Hamarøy
Encyclopedia
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 Salten
Salten
Salten is a district in Nordland in North Norway, consisting of the municipalities Meløy, Gildeskål, Bodø, Beiarn, Saltdal, Fauske, Sørfold, Steigen and Hamarøy. The district borders Helgeland in the south , Ofoten in the north, Sweden in the east and Vestfjorden in the west...
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 Oppeid
Oppeid
Oppeid is the administrative centre of Hamarøy municipality, Norway....
. Hamarøy 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...
).
Name
The municipality is named after the former islandIsland
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
(now peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
) Hamarøya (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....
: Hamarøy), 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 Höm, the former uncompounded name of the island. The last element is øy which means "island". The former name of the island is probably identical with the word höm which means "thigh
Thigh
In humans the thigh is the area between the pelvis and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb.The single bone in the thigh is called the femur...
/leg
Leg
Łęg may refer to the following places in Poland:*A former name for the town of Ełk *Part of the Czyżyny district of Kraków*Łęg, Pleszew County in Greater Poland Voivodeship...
(of an animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
)" because the island (or a part of it) was shaped in the form of an animal's leg.
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-armsCoat 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 19 February 1982. The arms show a lynx
Lynx
A lynx is any of the four Lynx genus species of medium-sized wildcats. The name "lynx" originated in Middle English via Latin from Greek word "λύγξ", derived from the Indo-European root "*leuk-", meaning "light, brightness", in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes...
(which are common in the area) as a symbol for the rich wildlife in the forests of the municipality.
Geography
The municipality of Hamarøy borders the municipality of TysfjordTysfjord
Tysfjord or Divtasvuodna is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Ofoten traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kjøpsvik...
to the north, Steigen
Steigen
Steigen is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Leinesfjord....
to the west, Sørfold
Sørfold
Sørfold is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Straumen. The old municipality of Folden was divided into Sørfold and Nordfold-Kjerringøy on 1 January 1887.-General...
to the south, Vestfjord
Vestfjord
Vestfjord is a Norwegian fjord, which would be described as a firth or an open bight of sea between the Lofoten archipelago and mainland Norway, northwest of Bodø...
to the northwest, and the country of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
to the southeast.
Lakes in the region include Fjerdvatnet
Fjerdvatnet
Fjerdvatnet is a Norwegian lake that lies in Hamarøy municipality in Nordland....
and Forsanvatnet
Forsanvatnet
Forsanvatnet is a Norwegian lake that lies in the municipalities of Steigen and Hamarøy in Nordland....
.
Nature
Hamarøy is dominated by small fjordFjord
Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...
s, pine
Scots Pine
Pinus sylvestris, commonly known as the Scots Pine, is a species of pine native to Europe and Asia, ranging from Scotland, Ireland and Portugal in the west, east to eastern Siberia, south to the Caucasus Mountains, and as far north as well inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia...
, birch
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
, and aspen
Aspen
Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...
woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
and forest, and coastal mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
s. There are several nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
s, such as Trollpollen nature reserve dominated by pine and birch located a few kilometers north of Innhavet, Lilandsvatnet wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
area, Steinslandsosen estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
, and Kvannskogen with old aspen
Populus tremula
Populus tremula, commonly called aspen, common aspen, Eurasian aspen, European aspen, trembling poplar, or quaking aspen, is a species of poplar native to cool temperate regions of Europe and Asia, from the British Isles east to Kamchatka, north to inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia and...
trees with rich lichen
Lichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
flora. The mountain Hamarøyskaftet has long been regarded as nature's own phallic symbol
Phallus
A phallus is an erect penis, a penis-shaped object such as a dildo, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. Any object that symbolically resembles a penis may also be referred to as a phallus; however, such objects are more often referred to as being phallic...
(See picture 1 and picture 2).
Climate
The warmest temperature ever recorded in Nordland county was 33.1°C on 3 July 1972 in FinnøyaFinnøya
Finnøya is an island in Hamarøy municipality, Nordland county, Norway. The island is situated north west of the settlement of Innhavet with which it is connected by bridge. The island has an area of 68 km², and the highest point is Straumfjellet at 436 m. Finnøya had a population of 52 in 2001....
, Hamarøy. However, in June 2011 this record was surpassed by Saltdal with a recording of 33.8 C.
Transportation
While Hamarøy has a low population density, it sees some traffic during the summer months as the main road connection to SvolværSvolvær
-Communications:Parts of the town is built on small islands connected by bridges. There is a regional airport near the town, Svolvær Airport, Helle, and Svolvær is a port of call for Hurtigruten. There is a ferry connection Svolvær to Skutvik in Hamarøy, and express boat connections to Bodø...
and the Lofoten
Lofoten
Lofoten is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Though lying within the Arctic Circle, the archipelago experiences one of the world's largest elevated temperature anomalies relative to its high latitude.-Etymology:...
islands runs through Hamarøy and its administrative centre Oppeid. The ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
ride to Skrova
Skrova
Skrova is a village in Vågan municipality, Lofoten, Norway, located on the island of the same name, close to Svolvær town. Its population is 237.Skrova is connected to Svolvær and Skutvika by ferry....
and Svolvær is approximately 2 hours and departs Skutvik (approximately 15 minutes from Oppeid) at regular intervals. From 2008, the ferry schedule was considerably reduced due to the new Lofast road.
Economy
The municipal administration and other public services are located in OppeidOppeid
Oppeid is the administrative centre of Hamarøy municipality, Norway....
. There is a hotel in the municipality, as well as a scenic lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
which can be rented.
Skutvik is a small residential and marina area concentrated around the ferry dock. In the high season the number of cars and motor homes in line for the ferry can be significant. There are a few sights to see in Skutvik, as well as a small bar/cafè and a Statoil
Statoil
Statoil ASA is a Norwegian petroleum company established in 1972. It merged with Norsk Hydro in 2007 and was known as StatoilHydro until 2009, when the name was changed back to Statoil ASA. The brand Statoil was retained as a chain of fuel stations owned by StatoilHydro...
gas station.
Knut Hamsun
The writer Knut HamsunKnut Hamsun
Knut Hamsun was a Norwegian author, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. He was praised by King Haakon VII of Norway as Norway's soul....
, winner of the 1920 Nobel Prize in Literature
Nobel Prize in Literature
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
, grew up in Hamarøy. The Knut Hamsun Centre
Knut Hamsun Centre
The Knut Hamsun Centre is a museum and educational centre in Hamarøy in Northern Norway dedicated to the life and work of the writer Knut Hamsun....
, a museum and educational center dedicated to Knut Hamsun's life and work, finished building in 2009 and opened for the public in June 2010. Knut Hamsun's childhood home is also open for visitors in summer. The Hamsun literature festival was founded in 1982 and takes place in Hamarøy during the first week of August every second year.