Leirfjord


Leirfjord is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Leland. Other villages in Leirfjord include Bardalssjøen and Sundøy. The large Helgeland Bridge is partly located in the municipality, connecting it to Alstahaug Municipality and the town of Sandnessjøen.
The municipality is the 213th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Leirfjord is the 265th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,294. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 7.2% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Leirfjord was established on 1 July 1915 when it was separated from the municipality of Stamnes. Initially, the municipality had 2,003 residents. In 1945, a small part of Nesna Municipality was merged into Leirfjord. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Leirfjord Municipality was merged with the parts of Nesna Municipality located south of the Ranfjorden and the parts of Tjøtta Municipality on the island of Alsta to form a new, larger municipality of Leirfjord.

Name

The municipality is named after the Leirfjorden. The old name of the fjord was probably just Leiri, derived from the name of the river Leira, which has its mouth in the end of the fjord. The river name is derived from the word leirr which means "clay".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 30 October 1992. The arms show a green branch cross on a gold background. It symbolizes forestry and agriculture in the municipality as well as the central location of the north-south and east-west roads through the municipality. The arms were designed by Jarle E. Henriksen from the nearby town of Sandnessjøen.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish within the municipality of Leirfjord. It is part of the Nord-Helgeland prosti in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Parish Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
LeirfjordBardal ChurchBardalssjøen1887
LeirfjordLeirfjord ChurchLeland1867

Geography

The municipality of Leirfjord is centered on the Leirfjorden, with most of the municipality on the mainland and a small part on the northeastern part of the island of Alsta. The Sundøy Bridge connects the mainland to the northeastern part of the island of Alsta and the Helgeland Bridge connects it to the rest of Alsta and the town of Sandnessjøen. The Ranfjorden runs along the northern part of Leirfjord and the Vefsnfjorden runs along the southern part of the municipality.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Leirfjord, 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 Alstahaug District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Leirfjord is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows: