Senja 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' ...

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,

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 ...

. It was established on 1 January 2020 when the municipalities of

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * General Berg (disambiguation) * Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer, born 1963), Ninimbergue dos Santos Guerra, Brazilian footba ...

Lenvik Lenvik () is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Troms Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020. The municipality was partly situated on the mainland and pa ...

, Torsken, and Tranøy were merged into one municipality. It is located in the traditional district of

Hålogaland Hålogaland was the northernmost of the Norwegian provinces in the medieval Norse sagas. In the early Viking Age, before Harald Fairhair, Hålogaland was a kingdom extending between the Namdalen valley in Trøndelag county and the Lyng ...

. 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 town of

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 ...

. Some of the notable villages in Senja include Å, Aglapsvik, Bjorelvnes, Botnhamn, Finnsæter,

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 ...

Flakstadvåg Flakstadvåg is a village in Senja Municipality in Troms 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 ...

, Gibostad, Gryllefjord, Husøy, Langnes, Laukhella, Lysnes, Medby,

Mefjordvær Mefjordvær (historic spelling: ''Medfjordvær'') is a fishing village in Senja Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The village is located about northwest of the village of Senjahopen, along the Medfjorden on the northwest coast of the large S ...

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 ...

, Sandbakken, Senjahopen,

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 ...

Skaland or is a village in Senja Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The village is located on the shores of the Bergsfjorden on the northwest side of the Senja (island), island of Senja, about to the southwest of the village of Senjahopen and about ...

, Skrollsvika,

Stonglandseidet Stonglandseidet is a village in Senja Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The village has a population (2001) of 225. The village is home to a grocery store, bank, nursing home, Stonglandet Church, and a public school. The village is located ...

, Torsken, and Vangsvik. The municipality includes all of the island of Senja, the smaller surrounding islands, and part of the mainland between the Gisundet strait and the Malangen fjord. The municipality is the 40th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Senja is the 83rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 14,894. 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 increased by 0.2% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

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 the municipalities of

, Torsken, and Tranøy. The new municipality was established on 1 January 2020 as ''Senja Municipality'' (). On 1 January 2024, the large

Troms og Finnmark Troms og Finnmark (; ; ; ) was a county in northern Norway that existed from 2020 to 2023. The county was established on 1 January 2020 as the result of a regional reform. It was the largest county by area in Norway, encompassing about , and w ...

county was divided and the municipality became part of the newly re-created

county.

Etymology

The

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

form of the name must also have been ''Senja'' or perhaps ''Sændja''. The meaning of the name is unknown, but it might be related to the verb ''sundra'' which means to "tear" or "split apart", possibly because the west coast of the island is torn and split by numerous small fjords. It might also be derived from a

Proto-Norse Proto-Norse (also called Ancient Nordic; Danish and ; ; ; ) was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved as a northern dialect of Proto-Germanic in the first centuries CE. It is the earliest stage of a c ...

form of the word ''Sandijōn'' meaning "(area) of sand" or "sandy island".

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 approved for use starting on 1 January 2020. The

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, northern lights

vert Vert or Verts may refer to: * Vert (heraldry), the colour green in heraldry * Vert (music producer) (born 1972), pseudonym of Adam Butler, an English music producer * Vert (river), in southern France * Vert (sport), a competition in extreme versio ...

over mountain peaks argent to sinister"'' (). This means the arms have a dark 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 the green northern lights above some mountain peaks. The mountain peaks 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 ...

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

which means they are commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The mountain peak is a depiction of the Okshornan mountain.

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 ...

has four parishes () within Senja Municipality. It is 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.

Government

Senja 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 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 is under the jurisdiction of the Nord-Troms og 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 Senja is made up of 45 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 Senja 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: *2020-2023: Tom-Rune Eliseussen ( Sp) *2023-present: Geir-Inge Sivertsen ( H)

Geography

Senja Municipality is located along the

county coast. The municipality encompasses the whole island of

Senja or is an island in Senja Municipality in Troms county, Norway in northern Europe. With an area of , it is the second largest island in Norway (outside of the Svalbard archipelago). It has a wild, mountainous outer (western) side facing the A ...

, plus some smaller areas on the mainland around the Gisundet strait and the around the Rossfjordvatnet lake. The island is connected to the mainland by 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 ...

