Vestvågøy

Vestvågøy is a municipality and island in the county of Nordland in northern Norway. With its 10,813 inhabitants it is the most populated in the regions of Lofoten and Vesterålen. The administrative centre is Leknes.

Nappstraumen

This island and municipality is among the most scenic in Norway, with rugged cliffs and peaks facing the south eastern coast. Towards the north-west, however, the land is flat, with extensive farmlands. Most people are to be found in the municipal centre of Leknes and in its "twin town" Gravdal, where the central hospital for the Lofoten islands is to be found. Along the south-eastern coast one finds picturesque fishing villages like Ballstad and Stamsund, where the Hurtigruten calls. The coastline is dominated by high mountains and on the west coast also sandy white beaches. Utakleiv is by the British newspaper The Times ranked as the number one most romantic beach in Europe, and the neighbouring Hauklandsstranden is ranked by the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet as the best beach in Norway.

Leknes is the municipal and administrational centre and is situated in the geographical midth of Lofoten, approximately 68 km west of Svolvær and 65 km east of Å. Leknes is the trading and shopping centre of Lofoten, only rivalled by Svolvær. Leknes has an airport for smaller aircraft, with 7 daily scheduled flights to Bodø and some daily flights to Svolvær with the airline Widerøe. There is a small bus terminal which serves as a hub with bus links to the rest of Lofoten. The harbour Leknes Havn is one of Norway's most important and visited harbours for cruise ships.

Vestvågøy

At Borg, there is Lofotr, a museum presenting a reconstructed Iron Age chieftain's residence, with a house measuring 80 metres, built of stone and turf.

In Leknes, the sun (midnight sun) is above the horizon from May 26 to July 17, and in winter the sun does not rise from December 9 to January 4. The midnight sun is best viewed from the western beaches, such as Utakleiv and Eggum.

[edit] The name

The municipality is named after the island of Vestvågøya. The Norse name of the island was Lófót (see Lofoten and Vågan).

[edit] Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1984). It shows two stockfishes. (The export of stockfishes has been important for the economy of the municipality since the Middle Ages.)