Lødingen


Lødingen is a municipality in Nordland county in Norway. Lødingen is located on the southeastern corner of the island of Hinnøya, and is part of the traditional district of Ofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lødingen. The other main village is Vestbygda. Lødingen has the nickname "Biketown" because it hosts several annual bicycle races like Lofoten Insomnia and Vestbygd-rittet.
The municipality is the 202nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Lødingen is the 279th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,034. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 6.7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Lødingen was established on 1 January 1838. On 1 January 1869, the southern district of Lødingen surrounding the Tysfjorden on the mainland was separated to form the new Tysfjord Municipality. This left 2,064 residents in Lødingen. Then on 1 January 1909, the northeastern district of Lødingen was separated to form the new Tjeldsund Municipality. This left 3,034 residents in Lødingen.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, the southern mainland part of Lødingen surrounding the Efjorden and the island of Barøya were transferred to Ballangen Municipality. Then on 1 January 1964, the eastern part of Lødingen on the island of Tjeldøya was transferred to Tjeldsund Municipality.

Name

The municipality is named after the old Lødingen farm, since the first Lødingen Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of laða which means "grain/hay barn" and the last element is eng which means "meadow".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 11 May 1984. The arms show a gold-colored woollen thread that is folded as a flower with five leaves on a red background. The municipality is at the junction of road, shipping, and ferry routes to five areas: Lofoten, Ofoten, Salten, Vesterålen, and Southern Troms. It is also located between five fjords: Vestfjorden, Ofotfjorden, Tysfjorden, Tjeldsundet, and Gullesfjorden. The symbol is also an ancient symbol for good fortune.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish within the municipality of Lødingen. It is part of the Ofoten prosti in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Parish Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
LødingenLødingen ChurchLødingen1897
LødingenVestbygd ChurchVågehamn1885

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Lødingen, 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 Ofoten District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Lødingen is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Lødingen :
The municipality encompasses the southern part of the island of Hinnøya. The terrain is mountainous, with several small islands and fjords. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lødingen, located at the inner part of the Vestfjorden at the southern entrance of the Tjeldsundet strait. The nearest airport is Harstad/Narvik Airport, Evenes, about away by road. Lødingen is an important ferry harbor, the car ferry to/from Bognes in Tysfjord leaves 12 times per day and takes 60 minutes. Møysalen National Park is located in the northern part of the municipality. It's named after the mountain Møysalen on the municipal border between Lødingen and Sortland. The Rotvær Lighthouse is located in Lødingen.

Climate

Attractions