Lenvik
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lenvik kommune | |||
— Municipality — | |||
|
|||
Lenvik within Troms | |||
Coordinates: | |||
---|---|---|---|
Country | Norway | ||
County | Troms | ||
Municipality ID | NO-1931 | ||
Administrative centre | Finnsnes | ||
Government | |||
- Mayor (2008) | Martin Ness (Ap) | ||
Area (Nr. 125 in Norway) | |||
- Total | 893 km² (344.8 sq mi) | ||
- Land | 849 km² (327.8 sq mi) | ||
Population (2004) | |||
- Total | 11,107 | ||
- Density | 13/km² (33.7/sq mi) | ||
- Change (10 years) | 2.5 % | ||
- Rank in Norway | 93 | ||
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
- Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
Official language form | Neutral | ||
|
|||
Website: www.lenvik.kommune.no |
Lenvik is a municipality in the county of Troms, Norway.
Lenvik was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Two other municipalities were later separated from it: Målselv (1849) and Hillesøy (1855). (The northern part of Senja - belonging to Hillesøy - was, however, again merged with Lenvik January 1, 1964.)
The municipality is partly situated on the mainland, partly on the island of Senja. The municipal centre is at Finnsnes, where the Gisund Bridge connects Senja to the mainland by road. Other settlements include Gibostad, Botnhamn and Finnfjordbotn.
[edit] The name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old farm Lenvik (Norse Lengjuvík), since the first church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the rivername Lengja, the last element is vík f 'inlet'. The rivername is derived from the word langr 'long'.
In the period 1889-1908 the name was written Lenviken.
[edit] Coat of arms
The coat of arms is from modern times (1986). It shows three oars.
(See also the coat of arms of Fedje and Herøy.)
[edit] History
The first church was built around 1150, and for a century, this was the northernmost church in the world. The religious centre was at Bjorelvnes. Important local centres in the past include Klauva and Gibostad. However, in the 20th century Finnsnes took over as the centre, and has recently been declared a city.
|