Country Norway District Helgeland Area rank 216 in Norway Area 465.3 km² Local time Wednesday 7:56 AM Official language form Norwegian Language | County Nordland Administrative centre Leland Demonym(s) Leirfjording Population 2,160 (2011) Administrative center Leland | |
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Weather 3°C, Wind W at 19 km/h, 86% Humidity | ||
Leirfjord is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Leland. Other villages in Leirfjord include Bardalssjøen and Sundøy. The large Helgeland Bridge is partly located in the municipality, connecting it to Alstahaug and the town of Sandnessjøen.
Contents
- Map of Leirfjord Norway
- General information
- Name
- Coat of arms
- Churches
- Geography
- Government
- Municipal council
- References
Map of Leirfjord, Norway
General information
The municipality of Leirfjord was established on 1 July 1915 when it was separated from the municipality of Stamnes. Initially, the municipality had 2,003 residents. In 1945, a small part of Nesna (population: 45) was merged into Leirfjord. On 1 January 1964, Leirfjord (population: 1,936) was merged with the southern part of Nesna (population: 580) and the parts of Tjøtta on the island of Alsta (population: 180) to form a new, larger municipality of Leirfjord.
Name
The municipality is named after the Leirfjorden. The old name of the fjord was probably just Leiri, derived from the name of the river Leira, which has its mouth in the end of the fjord. The river name is derived from the word leirr which means "clay".
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1992). The arms show a green branch cross on a gold background. It symbolizes forestry and agriculture in the municipality. The arms were designed by Jarle E. Henriksen from Sandnessjøen.
Churches
The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Leirfjord. It is part of the Nord-Helgeland deanery in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Geography
The municipality of Leirfjord is centered on the Leirfjorden, with most of the municipality on the mainland and a small part on the northeastern part of the island of Alsta. The Sundøy Bridge connects the mainland to the northeastern part of the island of Alsta and the Helgeland Bridge connects it to the rest of Alsta and the town of Sandnessjøen. The Ranfjorden runs along the northern part of Leirfjord and the Vefsnfjorden runs along the southern part of the municipality.
Government
All municipalities in Norway, including Leirfjord, 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 Leirfjord is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to every four years. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows: