or 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 (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It is part of the

traditional region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic, linguistic or political basis, regardless of latterday borders. They are used as delimitations for studying and analysing socia ...

of Vesterålen. The

administrative centre An administrative center 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 administrative language (such as Belgium, L ...

of the municipality is the town of Sortland. Other population centres in Sortland include Bø, Holand, Holmstad, Liland, Sigerfjord, Strand, and Vik. The Norwegian Coast Guard has its northern base in Sortland, called ''Kystvaktskvadron Nord''. In 1997, the municipal council declared "

town status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, city status ...

" for the urban area of Sortland. Sortland is the largest town and commercial centre in Vesterålen. The town of Sortland is located close to the Sortland Bridge which crosses the Sortlandsundet strait and connects the two large islands of Langøya and Hinnøya by road. Since a lot of houses in the town are painted blue, Sortland is sometimes referred to as "the blue city". The municipality is the 159th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Sortland is the 109th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 10,468. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

is and its population has increased by 4.9% over the previous 10-year period. In January 2012, the number of citizens in Sortland reached 10,000 for the first time.

General information

The municipality of Sortland was established in 1841 when it was separated from the large Hadsel Municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee ( no, Schei-komitéen) 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, often abbreviated as WWI ...

. On 1 January 1963, the Holm area (population: 65) along the Gavlfjorden was transferred from Langenes Municipality to Sortland. Also on that date, the area around the inner and western part of the Eidsfjorden (population: 1,360) was transferred from Hadsel Municipality to Sortland. On 1 January 2000, the area surrounding the Godfjorden was transferred from Kvæfjord Municipality (and

Troms Troms (; se, Romsa; fkv, Tromssa; fi, Tromssa) is a former county in northern Norway. On 1 January 2020 it was merged with the neighboring Finnmark county to create the new Troms og Finnmark county. This merger is expected to be reversed by ...

county) to Sortland (and

county).

Name

The municipality (originally the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

) is named after the old ''Sortland'' farm (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is 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 of Scandinavia and t ...

: ''Svortuland''), since the first Sortland 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 can ...

of a river name ''Svorta'' and the last element is ''land'' which means "land" or "

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...

". The river name is derived from ''svartr'' which means "black/dark".

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

was granted on 15 March 1985. It shows a gold-colored castle

gate A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word derived from old Norse "gat" meaning road or path; But other terms include '' yett and port''. The concept originally referred to the gap or hole in the wal ...

on a blue background. The gate symbolizes Sortland as the gateway to the Vesterålen region with its many lakes. The arms were based on the seal used by the municipality since the 1950s, which also showed a (natural) gate in a landscape. The blue colour symbolises the blue sea.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. ...

has one parish () within the municipality of Sortland. It is part of the Vesterålen prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman 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 reside ...

) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

Geography

The municipality of Sortland is located on the islands of Langøya and Hinnøya in the Vesterålen

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

. The municipality surrounds the inner part of the Eidsfjorden and the Sortlandssundet strait. There are several bridges in the municipality including

Djupfjordstraumen Bridge The Djupfjordstraumen Bridge ( no, Djupfjordstraumen bru, also known as ''Djupfjordbrua'') is a cantilever road bridge that crosses the Djupfjorden in Sortland Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The bridge is long and the main span stretc ...

Kvalsaukan Bridge The Kvalsaukan Bridge ( no, Kvalsaukan bru) is a bridge that crosses the Hognfjorden in Sortland Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Norwegian County Road 82 between the Sortland (town), town of Sortland and the neighboring ...

, and Sortland Bridge. The Sortland Bridge is located just north of the town of Sortland. One of the main roads through the municipality is Norwegian County Road 82. The mountain

Møysalen Møysalen is a mountain in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the border of the municipalities of Sortland and Lødingen. At tall, it is the highest mountain on the island of Hinnøya and the second highest mountain on any island in Nor ...

and part of Møysalen National Park are located in southern Sortland.

Midnight Sun and Aurora Borealis

The

midnight sun The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When the midnight sun is seen in the Arctic, ...

occurs from May 23 to July 23. Great places to observe the midnight sun includes the Sortland Bridge, Ramnflauget, Godfjorden, Holm, and Skytterhaugen in the Vestmarka residential area. Because of Sortland's high latitude, there is no real darkness between late April and mid-August.

