Ofoten (municipality)

Ofoten is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The 2,998.3-square-kilometre (1,157.7 sq mi) municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1884. The municipality included the areas on both sides of the inner part of the Ofotfjorden mostly in what is now the municipalities of Narvik, Ballangen, and Evenes. The administrative centre of Ofoten was the village of Narvik (which later became a town in 1902). After the municipality was dissolved in 1884, the name Ofoten has been used to refer to the region that once was this municipality.[1]

Ofoten herred
Former municipality
Official logo of Ofoten herred
Nordland within
Norway
Ofoten within Nordland
Ofoten within Nordland
Coordinates: 68.4363°N 17.3983°E / 68.4363; 17.3983
CountryNorway
CountyNordland
DistrictOfoten
Established1 Jan 1838
 • Created asFormannskapsdistrikt
Disestablished1 Jan 1884
 • Succeeded byAnkenes and Evenes
Administrative centreNarvik
Area
 (upon dissolution)
 • Total2,998.3 km2 (1,157.7 sq mi)
Population
 (1884)
 • Total4,131
 • Density1.4/km2 (3.6/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-1853
Data from Statistics Norway

History
View of the Ofoten area

The municipality of Ofoten was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1884, the municipality ceased to exist when it was split into two municipalities: Ankenes (population: 1,734) in the east and Evindnæs (population: 2,397) in the west.[2]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the local Ofotfjorden (Old Norse: Ófóti) since the fjord is the central feature of the area as well as the name of the whole Ofoten region. The first element of the name has an uncertain meaning. The last element is fótr which means "foot". The oldest form of the name could have been Úffóti. In this case, the first element is úfr which means "Eurasian eagle-owl". The three inner branches of the Ofotfjord might have been compared with the three claws of an owl.[1][3]

See also: the name of Lofoten

Government

During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elected a mayor.[4]

Mayors

The mayors of Ofoten:[5]

  • 1838–1844: Johan Klitzing Iversen
  • 1844–1846: unknown
  • 1846–1848: Johan Klitzing Iversen
  • 1848–1852: Peder Slangerup Schjønning
  • 1852–1854: unknown
  • 1854–1856: Johan Klitzing Iversen
  • 1857–1858: Martinius P. Hønich Jensen
  • 1859–1866: Johan Christian Dahlsen
  • 1867–1872: Hans Olai Christoffersen
  • 1873–1875: Johan T.S. Østberg
  • 1875–1881: Esten A. Osmark
  • 1882–1884: Bertheus Normann

See also

References
  1. Thorsnæs, Geir, ed. (13 February 2017). "Ofoten – tidligere kommune". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  2. Jukvam, Dag (1999). Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
  3. Rygh, Oluf (1905). Norske gaardnavne: Nordlands amt (in Norwegian) (16 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 296.
  4. Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  5. "I glass og ramme". Harstad Tidende. 12 June 1995. p. 13.

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