Vefsn

Vefsn kommune
Municipality

Coat of arms
Nordland within
Norway

Vefsn within Nordland
Coordinates: 65°47′57″N 13°15′2″E / 65.79917°N 13.25056°E / 65.79917; 13.25056Coordinates: 65°47′57″N 13°15′2″E / 65.79917°N 13.25056°E / 65.79917; 13.25056
Country Norway
County Nordland
District Helgeland
Administrative centre Mosjøen
Government
 • Mayor (2003) Jann-Arne Løvdahl (Ap)
Area
 • Total 1,928.72 km2 (744.68 sq mi)
 • Land 1,839.96 km2 (710.41 sq mi)
 • Water 88.76 km2 (34.27 sq mi)
Area rank 33 in Norway
Population (2011)
 • Total 13,307
 • Rank 77 in Norway
 • Density 7.2/km2 (19/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years) -1.4 %
Demonym(s) Vefsning[1]
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-1824
Official language form Neutral
Website www.vefsn.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway
Map of Vefsn
Part of the city park in Mosjøen, Vefsn municipality.
Drevje valley (Drevjedalen), Vefsn

Vefsn (Southern Sami: Vaapste) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Mosjøen (population: 9,631). Other villages include Drevvassbygda, Elsfjord, and Husvik.

History

The municipality of Vefsn was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). In 1862, the eastern district (population: 921) was separated from Vefsn to become the new municipality of Hattfjelldal. This left Vefsn with 5,051 residents. In 1876, the town of Mosjøen (population: 379) was separated from Vefsn to become a separate municipality.

In 1927, the northern district was separated from Vefsn to become the new municipality of Drevja and the southern district was separated to become the new municipality of Grane. After the separations, Vefsn had 3,119 residents remaining. In 1939, a small area of Vefsn (population: 45) was transferred to Mosjøen.

On 1 January 1962, the town of Mosjøen and the municipalities of Drevja, Elsfjord, and Vefsn were merged to form a new, larger municipality of Vefsn. On 1 January 1995, the mainland areas of Alstahaug (population: 70) were transferred to Vefsn.[2]

Name

The municipality is named after the river Vefsna which flows through the municipality into the Vefsnfjorden. The meaning of the river name is unknown. Historically, the spelling has varied from Vefsen to Væffsn.[3]

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times; they were granted on 13 September 1974. They show a gray and red rooster on a black background. The rooster is a symbol for watchfulness and alertness. It was adopted by the municipality of Mosjøen on 25 March 1960. After the merger with Vefsn, Drevja, and Elsfjord in 1962, the new name of the municipality became Vefsn and the old arms of Mosjøen were chosen for the new municipality. Since the arms officially became obsolete after the merger, they were re-granted in 1974.[4]

Churches

The Church of Norway has three parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Vefsn. It is part of the Indre Helgeland deanery in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

Churches in Vefsn
Parish
(Sokn)		Church NameLocation
of the Church		Year Built
DolstadDolstad ChurchMosjøen1735
DrevjaDrevja ChurchDrevja1883
ElsfjordElsfjord ChurchElsfjord1955

Geography

Luktinden (mountain) in autumn

The administrative centre of Vefsn is the town of Mosjøen which is situated along the innermost part of the Vefsnfjorden. Outside Mosjøen, the large municipality of Vefsn is dominated by spruce forests, mountains, lakes, agriculture, and the Vefsna river. The municipality is served by Mosjøen Airport, Kjærstad.

The mountain Lukttinden is located in the northern part of the municipality. There are many large lakes in Vefsn including Drevvatnet, Finnknevatnet, Fustvatnet, Hundålvatnet, Luktvatnet, Mjåvatnet, and Ømmervatnet. The Lomsdal–Visten National Park is partially located in Vefsn.

The road along Vefsnfjord

Birdlife

The bird watcher that visits Vefsn soon realizes that it will take more than a day to cover all the interesting habitats and birding areas. Here you will find areas of virtually untouched coniferous woodlands, both inland and along the coast. The Skjørlegda nature reserve is a good example of woodland protection. Here you will find a virtually untouched coniferous forest covering the Eiterå valley. The valley stretches inland to a higher mountainous habitat that is also worth checking.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Vefsn, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Vefsn is made up of 29 representatives that are elected to every four years. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:[5]

Vefsn Kommunestyre 2015–2019
Party NameName in NorwegianNumber of
representatives
 Labour PartyArbeiderpartiet10
 Progress PartyFremskrittspartiet2
 Conservative PartyHøyre5
 Red PartyRødt4
 Centre PartySenterpartiet2
 Socialist Left PartySosialistisk Venstreparti1
 Liberal PartyVenstre2
 Local ListsLokale lister3
Total number of members:29

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  2. ↑ Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå.
  3. ↑ Rygh, Oluf (1905). Norske gaardnavne: Nordlands amt (in Norwegian) (16 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 64.
  4. ↑ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  5. ↑ "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway. 2015.
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