| Ballangen kommune | |||
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| — Municipality — | |||
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| Ballangen within Nordland | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Nordland | ||
| District | Ofoten | ||
| Administrative centre | Ballangen | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor (2007) | Anne-Rita Nicklasson | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 931 km2 (359.5 sq mi) | ||
| • Land | 847 km2 (327 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 118 in Norway | ||
| Population (2009) | |||
| • Total | 2,623 | ||
| • Rank | 290 in Norway | ||
| • Density | 3/km2 (7.8/sq mi) | ||
| • Change (10 years) | -9.7 % | ||
| Demonym | Ballangsværing[1] | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| ISO 3166 code | NO-1854 | ||
| Official language form | Bokmål | ||
| Website | www.ballangen.kommune.no | ||
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Ballangen is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Ofoten region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ballangen. Ballangen was separated from Evenes on 1 July 1925. The area of Efjorden was transferred from Lødingen to Ballangen on 1 January 1962.
The municipality borders Narvik to the east and Tysfjord to the south, and has a short border with Sweden to the southeast. Ballangen is situated on the southern shore of Ofotfjorden. Ballangen also includes the long and narrow Efjorden, just south of the much larger Ofotfjorden. Its immediate surroundings are dominated by fjords, mountains and forests. Ballangen relies on the neighbouring Narvik as its economic base.
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The Old Norse form of the name was Bagangr.[2] The meaning of the first element is unknown, and the last element is angr which means "fjord".
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 18 July 1980. The arms show a hammer as a symbol for the mining in the municipality. There used to be copper mines in the municipality. The green background symbolizes agriculture.[3]
The first person living in Ballangen we know by name is Lodve Lange (Lodve the long), who is mentioned in Heimskringla as being one of King Olav Tryggvason's most trusted warriors, and being placed near the king in the famous ship Ormen Lange (long serpent). Lodve probably participated in the Battle of Svolder in the year 1000, and might have been killed there. He lived at Saltvik, which is near the fjord, east of the centre in Ballangen today.
There is a long history of mining in Ballangen, starting from the 17th century. Over the years as many as 36 mines have been operated in Ballangen, including minerals like copper, nickel and iron, zinc, manganese, and lead, but the most serious mining started in 1911 with Bjørkåsen Gruver mining mostly pyrite.[4] Mining for nickel and olivine continued until 2002. There is also a dolomite quarry in Ballangen. Ballangen is the main agricultural municipality in the Ofoten region.
The Efjord area, in North Norway, is dominated by large slopes of bare rock with a narrow green area of vegetation near the fjord. The obelisk-like mountain nearby is dominated by the same, dark blue-grey rock, which contrasts with the clear water in the fjord where the sand banks can be seen just below the surface. Climbers and hikers are often tempted to test their skills on the rocky slopes.
In the east, Ballangen borders on lake Siiddasjavri (Northern Sami: Siiddašjávri), which it shares with Sweden. Siiddašjávri is the 14th largest lake which lies in or partially in Norway. Other lakes in the municipality include Børsvatne and Hjertvatnet.
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