| Kåfjord kommune Gáivuona suohkan |
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| — Municipality — | |||
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| Kåfjord within Troms | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Troms | ||
| District | Nord-Troms | ||
| Administrative centre | Olderdalen | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor (2003) | Bjørn Inge Mo (Ap) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 991.1 km2 (382.7 sq mi) | ||
| • Land | 951.2 km2 (367.3 sq mi) | ||
| • Water | 39.9 km2 (15.4 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 106 in Norway | ||
| Population (2010) | |||
| • Total | 2,207 | ||
| • Rank | 315 in Norway | ||
| • Density | 2.3/km2 (6/sq mi) | ||
| • Change (10 years) | -6.8 % | ||
| Demonym | Kåfjording[1] | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| ISO 3166 code | NO-1940 | ||
| Official language form | Bokmål and Sami | ||
| Website | www.kafjord.kommune.no | ||
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Gáivuotna (Northern Sami) or Kåfjord (Norwegian), (also Kven: Kaivuono) is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Olderdalen.
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The municipality of Kåfjord was established in 1929 when it was separated from the municipality of Lyngen. The initial population of Kåfjord was 2,482. Then on 1 January 1992, the Nordnes area of Lyngen (population: 38) which was on the mainland was transferred to Kåfjord.[2]
Kåfjord is a Norwegianized form of the Sámi name Gáivuotna. The meaning of the first element is unknown and the last element is vuotna which means "fjord".
The name of the municipality was Kåfjord until 2 May 1994, when it was changed to Gáivuotna-Kåfjord[3] It was the fifth municipality in Norway to get a Sami name. In 2005, the name was again changed such that either the Sami Gáivuotna or the Norwegian Kåfjord name can be used.[4]
The coat-of-arms is from 1988. It shows a silver spinning wheel on a red background.
In 1945, the villages of Kåfjord were burned to the ground during the retreat of German forces from Finland and Finnmark. This was as far west as the Wehrmacht used their scorched earth tactics.
Erik Johnsen (1844 - 1941) - Laestadian preacher - received the King's Medal of Merit (Kongens Fortjenstmedalje) in 1938 for his work for the salvation of the soul
1. Read more about Erik Johnsen
The municipality is situated on the eastern side of the Lyngen fjord, and around its eastern arm, the Kåfjord. The municipal centre is Olderdalen. Other villages include Birtavarre, Kåfjorddalen, Djupvik, Nordmannvik, and Manndalen, where the international indigenous peoples' festival Riddu Riđđu is hosted each year.
On the border with Finland, is the mountain Ráisduattarháldi which has a height of 1,365 m (4,478 ft).
Fishing and small-scale farming have been the most important sources of income. Now many people work in education and other public services. The population has declined for many years, but the decline is now less rapid than earlier. A new optimism has arisen among young people, largely due to the increasing cultural activities.
The minority of the population is of Sami origin. Due to assimilation pressure from the Norwegian State, the language was largely lost in the 20th century. Now efforts are being made to reintroduce the Sami languages, largely concentrated in the village, Manndalen.
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