Ofoten Municipality


Ofoten is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The 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 Narvik Municipality and Evenes Municipality. The administrative centre of Ofoten was the village of Narvik. After the municipality was dissolved in 1884, the name Ofoten has been used to refer to the region that once was this municipality.

General information

The municipality of Ofoten was established on 1 January 1838. On 1 January 1884, the municipality ceased to exist when it was split into two: Ankenes Municipality in the east and Evindnæs Municipality in the west.

Name

The municipality is named after the local Ofotfjorden 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 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.

Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish within Ofoten Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Ofoten prestegjeld and the Nordre Salten prosti in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
AnkenesAnkenes ChurchAnkenesstranda1867
EvenesEvenes ChurchEvenes1800

Geography

The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Storsteinsfjellet. The municipality was located at the inner part of the Ofotfjorden, along the border with Sweden. To the west was Lødingen Municipality and Tjeldsund Municipality. To the north was Ibestad Municipality and Bardu Municipality.

Government

While it existed, Ofoten Municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.

Mayors

The mayor of Ofoten 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:
  • 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