Øksnes


Øksnes is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the northwestern part of the large island of Langøya, which is a part of the traditional region of Vesterålen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Myre. Other villages in Øksnes include Alsvåg, Barkestad, Breidstrand, Nyksund, Strengelvåg, and Stø.
The municipality is the 257th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Øksnes is the 194th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 4,410. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 0.6% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Øksnes was established on 1 January 1838. On 1 January 1866, a small area of southern Øksnes was transferred to the neighboring Bø Municipality. On 1 July 1919, the northeastern part of Øksnes along the Gavlfjorden was separated to form the new Langenes Municipality. This left Øksnes with 2,296 residents.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the Krakberget area and the part of Øksnes on the peninsula north of Krakberget was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Bø. On the same date the municipality of Langenes was merged with Øksnes. Prior to the merger, Øksnes had 3,112 residents and Langenes had 2,037 residents.

Name

The municipality is named after the old Øksnes farm, since the first Øksnes Church was built there. The first element is probably an old name of Skogsøya island and the last element is nes which means "headland". The old name of the island is identical with the word yxn. The mountains of the island have maybe been compared with a group of oxen.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms is from modern times; they were granted on 22 August 1986. The arms show two black fishing hooks on a gold background, appropriate symbols for a municipality which is dependent on fishing and sailing.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish within the municipality of Øksnes. It is part of the Vesterålen prosti in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Parish Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
ØksnesAlsvåg ChurchAlsvåg1923
ØksnesLangenes ChurchStø1500s
ØksnesMyre ChurchMyre1979
ØksnesØksnes ChurchSkogsøya1703

Geography

Øksnes municipality encompasses the northwestern part of the island of Langøya in the Vesterålen archipelago. It also includes many small islands around there including the islands of Anden, Dyrøya, Nærøya, Skogsøya, and Tindsøya. The Gavlfjorden flows along the northeastern part of the boundary with Andøy Municipality on the other side. The southeastern part of Øksnes borders Sortland Municipality and the southwestern part borders Bø Municipality. The rest of the municipality borders the Norwegian Sea.
The municipality is quite rugged with the exception of the area east of Myre which is very flat and marshy. The large lake Alsvågvatnet lies near this flat area, just east of the village of Alsvåg. This flat area lies just to the north of the large mountain Snøkolla. The Anda Lighthouse is located on the tiny island of Anden.

Climate

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Øksnes, are responsible for primary education, 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. The municipality falls under the Vesterålen District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Øksnes is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Bindal :