Nordreisa

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Nordreisa kommune
Ráissa suohkan
Raisin komuuni
Municipality
View of Storslett

Coat of arms

Troms within
Norway
Nordreisa within Troms
Coordinates: 69°42′18″N 21°12′33″E / 69.70500°N 21.20917°E / 69.70500; 21.20917Coordinates: 69°42′18″N 21°12′33″E / 69.70500°N 21.20917°E / 69.70500; 21.20917
Country Norway
County Troms
District Nord-Troms
Administrative centre Storslett
Government
  Mayor (2011) Lidvart Jacobsen (Ap)
Area
  Total 3,436.64 km2 (1,326.89 sq mi)
  Land 3,335.37 km2 (1,287.79 sq mi)
  Water 101.27 km2 (39.10 sq mi)
Area rank 9 in Norway
Population (2012)
  Total 4,807
  Rank 200 in Norway
  Density 1.4/km2 (4/sq mi)
  Change (10 years) 1.4 %
Demonym Nordreisværing[1]
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-1942
Official language form Bokmål
Website www.nordreisa.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Nordreisa (Northern Sami: Ráissa suohkan, Kven: Raisin komuuni) is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Storslett. Other villages include Oksfjordhamn, Sørkjosen, and Rotsund.

The municipality consists of the Reisadalen valley, with the river Reisaelva and deep pine forests, surrounded by mountains and high plateaus. Most people live in Storslett, where the river meets the Reisafjorden. Sørkjosen, just northwest of Storslett, is the location of Sørkjosen Airport with flights to Tromsø and several destinations in Finnmark. The European route E6 runs through the northern part of the municipality.

General information

Map of Nordreisa

The municipality of Nordreisa was established on 1 January 1886 when the southern part of Skjervøy (population: 1,057) was separated to form the new municipality. On 1 January 1890, the Trætten and Loppevolden farms (population: 32) were transferred to Nordreisa from Skjervøy. The parts of Skjervøy lying on the mainland (population: 1,556) were transferred from Skjervøy to Nordreisa on 1 January 1972. On 1 January 1982, the southern part of Uløya (population: 128) was transferred from Skjervøy to Nordreisa.[2]

Name

The municipality is named after the Reisafjorden (originally Reisa), which again is named after Reisaelva ("Reisa river" - originally Reisa). The river name is probably derived form the verb rísa which means "raise" (referring to flooding).

The first element Nord ("northern") was added to distinguish the municipality from Sørreisa. The municipality was originally named Nordreisen, but the ending was later changed to the present form.[3]

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 21 December 1984. The arms show two white salmon on a green background. This was chosen since the river Reisaelva is one of the country's best salmon rivers.[4]

See also: Coats-of-arms for Grane, Kvalsund and Mandal.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Nordreisa. It is part of the Nord-Troms deanery in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.

Churches in Nordreisa
Parish (Sokn)Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
NordreisaNordreisa ChurchStorslett1856
Rotsund ChapelRotsund1932

History

Most inhabitants are descendants of settlers from Finland who came over in the 18th century, escaping famine and war. Today, only a few old people can speak Finnish. Some inhabitants have Sami or Norwegian backgrounds, and today the Norwegian language is most commonly used.

Few old buildings survive in Nordreisa, as virtually everything was destroyed in early 1945 by retreating German troops. The two major attractions are the old trading post at Havnnes, with picturesque old houses that escaped the war damages, and the waterfall of Mollisfossen, which is 269 metres (883 ft) high. The upper, or southernmost, areas of the municipality are covered by the Reisa National Park with unique forest and high plateau vegetation.

In the 2007 municipal elections, Nordreisa recorded the highest vote for the right-wing Progress Party in Norway at 49.3%.

Geography

Nordreisa municipality is located around the Reisafjorden and the Reisadalen valley. The municipality also includes the southern part of the island of Uløya. The Lyngen lies on the northwestern edge of the municipality. The island municipality of Skjervøy lies to the north; Kvænangen and Kautokeino municipalities are to the east; Finland is to the south; and Gáivuotna–Kåfjord and Lyngen to the west. The large mountain Halti lies in the southern part of the municipality, near Reisa National Park.

Climate

Climate data for Storslett
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) −4.3
(24.3)
−3.6
(25.5)
−0.8
(30.6)
3.5
(38.3)
8.3
(46.9)
13.3
(55.9)
16.1
(61)
14.6
(58.3)
10.2
(50.4)
4.4
(39.9)
−0.4
(31.3)
−3.1
(26.4)
4.9
(40.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) −8.0
(17.6)
−7.4
(18.7)
−4.6
(23.7)
−0.1
(31.8)
5.1
(41.2)
9.7
(49.5)
12.6
(54.7)
11.3
(52.3)
6.8
(44.2)
1.8
(35.2)
−3.5
(25.7)
−6.6
(20.1)
1.4
(34.5)
Average low °C (°F) −12.2
(10)
−11.4
(11.5)
−8.8
(16.2)
−4.0
(24.8)
1.3
(34.3)
5.9
(42.6)
8.7
(47.7)
7.6
(45.7)
3.5
(38.3)
−1.3
(29.7)
−6.9
(19.6)
−10.5
(13.1)
−2.3
(27.9)
Precipitation mm (inches) 59
(2.32)
50
(1.97)
42
(1.65)
34
(1.34)
34
(1.34)
45
(1.77)
60
(2.36)
64
(2.52)
62
(2.44)
80
(3.15)
65
(2.56)
67
(2.64)
662
(26.06)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) 10.3 9.8 9.1 7.8 8.2 9.8 11.3 11.4 11.8 12.6 11.6 11.3 125.0
Source: Norwegian Meteorological Institute[5]

Notable residents

  • Bjørn Arne Olsen, actor in Titanic
  • Eirik Høgbakk, professional football player
  • Vebjørn Karlsen Fosnes, found a very unique species of a strawberry

References

  1. "Personnemningar til stadnamn i Noreg" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. 
  2. Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. 
  3. Rygh, Oluf (1911). Norske gaardnavne: Troms amt (in Norwegian) (17 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 185. 
  4. Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". Retrieved 2008-12-07. 
  5. "eKlima Web Portal". Norwegian Meteorological Institute. 

External links

  • Media related to Nordreisa at Wikimedia Commons
  • The dictionary definition of nordreisa at Wiktionary
  • Troms travel guide from Wikivoyage
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