Leksvik
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| Leksvik kommune | |||
| — Municipality — | |||
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| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Nord-Trøndelag | ||
| Municipality ID | NO-1718 | ||
| Administrative centre | Leksvik | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor (2004) | {{{governor}}} | ||
| Area (Nr. 230 in Norway) | |||
| - Total | 430 km² (166 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 400 km² (154.4 sq mi) | ||
| Population (1.1.2008) | |||
| - Total | 3,484 | ||
| - Density | 9/km² (23.3/sq mi) | ||
| - Change (10 years) | 0.5 % | ||
| - Rank in Norway | 246 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Official language form | Neutral | ||
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| Website: www.leksvik.kommune.no | |||
Leksvik is a town and a municipality in the county of Nord-Trøndelag, Norway.
Leksvik was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). It is one of very few municipalities in Norway with unchanged borders since that date.
The municipality Leksvik has a population of 3,511 (2004), 1,073 inhabitants in the town of Leksvik which is the administrative centre, and 736 inhabitants in Vanvikan village in the west.
Leksvik and Vanvikan are especially known for their high-tech industries which have developed to become advanced and in demand. Areas with agriculture are also widespread, but most of the municipality is covered in woods and mountains where the wildlife rules with moose, reindeer etc. The moose go all the way down to the heart of Leksvik and Vanvikan, where modern downtown areas with commercial and residential developments are growing.
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[edit] Name
The Old Norse form of the name was Lexuvík. The first element is the genitive case of a rivername Lexa, the last element is vík f 'inlet'. The rivername is, maybe, derived from the word lax m 'salmon'.
[edit] Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from 1990. It shows a clover (to represent 'life and growth').
[edit] History
The first inhabitants are believed to have moved to Leksvik some 3,000 years ago. They left several pieces of cutting tools which are now placed in museums. But Leksvik does not appear in recorded history before the Viking Age when the villages Leksvik and Hindrem became quite important in the local area. In both Leksvik and Hindrem there have been found great tombs and ruins of buildings and longboats. On Borgen, there is a hill between Hindrem and Sæter that may have been a great Viking fortress, but this could also be tracks made by the glaciers during the last ice age. After the Black Death struck Norway in 1349, Leksvik fell into silence for some 300 years.
In more modern history Leksvik and Hindrem are small and relatively isolated villages, north of Trondheimsfjorden. Two churches stood here, a church in Leksvik and a stave church in Hindrem, but this broke down in 1655 and was replaced by a modern wooden church. In the 19th century the church of Hindrem was demolished, and a new church was built in Vanvikan. Leksvik became well known for its goats and had 5,000 of them at their peak number. During WWII Leksvik was settled by German troops with the main camp on the top of Våttåhaugen, a hill north of Leksvik. But as a small and isolated village, nothing of great importance happened there during the war, and it was mostly peaceful although bombs fell over Trondheim, on the south side of the fjord. After the first electrical power came to Leksvik, Bjørn Lyng founded the first industry in Vanvikan and Leksvik. After the first road was finally finished in the early 1960s, industry grew rapidly and replaced the goats.
[edit] Attractions
- Bjørnåa
- Borgen
- Leksvik Kirke
- Munken
- Stranda Kirke
- Våttåhaugen
[edit] External links
- Webcam showing the view from Leksvik in the direction of Frosta
- European ash north to Leksvik
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