Hadsel is a municipality

Municipalities of Norway

Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...

 in Nordland

Nordland

is a county in Norway in the North Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Nord-Trøndelag in the south, Norrbottens län in Sweden to the east, Västerbottens län to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The county was formerly known as Nordlandene amt. The county administration is...

 county

Counties of Norway

Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. It is part of the Vesterålen

Vesterålen

Vesterålen is a district and archipelago in Nordland, Norway, just north of Lofoten.-The name:The Norse forms of the name were Vestráll and Vestrálar . The first element is vestr n west, the last element is áll m ' sound, strait'...

 traditional region

Districts of Norway

The country Norway is historically divided into a number of districts. Many districts have deep historical roots, and only partially coincide with today's administrative units of counties and municipalities. The districts are defined by geographical features, often valleys, mountain ranges, fjords,...

. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Stokmarknes

Stokmarknes

is a small town on the island of Hadsel in Nordland, Norway. It is the municipality centre of the Hadsel municipality. Township was declared in 2000. It is home to Hurtigruten. The local hospital for the Vesterålen region is situated in Stokmarknes....

, and the other village on the island of Hadseløya is Melbu

Melbu

Melbu is a village located in the municipality of Hadsel in the Vesterålen archipelago in the county of Nordland, in Northern Norway. Melbu is one of two centres on the Hadseløya island, the other being Stokmarknes. Melbu is host to the annual Sommer-Melbu festival.- Infrastructure :Melbu has a...

. Hadsel was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt

Formannskapsdistrikt

Formannskapsdistrikt was the name for a Norwegian local self-government districts put into force in 1838. This system of municipality was created in a bill approved by the Storting and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January 1837...

). Sortland

Sortland

is a town and municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Vesterålen traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sortland. In 1997, the municipality decided to declare township for Sortland...

 was separated from Hadsel in 1841.

The municipality is the southernmost municipality in the Vesterålen region. It is spread over four islands: Hadseløya

Hadseløya

Hadseløya is an island in Vesterålen in Nordland county, Norway. Its area is 102 km². It is located in Hadsel municipality. Stokmarknes is situated on the northern shore of the island, and Melbu is on the south coast....

, Hinnøya

Hinnøya

-Geography and environment:Covering an area of , it is the fourth-largest island in the country, and the largest off the mainland. The western part of the island is in the Vesterålen district, while the southwestern part is in Lofoten. As of 2006, it had a population of 31,851, of which the only...

, Langøya

Langøya

Langøya is the third largest island of Norway , with an area of . The island is a part of Vesterålen, and is situated in Nordland county, just west of Hinnøya. The Sortlandssundet divides the two islands. It includes the municipality of Bø, and parts of the municipalities of Øksnes, Sortland and...

, and Austvågøy

Austvågøy

Austvågøy is the northeasternmost of the larger islands in the Lofoten archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. The island is 526.7 km² and extends up to 40 km in the east-west direction and 30 km north-south. Austvågøy is largely a mountain massif, with lowland almost exclusively at...

. About 70% of the population live on Hadseløya island. Hadseløya island is connected to Langøya by the Hadsel Bridge

Hadsel Bridge

Hadsel Bridge is a cantilever road bridge that crosses Langøysundet between Langøya and Børøya in Nordland county in Norway. Together with Børøy Bridge it connects Hadseløya and the town of Stokmarknes to Langøya. Hadsel Bridge is 1011 metres long, the main span is 150 metres, and the maximum...

. Also, the Stokmarknes Airport, Skagen

Stokmarknes Airport, Skagen

Stokmarknes Airport, Skagen is an airport in Hadsel municipality in Norway, 3 nautical miles east northeast of Stokmarknes, and south of Sortland....

, is located nearby. It is the busiest small aircraft airport in Norway, serving 100,000 passengers annually (1997).

Name

The municipality (originally the parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

) is named after the old Hadsel farm (Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

: Höfðasegl), since the first church was built there. The first element is the genitive case

Genitive case

In grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...

 of höfði which means "high and steep cliff

Cliff

In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...

" and the last element is segl which means "sail

Sail

A sail is any type of surface intended to move a vessel, vehicle or rotor by being placed in a wind—in essence a propulsion wing. Sails are used in sailing.-History of sails:...

". (A cliff near the farm has been compared in form to a sail.)

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms

Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

is from modern times. They were granted on 11 March 1976. The arms show four golden rings (to represent the four islands of that make up Hadsel: Hadseløya, Austvågøya, Hinnøya, and Langøya).