Polmak is a former municipality in

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,

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 1903 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of

Tana Municipality or is a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tana bru. Among the other villages in the municipality are Austertana, Bonakas, Polmak, Rustefjelbma, and Skiippagurra. The m ...

. 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 village of

Polmak , , or is a village in Tana Municipality in Finnmark county in Norway. The village is located on the south bank of the river Tana, just east of the border with Finland (and the northernmost point of Finland). The village is the site of the ...

where Polmak Church is located. Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 16th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Polmak Municipality was the 605th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,040 (in 1963). 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 .

History

The municipality of Polmak was established on 1 January 1903 when the large

Nesseby Municipality or (also unofficially ''Uuniemi'' in Kven language, Kven and Finnish language, Finnish) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Finnmark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the vi ...

was divided in two: Polmak (population: 450) in the west and

Nesseby Nesseby may refer to: *Nesseby Municipality, a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway *Nesseby (village) , , or is a small village in Nesseby Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The village is located on the southern coast of the Varanger ...

(population: 1,058) in the east. 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 neighboring municipalities of Polmak (population: 1,072) and Tana (population: 2,237) were merged to form a new, larger

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 "Polmak". It is possibly a Norwegianization of the

Northern Sámi Northern Sámi or North Sámi ( ; ; ; ; ; disapproved exonym Lappish or Lapp) is the most widely spoken of all Sámi languages. The area where Northern Sámi is spoken covers the northern parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland. Geographic distr ...

name for the area, . The meaning of the name is uncertain. Polmak kirke NF

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 the municipality of Polmak. It was part of the Nesseby

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 Varanger 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 Nord-Hålogaland () is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers the Church of Norway churches in Troms and Finnmark counties as well as in the territory of Svalbard. The diocese is seated in the city of Tromsø at the Tromsø Cathedral, t ...

Geography

The municipality of Polmak stretched along the northern shore of the Tana River (which also forms the border with

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

) from the little village of Leavvajohka in the west to the village of

in the east and then it continues on both sides of the Tana River northwards to the

Tana Bridge The Tana Bridge () is a bridge that crosses the Tana River in Finnmark, Norway. It is located in a village also called ''Tana bru''. The bridge was opened for traffic on 15 September 2020. It is a 260 meter long cable-stayed bridge with a main sp ...

. The municipality included the upper Tana River valley, along the border with

. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Rásttigáisá, on the border with neighboring

Lebesby Municipality 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, ...

Government

While it existed, Polmak 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,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

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. During its existence, 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. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of 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 ...

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 Polmak: * 1846-1847: Jørris Schielderup Hansen * 1848-1849: Johan Christien Astrup * 1851-1855:

Søren Christian Sommerfelt Søren Christian Sommerfelt (9 April 1794 – 29 December 1838) was a Norwegian priest and botanist, best known for his study of spore plants (cryptogams). He was born in the Toten district of Oplandenes county, Norway. He was the son of ...

* 1854-1854: Carl Johan Schancke * 1856-1857: Christian Andreasen * 1857-1858: Carl Johan Schancke * 1859-1862: Andreas Georg Nordvi * 1863-1863: Hieronimus Heyerdahl * 1865-1876: Otto Andreas Pleym Sr. * 1877-1879: Olaf Larsen * 1880-1880: Otto Andreas Pleym Sr. * 1881-1898: Bjørvik Johan Jacobsen * 1899-1904: Otto Andreas Pleym Jr. * 1903-1913: Aamund Nodland * 1914-1916: Gustav Adolf Lilleng * 1917-1931: Ole Erik Tapio * 1923-1934: Jens Eriksen * 1935-1944: Jacob Tapio * 1944-1945: Ole Torberg Nodland * 1945-1945: Jens Eriksen * 1946-1948: Johannes Ballovara * 1948-1951: John Solbakk * 1951-1952: Birger Pedersen * 1952-1959: Arne Isaksen * 1959-1959: John Solbakk * 1960-1961: Jann Olsen * 1962-1963: Reidar Dybvik

Municipal council

The

of Polmak was made up of 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 ...

References

{{Authority control Tana, Norway Former municipalities of Norway 1903 establishments in Norway 1964 disestablishments in Norway Populated places established in 1903 Populated places disestablished in 1964