Gáivuotna–Kåfjord

Kåfjord kommune
Gáivuona suohkan
Municipality

Coat of arms

Troms within
Norway

Kåfjord within Troms
Coordinates: 69°36′14″N 20°31′57″E / 69.60389°N 20.53250°E / 69.60389; 20.53250Coordinates: 69°36′14″N 20°31′57″E / 69.60389°N 20.53250°E / 69.60389; 20.53250
Country Norway
County Troms
District Nord-Troms
Administrative centre Olderdalen
Government
  Mayor (2003) Bjørn Inge Mo (Ap)
Area
  Total 991.10 km2 (382.67 sq mi)
  Land 950.24 km2 (366.89 sq mi)
  Water 40.86 km2 (15.78 sq mi)
Area rank 106 in Norway
Population (2012)
  Total 2,210
  Rank 315 in Norway
  Density 2.3/km2 (6/sq mi)
  Change (10 years) -5.7 %
Demonym(s) 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
Data from Statistics Norway

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. Other villages include Manndalen, Birtavarre, Trollvik, Samuelsberg, Nordmannvik and Djupvik.

General information

The municipality is dominated by mountains, the fjord branch named Kåfjord and some valleys

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) was transferred to Kåfjord.[2]

Name

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]

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from 1988. It shows a silver spinning wheel on a red background. This was chosen to reflect the crafts and traditions of the local community.[5]

Churches

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

Churches in Gáivuotna–Kåfjord
Parish (Sokn)Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
KåfjordKåfjord ChurchOlderdalen1949
Birtavarre ChapelBirtavarre1937

History

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.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Kåfjord, 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 Kåfjord is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to every four years. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:[6]

Gáivuotna Kåfjord Kommunestyre 2015–2019
Party NameName in NorwegianNumber of
representatives
 Labour PartyArbeiderpartiet5
 Progress PartyFremskrittspartiet1
 Conservative PartyHøyre2
 Christian Democratic PartyKristelig Folkeparti2
 Green PartyMiljøpartiet De Grønne1
 Centre PartySenterpartiet4
 Local ListsLokale lister2
Total number of members:17

Geography

Kåfjord valley (Kåfjorddalen).

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).

Economy

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.

Population

The majority 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 Sami, largely concentrated in the municipality's largest village, Manndalen/Olmmáivággi.

Notable residents

Erik Johnsen (18441941), a Laestadian preacher. He received the King's Medal of Merit (Kongens Fortjenstmedalje) in 1938 for his work for the salvation of the soul.[7]

References

  1. "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  2. Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå.
  3. "Ot.prp. nr. 111 (2001-2002)" (in Norwegian). regjeringen.no. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
  4. "Endring av skrivemåten for tospråklige kommunenavn" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on March 28, 2014. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
  5. Store norske leksikon. "Gáivuotna/Kåfjord" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2012-12-20.
  6. "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway. 2015.
  7. Read more about Erik Johnsen

The dictionary definition of gáivuotna–kåfjord at Wiktionary Troms travel guide from Wikivoyage

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