Moskenes 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' ...

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 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 comprises the southern part of the island of Moskenesøya in the traditional district of Lofoten. 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 Reine. Other villages include Sørvågen, Hamnøya, and Å. The municipality is the 322nd largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Moskenes is the 338th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 954. 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 13.9% over the previous 10-year period. The municipal government owes (as of 2022), and the significance of this debt has made it difficult to find a neighboring municipality that is interested in merging with Moskenes.

History

The municipality was established on 1 July 1916 when the southern part of Flakstad Municipality was separated to become Moskenes. Initially, Moskenes had a population of 1,306. On 1 January 1964, the Flakstad Municipality and Moskenes Municipality were reunited, as a new, larger Moskenes Municipality. Prior to the merger, Moskenes had 2,001 residents and the new municipality of Moskenes had 4,068 residents. This new municipality did not last long because on 1 January 1976, Flakstad Municipality broke away again to once again form a separate municipality. This left Moskenes with 1,705 residents.

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 ''Moskenes'' farm (historically spelled "Muskenes" in 1567) since the first Moskenes Church was built there. The first element is likely an old name for the island. It may have been derived from the word or which means " sea spray" . The last element is which means "

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Jo ...

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 12 September 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, a gurge argent"'' (). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a vortex spiral. The spiral has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The blue color in the field and the spiral were chosen to represent vortexes or whirlpools, such as the Moskenstraumen, which appear in the channel just south of the island of Moskenesøya when the tide comes in, making it a hazardous channel. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen.

Culture

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish () within Moskenes Municipality. It is part of the Lofoten 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 Sør-Hålogaland.

Attractions

Moskenes is among the most scenic municipalities in all Norway, and the picturesque fishing villages of Hamnøya, Reine, Sørvågen, Moskenes, Å, and Tind all have a dramatic backdrop of jagged peaks rising above the Vestfjorden. The historic Glåpen Lighthouse is located just east of Sørvågen. Between Lofotodden, the southwestern tip of the Lofoten chain, and the offshore island of Mosken, there is the tidal current of Moskenstraumen. This is better known internationally as the Maelstrom, feared by all sailors. On the isolated northwestern coast of the island, there are also interesting

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

cave paintings. The highest mountain is Hermannsdalstinden at . Lofotodden National Park is partially located within the municipality.

Government

Moskenes 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 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 Salten og Lofoten District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

of Moskenes 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

() of Moskenes 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): *1945-1945: Sigurd Lund Hamran ( Ap) *1961-1961: Sigurd Lund Hamran ( Ap) *1963-1971: Sigurd Lund Hamran ( Ap) *1971-1975: Arthur Valen ( Ap) *1975-1983: Hans Husby ( Ap) *1983-1987: Rolf Bendiksen ( Ap) *1987-2003: Geir Wulff-Nilsen ( LL) *2003-2007: Lillian Hansen ( Ap) *2007-2011: Geir Wulff-Nilsen ( LL) *2011-2023: Lillian Rasmussen ( LL/ SV) *2023–present: Hanna Sverdrup ( LL)

Geography

Moskenes has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfc''). The municipality of Moskenes lies near the southern end of the Lofoten

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 ...

on the southern part of the island of Moskenesøya. The Vestfjorden lies to the east, the Moskenstraumen strait lies to the south, and the Norwegian Sea lies to the west. Flakstad Municipality lies to the north (on the northern part of the same island) and the nearby Værøy Municipality is located on islands about to the south. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Hermannsdalstinden.

Climate

Notable people

* Birger Eriksen (1875 in Flakstad – 1958), a naval commander at Oscarsborg Fortress, where the German cruiser Blücher was sunk in 1940 * Rolv Thesen (1896 in Moskenes – 1966), a poet, literary researcher, and literary critic * Rolf Bendiksen (born 1938 in Moskenes), a Norwegian politician who was Mayor of Moskenes from 1983 to 1987 * Lillian Hansen (born 1957 in Moskenes), a bus driver, member of parliament, and mayor * Hans Erik Dyvik Husby (born 1972), known as ''Hank von Hell'', a punk rock musician who lived in Moskenes

Gallery

AA lofoten.JPG, Near Å, Moskenes Gunnar Berg Fiskebåter ved Reine.jpg, ''Fiskebåter ved Reine''; by Gunnar Berg. Soervaagen sentrum.JPG, Sørvågen moskenes-1.jpg, Moskenes to the west Djupfjorden, 2010 09.jpg, Djupfjorden in 2010 September.

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 ...

Video:Driving the E10 road in Moskenes
{{authority control Municipalities of Nordland Populated places of Arctic Norway Fishing communities 1916 establishments in Norway Populated places established in 1916