Gravvik Municipality


Gravvik is a former municipality in the old Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1909 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality covered the northern coastal areas of the present-day Nærøysund Municipality in Trøndelag county. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Gravvika where the Gravvik Church is located.
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 380th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Gravvik Municipality was the 645th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 804. The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 9.6% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Gravik was established on 1 January 1909 when Leka Municipality was divided in two. The northern island area became the new Leka Municipality and the southern coastal area became Gravvik Municipality.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, a large merger took place which dissolved Gravvik Municipality. The following areas were merged to form a new, larger Nærøy Municipality:
The municipality is named after the old Gravik farm which was named after the local Gravikvågen bay. The first element comes from the Old Norse word grǫf which means "grave". The last element is which means "cove" or "inlet". The name of the municipality was spelled Gravik from its establishment in 1909 until 15 August 1913 when a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Gravvik.

Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish within Gravvik Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Leka prestegjeld and the Ytre Namdal prosti in the Diocese of Nidaros.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
GravvikGravvik ChurchGravvika1875

Geography

Gravvik Municipality was located in the northwestern part of Nord-Trøndelag county. It was bordered by Bindal Municipality in the northeast, Leka Municipality to the northwest, Kolvereid Municipality to the southwest, and Foldereid Municipality to the southeast. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Haltussen, on the border with Foldereid Municipality.

Government

During its existence, Gravvik Municipality was 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 was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Gravvik Municipality was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayor of Gravvik Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who held this position:
  • 1908–1913: Karl August Jensen
  • 1914–1919: Martin Mortensen Skotvik
  • 1920–1922: Jakob Dølør
  • 1923–1925: Ole Wang Skotnes
  • 1926–1928: Ole Dragland
  • 1929–1942: Mathias K. Hagen
  • 1942–1945: Arne Olsen
  • 1945–1945: Jens Wang
  • 1946–1947: Ingvard Hiller
  • 1948–1950: Bjarne Størdal
  • 1950–1951: Fredrik Gansmo
  • 1952–1959: Harald Tømmervik
  • 1960–1963: Edvin Aspli