Ofoten is a former municipality in

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 municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1884. The municipality included the areas on both sides of the inner part of the

Ofotfjorden The Ofotfjord (; ) is a fjord in Nordland county, Norway. It is an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, located about north of the Arctic Circle. The long Ofotfjord is Norway, Norway's 12th longest fjord and it is also the 18th deepest, with a maximum d ...

mostly in what is now

Narvik Municipality () is the third-largest List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Narvik (town), town of Narvik. Some of the notable villag ...

and

Evenes Municipality or 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 Ofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bogen, ...

. 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 Ofoten was the village of

Narvik () is the third-largest List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Narvik (town), town of Narvik. Some of the notable villag ...

(which later became a town in 1902). After the municipality was dissolved in 1884, the name

Ofoten Ofoten is a districts of Norway, traditional district in Nordland county in Northern Norway. It consists of Evenes Municipality, Narvik Municipality, and Lødingen Municipality. It is named after the main fjord, Ofotfjorden, which is at the cent ...

has been used to refer to the region that once was this municipality.

General information

The municipality of Ofoten 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). On 1 January 1884, the municipality ceased to exist when it was split into two:

Ankenes Municipality Ankenes is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1884 until 1974. It encompassed most of the present-day Narvik Municipality, surrounding of the Narvik (town), to ...

(population: 1,734) in the east and Evindnæs Municipality (population: 2,397) in the west.

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 local

() since the fjord is the central feature of the area as well as the name of the whole

region. The first element of the name has an uncertain meaning. The last element is which means "

foot The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up o ...

". The oldest form of the name could have been . In this case, the first element is which means "

Eurasian eagle-owl The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl, a type of bird that resides in much of Eurasia. It is often just called the eagle-owl in Europe and Asia. It is one of the largest species of owl. Females can grow to a total le ...

". The three inner branches of the Ofotfjord might have been compared with the three claws of an owl.

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 Ofoten Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Ofoten

prestegjeld A ''prestegjeld'' was a geographic and administrative area within the Church of Norway (''Den Norske Kirke'') roughly equivalent to a parish. This traditional designation was in use for centuries to divide the kingdom into ecclesiastical areas tha ...

and the Nordre Salten 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 Sør-Hålogaland is a diocese in the Church of Norway. The Diocese covers the Lutheran Church of Norway churches located within Nordland county in Norway. The diocese is headquartered in the Bodø (town), town of Bodø at Bodø Cathedral, the sea ...

Geography

The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Storsteinsfjellet. The municipality was located at the inner part of the

, along 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 ...

(to the east and south). To the west was

Lødingen Municipality Lødingen () is a municipality in Nordland county in Norway. Lødingen is located on the southeastern corner of the island of Hinnøya, and is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Ofoten. The administrative centre of the munic ...

and

Tjeldsund Municipality or is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The southwestern part of the municipality is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Ofoten and the rest of the municipality is ...

. To the north was

Ibestad Municipality Ibestad () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Central Hålogaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the vil ...

and

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 ...

(both 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).

Government

While it existed, this municipality was 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 ...

was

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.

Mayors

The

() of Ofoten was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who held this position:: * 1838–1844: Johan Klitzing Iversen * 1844–1846: unknown * 1846–1848: Johan Klitzing Iversen * 1848–1852: Peder Slangerup Schjønning * 1852–1854: unknown * 1854–1856: Johan Klitzing Iversen * 1857–1858: Martinius P. Hønich Jensen * 1859–1866: Johan Christian Dahlsen * 1867–1872: Hans Olai Christoffersen * 1873–1875: Johan T.S. Østberg * 1875–1881: Esten A. Osmark * 1882–1884: Bertheus Normann

References

{{Authority control Narvik Evenes Former municipalities of Norway 1838 establishments in Norway 1884 disestablishments in Norway Populated places established in 1838 Populated places disestablished in 1884