Sømna


Sømna is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative center of Sømna is the village of Vik i Helgeland. Other villages in the municipality include Dalbotn, Sund, Vennesund, and Berg.
The oldest boat remains ever found in Norway was discovered in a bog in Sømna.
Sømna has some of the best agriculture in the region. Dairy and beef cows as well as grains are produced in Sømna. There is also a dairy in Berg that produces milk and cheese.
The municipality is the 301st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Sømna is the 283rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,975. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 3.2% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Vik was established on 1 January 1901 when it was separated from the large municipality of Brønnøy. The initial population of Vik was 2,731. In 1941 the municipality was renamed Sømna. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, a major municipal merger took place. The following areas were merged to form a new, larger Brønnøy municipality.
This merger was short-lived because on 1 January 1977, all of the old Sømna municipality was removed from Brønnøy to become a separate municipality once again. There were 2,107 residents in the newly recreated Sømna municipality.

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was probably Søfn. The meaning of the name is unknown, but it is possibly derived from sveifa which means "wind" or "wave" or it could be derived from svefja meaning a "quiet sleep".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 14 June 1991. The arms show three combined silver leaves of clover on a red background. The arms symbolize agriculture, culture, and prosperity combined.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish within the municipality of Sømna. It is part of the Sør-Helgeland prosti in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Parish Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
SømnaSømna ChurchVik i Helgeland1876

Geography

The municipality of Sømna is mostly made up of the southern part of a peninsula off the mainland of Norway and the surrounding islands. It borders Brønnøy to the north by land and Bindal to the south and east by sea, across the Bindalsfjorden.
Sømna consists mainly of a wide Strandflaten lowland, and is one of few municipalities in Northern Norway where the farmers still grow some grain.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Sømna, 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 Brønnøy District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Sømna 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 Sømna :