Other villages include Grunnreisa, Skø ...

on the island of Senja (population: 129) *the Hellemo, Paulsrud, Johnsgård, and Stormo farms in Tranøy Municipality (population: 106) *the part of

on the island of Senja and the whole island of Hekkingen (population: 1,159) These areas joined to old areas of Lenvik to form a new, larger Lenvik Municipality with a total population of 10,219. In March 2017, the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...

voted to merge

Berg Municipality Berg Municipality (, ) is a municipality in Jämtland County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Svenstavik. The present municipality was formed in 1971 when "old" Berg Municipality was amalgamated with four other entities. As often in ...

, Torsken Municipality, Lenvik Municipality, and Tranøy Municipality. The new municipality would encompass the whole island of Senja plus part of the mainland located between the Gisundet strait and the Malangen fjord. On 1 January 2020, Lenvik Municipality ceased to exist when it became part of the new

Name

The municipality (originally the

) is named after the old ''Lenvik'' farm () since the first Lenvik Church 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 river name . The river name is derived from the word which means "long". The last element is which means "

cove A cove is a small bay or coastal inlet. They usually have narrow, restricted entrances, are often circular or oval, and are often situated within a larger bay. Small, narrow, sheltered bays, inlets, creek (tidal), creeks, or recesses in a coast ...

" or "

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled ''Lenviken''. On 6 January 1908, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to ''Lenvik'', removing the definite form ending ''-en''.

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 August 1986 and it was in used until 1 January 2020 when the municipality became part of the new

. 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, three oars bendwise Or, blades to the chief"'' (). 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 three oars laying diagonally with the blades at the top of the

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

. The oars have 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 ...

of Or which means they are commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The blue color in the field and the oars were chosen as a symbol for

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

and

shipping Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...

along with the

fishing industry The fishing industry includes any industry or activity that takes, cultures, processes, preserves, stores, transports, markets or sells fish or fish products. It is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization as including recreational, sub ...

which is the main form of income in the municipality. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen.

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 ...

had one parish () within Lenvik Municipality. It was part of the Senja 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.

History

The first local church was built around the year 1150 at Bjorelvnes, and for a century, this was the northernmost church in the world. Important villages in the past include Klauva and Gibostad. Gibostad was the

until the 1960s, when the administration was moved to

. In 2000, Finnsnes was declared a

Geography

Lenvik Municipality was partly located on the island of Senja and also on the mainland of Norway. The Malangen fjord flowed along the northern boundary and the Solbergfjorden was located along the southern boundary. The Gisundet strait ran north–south through the center of the municipality with only one road crossing, the

. The neighboring

and Tranøy Municipality bordered the municipality to the west,

Tromsø Municipality Tromsø Municipality is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø. Other notable settlements in the municipality include the vi ...

was to the north (across the Malangen fjord),

Balsfjord Municipality Balsfjord ( - ; ) 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 Storsteinnes. Other notable villages include Mestervik, Mortenhals ...

and

were to the east, and

and

Dyrøy Municipality Dyrøy () is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Brøstadbotn. Other villages include Dyrøyhamn, Espenes, Holm, and Hundstrand. The municipality is the 270th largest by ...

were to the south (across the Solbergfjorden). The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Vassbruntinden. The lake Lysvatnet was located in the municipality on Senja island, west of Gibostad.

Climate

Government

While it existed, Lenvik Municipality was 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 falls under the Senja District Court 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 Lenvik was made up of 31 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the 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 Lenvik 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 (incomplete list): *1901-1904: Hans Andreas Henningsøn Irgens *1905-1921: Lorentz Hansen *1926-1935: Søren Sørensen Hannes ( Ap) *1935–1941: Søren Berg Sørensen Moen ( Ap) *1941-1941: Oscar Didriksen *1941-1945: Ingvald Th. Sørvig *1945-1945: Søren Sørensen Hannes *1945–1954: Bjarne Daniel Solli ( Ap) *1954-1957: Laurits Olsen ( Ap) *1957-1964: Erling Nilsen ( V) *1964-1968: Birger Gjerdrum ( Ap) *1968-1971: Karl Steffensen *1971-1975: Oddmar Mathiassen ( KrF) *1975-1979: Arvid Johnsgård ( Ap) *1979-1983: Trygve Stefanussen ( H) *1983-1987: Arvid Johnsgård ( Ap) *1987-1995: Arne Bergland ( Ap) *1995-2001: Åge Konradsen ( H) *2001-2007: Arne Bergland ( Ap) *2007–2011: Martin Ness ( Ap) *2011–2019: Geir-Inge Sivertsen ( H)

Media gallery

Kistefjellet i Lenvik (3).jpg, View from Gibostad village on Senja island towards Kistefjellet mountain on the mainland Botnhamn.jpg, View of Botnhamn Trollvika.JPG, View of Trollvik

References

{{authority control Senja Former municipalities of Norway 1838 establishments in Norway 2020 disestablishments in Norway Populated places established in 1838 Populated places disestablished in 2020