Sørreisa


Sørreisa is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sørreisa. Other villages include Grunnreisa, Skøelva, and Smørsgård.
The municipality is the 247th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Sørreisa is the 218th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,464. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 2.9% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Sørreisen was established on 1 September 1886 when the large Tranøy Municipality was divided into three: Tranøy in the west, Dyrøy in the south, and Sørreisen in the east. Later, the spelling was changed to Sørreisa. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the part of Sørreisa across the Reisafjorden on the island of Senja was transferred to Lenvik Municipality.
On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed Troms og Finnmark county. Previously, it had been part of the old Troms county.

Name

The municipality is named after the Reisafjorden, which again is named after the Reisaelva. The river name is derived from the verb rísa which means "raise". The first element Sør was added to distinguish the municipality from Nordreisa Municipality. The municipality was originally named Sørreisen.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms is from modern times; they were granted on 7 September 1984. The arms show three gold stars on a red background. It was derived from the oldest known seal in the municipality, a 17th-century seal of Jacob Hansen Kinapel, who was a police sergeant in Sørreisa from 1715 to 1748.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish ' within the municipality of Sørreisa. It is part of the Indre Troms prosti in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.
Parish 'Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
SørreisaSørreisa ChurchTømmervika1992
SørreisaSkøelv ChapelSkøelva1966
SørreisaStraumen ChapelSørreisa1973

Geography

Sørreisa is located on the western coast of Norway, along the Reisafjorden, just east of the large island of Senja. The municipality is mostly populated along the shoreline. The municipality of Dyrøy lies to the west, Salangen and Bardu to the south, Målselv to the east, and Lenvik to the north.

Climate

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Sørreisa, 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 Senja District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

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