Dønna Municipality


Dønna is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland region. The administrative centre of the island municipality is the village of Solfjellsjøen. Other villages include Bjørn, Dønnes, Hestad, Sandåker, and Vandve. The main island of Dønna is connected to the neighboring Herøy Municipality to the south by the Åkviksundet Bridge.
The municipality is the 305th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Dønna Municipality is the 305th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,427. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 0.5% over the previous 10-year period.
WWW donna.kommune.no

General information

Municipal history

The municipality of Dønna was established on 1 January 1962 due to the work of the Schei Committee. The new municipality was created by merging these areas:
The borders of Dønna Municipality have not changed since that time.

Name

The municipality is named after the island of Dønna. The name is probably derived from the Old Norse verb which means to "rumble" or "roar".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 29 May 1981. The official blazon is "Or a schnecke azure from base sinister to dexter". This means the arms have a field that is divided by a line called a schnecke. The field located above the line has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The tincture below the line is blue.
The arms are a canting symbol for the municipality since the Norwegian word dønning means "wave" or "swell". The arms were designed by Odd Fjordholm.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish within Dønna Municipality. It is part of the Nord-Helgeland prosti in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
DønnaDønnes ChurchDønnes13th century
DønnaHæstad ChurchHestad1912
DønnaLøkta ChurchSandåker1968
DønnaNordvik ChurchNordvik 1877
DønnaVandve ChurchVandve1956

Economy

Much of the industry focuses on fishing, aquaculture, and fish processing. There is also some agriculture, tourism, and some public services.

Government

Dønna Municipality is responsible for primary education, outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Helgeland District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Dønna Municipality is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayor of Dønna Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:
  • 1962–1963: Fridtjof Leonhard Hjortdahl
  • 1963–1975: Hans Gården
  • 1975–1979: Gunnar Horsgård
  • 1979–1983: Hans Gården
  • 1983–1987: Helge Emilsen
  • 1987–1991: Finn Hjortdahl
  • 1991–1995: Steinar Horsgård
  • 1995–2003: Anne Sofie Sand Mathisen
  • 2003–2007: Steinar Horsgård
  • 2007–2011: Ingunn Laumann
  • 2011–2015: Anne Sofie Sand Mathisen
  • 2015–2019: John-Erik Skjellnes Johansen
  • 2019–2023: Nils Jenssen
  • 2024–present: John-Erik Skjellnes Johansen

Geography

Dønna is located in the outer, coastal part of Helgeland which also consists of Leirfjord Municipality, Alstahaug Municipality, and Herøy Municipality. The municipality is made up of a large archipelago consisting of islands, islets, and reefs. The three largest islands in the municipality are Dønna, Løkta, and Vandve. The Åsværet islands lie in the western part of the municipality. The island municipality is situated at the mouth of the Ranfjorden. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Dønnmannen on the island of Dønna.

Farms of Dønna

Historically, the land of Dønna was divided up into named farms. These farms were used in census and tax records and are useful for genalogical research.

Map of farms

Note: Coordinates are approximate. The map has been divided into parts consistent with the in the 1920 census of Norway.
As this census was taken in 1920, and the boundaries of the municipality changed in 1962, this map is not consistent with modern enumeration districts.
This map will include one farm name per farm number; other farm names or subdivision numbers may exist.

Farm names and numbers

Following are the farms in Dønna municipality, as they are listed in O. Rygh's series "Norske Gaardnavne", the Nordland volume of which was published in 1905.
The farm numbers are used in some census records, and numbers that are near each other indicate that those farms are geographically proximate. Handwritten Norwegian sources, particularly those prior to 1800, may use variants on these names. For recorded variants before 1723, see the digital version of O. Rygh.
Farm names were often used as part of Norwegian names, in addition to the person's given name and patronymic or inherited surname. Some families retained the farm name, or, as a surname when they emigrated, so in those cases tracing a surname may tell you specifically where in Norway the family was from. This tradition began to change in the mid to late 19th century, and inherited surnames were codified into law in 1923.
If you can't find an entry when you are searching for a word that starts with AE, Ae, O, A or Aa, it may have been transcribed from one of those letters not used in English. Try looking for it under the Norwegian letter; Æ, Ø, and Å appear at the end of the Norwegian alphabet.
Farm NameFarm Number
Skeim1
Kamman, Vaag2
Aakerøen3
Aaker4
Bø5
Stavseng6
Stavsengvik7
Titternes8
Volnes9
Rølvaag10
Dønnes11
Aakvik12
Sigerstad13
Glein14
Breivik15
Kobberdal16
Sandaaker17
Sund18
Hov19
Husby20

Notable people