Country Norway District Midt-Troms Area rank 276 in Norway Area 301.7 km² Local time Monday 7:18 PM Official language form Norwegian Language | County Troms Administrative centre Tennevoll Demonym(s) Lavangsværing Population 1,016 (2012) Administrative center Tennevoll | |
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Weather 0°C, Wind SE at 10 km/h, 82% Humidity | ||
Lavangen (Northern Sami: Loabák) is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tennevoll. Other villages in Lavangen include Fossbakken and Spansdalen (in the inland areas) and Kjeiprød, Røkenes, Låternes, Tennevoll, Hesjevika, Soløy, and Å (surrounding the fjord).
Contents
- Map of Lavangen Norway
- General information
- Name
- Coat of arms
- Churches
- Geography
- Government
- Municipal council
- Attractions
- References
Map of Lavangen, Norway
General information
Lavangen was established on 1 January 1907 when it was separated from the municipality of Ibestad. The initial population was 1,536. On 1 January 1964, Lavangen was merged into the neighboring municipality of Salangen. The merger was brief, however, because on 1 January 1977, the old Lavangen municipality (except for the Lavangsnes area) was made a separate municipality once again.
Name
The municipality is named after the fjord (Old Norse: Laufangr). The first element is lauf which means "leaf" (here in the sense of 'birchwood') and the last element is angr which means "fjord".
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1987). The arms are a canting of the name (which means leaf) since it shows three gold-colored birch leaves on a red background. The three leaves represent how the municipality was settled by Norwegians, Samis, and Kvens.
See also: the coat-of-arms of Birkenes and BjerkreimChurches
The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Lavangen. It is part of the Indre Troms deanery in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.
Geography
The municipality encompasses the land around the Spansdalelva river valley and most of the area around the Lavangen fjord, south of the Astafjorden. The municipality borders Narvik (in Nordland county) to the south, Gratangen to the west, Salangen to the north, and Bardu to the east.
Government
All municipalities in Norway, including Lavangen, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor.
Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Lavangen is made up of 15 representatives that are elected to every four years. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:
Attractions
Spanstind rundt is a famous cross-country skiing race in Lavangen that is held on Maundy Thursdays each year.