Polar night The polar night is a phenomenon where the nighttime lasts for more than 24 hours that occurs in the northernmost and southernmost regions of Earth. This occurs only inside the polar circles. The opposite phenomenon, the polar day, or midnig ...

occurs in Sortland from 30 November to 12 January when the sun remains below the horizon and is not visible at all. The return of the sun is an occasion for celebration (pupils always claim to have spotted the sun before the actual return and hope to be given the day off in celebration). The polar night does not mean that it becomes totally dark. The experience of the winter with the uniqueness of the light, the northern lights, and snow is fantastic. Especially beautiful is the blue light southwards where the sky can also be colored in pink, just before it becomes dark. Sortland and the Vesterålen region are perfect for observing the spectacular

Aurora Borealis An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of b ...

(Northern Lights) phenomenon. The aurora borealis trails its multi coloured banner across the sky and the moon lights the scene making it a breathtaking experience. Pictures taken here have been presented in National Geographic Magazine.

Climate

Sortland has a subpolar oceanic climate. The weather station (Sortland-Kleiva) has been recording since January 1956. The record high of was set on July 29, 2018. The record low was set in January 2016 (extremes available since 2004). The average date for first overnight freeze (below ) in autumn is October 14 (1981-2010 average).

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Sortland, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wiktionary:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physical and menta ...

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usag ...

services,

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

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. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or adminis ...

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a s ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, 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 a ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. 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, rural coun ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elect a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a 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 responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

. The municipality falls under the Vesterålen District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

() of Sortland is made up of 27 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a 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 often feature ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Sortland (incomplete list): *2019–present: Karl-Erling Nordlund ( Sp) *2015-2019: Tove Mette Bjørkmo ( Ap) *2011-2015: Grete Ellingsen ( H) *2003-2011: Svein Roar Jacobsen (Ap) *1995-2003: Ingolf Markussen (H) *1994-1995: Ronald Steen *1988-1994:

Hill-Marta Solberg Hill-Marta Solberg (born 12 November 1951, in Sortland) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. During her career, she was a parliamentary representative for Nordland county from 1993-2009. She was the Minister of Health and Social Af ...

(Ap)

Music and culture

Sortland has been regarded as one of the best music communities in Norway, and the local band Madrugada has been one of the best ones in the nation. Sortland Jazz Festival is an event organized by Sortland Jazz and Music Club, which takes place every autumn. Some of the world's leading jazz musicians have been participating.

Shopping

Sortland is the largest commercial centre in Vesterålen with several indoors shopping centers and many small businesses. The retail turnover per inhabitant in Sortland is greater than in any other town in North Norway. Sortland is one of the few North Norwegian towns that have grown annually since the 1970s.

Notable residents

* Knut Hamsun (1859–1952) the Nobel Prize–winning author wrote his novel ''Den Sidste Glæde'' (The Last Joy) in Sortland Hotel in 1911/12 * Petter Carl Reinsnes (1904 in Reinsnes – 1976) politician, long-time Mayor of Sortland *

(born 1951 in Sortland) politician and County Governor of Nordland *

Lars Saabye Christensen Lars Saabye Christensen (born 21 September 1953 in Oslo) is a Norwegian/Danish author. Saabye Christensen was raised in the Skillebekk neighbourhood of Oslo, but lived for many years in Sortland in northern Norway; both places play a major rol ...

(born 1953) a Norwegian/Danish author, lived in Sortland * Olav Christopher Jenssen (born 1954 in Sortland) a Norwegian artist and academic * Oddmund Finnseth (born 1957 in Sortland) a jazz musician, composer and music teacher * Sivert Høyem (born 1976 in Kleiva) singer with the rock band Madrugada *

Krister Wemberg Krister Wemberg (born 21 February 1992) is a Norwegian footballer who plays as a defender for Bryne. He has previously played for Moss, Bodø/Glimt and Molde. Club career Early career Born in Sortland, Wemberg played for Sortland IL's youth ...

(born 1992 in Sortland) a footballer with over 200 club caps * Ingrid Skjoldvær (born 1993) a Norwegian environmentalist with Nature and Youth

Gallery

IMG 1897a - Djupfjorden.jpg, Djupfjorden in Sortland Straße Nordnorwegen.jpg, View from Sortland looking south Sortland Bridge and hurtigruta.jpg, Sortland Bridge and

Hurtigruta ''Hurtigruten'' (), formally Kystruten Bergen-Kirkenes ("coastal route Bergen- Kirkenes"), is a Norwegian public coastal route transporting passengers that travel locally, regionally and between the ports of call, and also cargo between ports no ...

, February 2007. Stortinn i Vesterålen august 2006 022.jpg, View of the Sigerfjorden. The village closest is Sigerfjord, and across the sound in the background is Sortland town.

References

External links

*
Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, 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 ye ...

Information from Sortland Municipality

Vesterålen Tourist informationForfjorddalen nature reserve
(the oldest pine trees in Norway) {{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Vesterålen Municipalities of Nordland Populated places of Arctic Norway 1841 establishments in Norway