. The northern coasts of the island of Senja faces the open sea, the western coast faces the islands of

Andøya , , or is the northernmost island in the Vesterålen archipelago, situated about inside the Arctic Circle. Andøya is located in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The main population centres on the island include the villages of ...

and Krøttøya, the southern coast faces the islands of Andørja and Dyrøya. On the western coast, steep and rugged mountains rise straight from the sea, with some fishing villages (like Gryllefjord, Husøy) tucked into the small lowland areas between the mountains and the sea. The eastern and southern parts of the island are milder, with rounder mountains, forests, rivers and agriculture land. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Vassbruntinden which lies on the border of Senja Municipality and

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 ...

. The municipality is located to the southwest of

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 ...

; west of

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 ...

; northwest of

; north 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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 east of

Harstad Municipality Harstad (; ) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the Harstad (town), town of Harstad, which is the most populous town in Central Håloga ...

and

Andøy Municipality Andøy is the northernmost List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Vesterålen archipelago. The main island in the municipality is Andøya. The administrative centre of the ...

. All of these neighboring municipalities are separated from Senja by water except for a land border with Målselv Municipality and Sørreisa Municipality.

Climate

Climate data from the village of Gibostad on the eastern shore of the island, facing the mainland during the base period of 1961–1990. The western side of the island, facing the Norwegian Sea, will have slightly milder but more windy winters.

Attractions

Among the sights of the island are Ånderdalen National Park with coastal

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

forests and mountains, traditional fishing communities, and the Senja Troll, the world's largest

troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...

. There are several small museums documenting local history, among these the Halibut Museum ("Kveitmuseet") in Skrolsvik.

Notable people

* Anders Olsen (1718 on the island of Senja - 1786), a trader, explorer, and colonial administrator * Bjarne Daniel Solli (1910 in Lenvik – 1989), a politician and Mayor of Lenvik from 1945-1953 * Arvid Nergård (1923 in Lenvik – 2006), the Bishop of Nord-Hålogaland in Tromsø from 1979-1990 * Per Kleiva (1931 in Torsken – 2017), a painter and graphic artist *

Ottar Brox Ottar Brox (30 August 1932 – 16 February 2024) was a Norwegian authority in social science and a politician for the Socialist Left Party. He was professor of sociology at the University of Tromsø from 1972 to 1984, and later associate profess ...

(born 1932 in Torsken), a social scientist, academic, and politician * Arvid Hanssen (1932–1998), a newspaper editor, poet, and novelist; his bust stands in Finnsnes * Hans Kristian Eriksen (1933–2014), a non-fiction writer, magazine editor, novelist, short story writer, and teacher on the island of Senja from 1954-1978 * Geir-Inge Sivertsen (born 1965), an engineer, politician, and Mayor of Lenvik from 2011-2019 * Maria Haukaas Mittet (born 1979 in Finnsnes), a singer at the 2008

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

* Andreas Amundsen (born 1980 on the island of Senja), a jazz bassist * Pål Moddi Knutsen (born 1987 in Senja), stage name ''

Moddi Pål Moddi Lue (previously Pål Moddi Knutsen) (born 18 February 1987 in Senja), known by the artist name Moddi, is a Norwegian musician, author and activist, whose contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest or social justice. Bac ...

'', a musician, author, and activist

Sport

* Harald Vassboten (1893 in Lenvik – 1973), a sport wrestler who competed at the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwerp 1920 (; Dutch language, Dutch and German language, German: ''Antwerpen 1920''), were an international multi-sport event held i ...

* Christer Johnsgård (born 1987 in Silsand), a footballer with over 175 club caps * Lars Gunnar Johnsen (born 1991 in Silsand), a footballer with over 200 club caps

Media gallery

Bergsfjorden on Senja.jpg, Bergsfjorden, Senja Senjahusoy.jpg, Husøy, Northern Senja Kistefjellet i Lenvik (3).jpg, View from Gibostad towards Kistefjellet on the mainland Senja(4).jpg, Seashore on the Senja island in Norway Okshornan Senja.JPG, Ersfjorden and near mountains View from a ridge between Segla and Hesten, Senja, Norway, 2014 August.jpg, View from a ridge between Segla and Hesten, Senja, Norway Silsand1.JPG,

Okshornan from Tungeneset, 2015 September - 3.jpg, Okshornan peaks viewed from Tungeneset

References

{{authority control Municipalities of Troms 2020 establishments in Norway Populated places established in 2020