Salangen


Salangen is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sjøvegan, where most of the people in the municipality live. Other villages include Elvenes, Laberg, and Seljeskog.
The municipality is situated along the Sagfjorden in south central Troms county. The municipality is mostly coastal areas around the fjord as well as some inland valleys. Salangen is home to the world's northernmost bat population.
The municipality is the 219th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Salangen is the 273rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,146. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 2.9% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Salangen was established on 1 January 1871 when it was separated from the large municipality of Ibestad. The initial population of Salangen was 1,384.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the neighboring municipalities of Lavangen and Salangen were merged to form a new, larger Salangen Municipality with a new population of 4,288.
This merger was not popular and on 1 January 1977, it was mostly undone. Most of the old Lavangen municipality was separated from Salangen to form a separate municipality once again. After the split, Salangen remained with 2,611 residents.
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 Salangen fjord. The first element is selr which means "seal" and the last element is angr which means "fjord".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms is from modern times; they were granted on 2 December 1985. The arms show a white seal on a blue background. They are canting arms since the name of the municipality is derived from the old word "Sellanger", meaning seal fjord.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish ' within the municipality of Salangen. It is part of the Indre Troms prosti in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.
Parish 'Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
SalangenSalangen ChurchSjøvegan1981
SalangenElvenes ChapelElvenes1959

Geography

The municipality is located in the southern part of Troms county, at the northeastern end of the Astafjorden. The municipality of Ibestad is located west of Salangen, connected by the Mjøsund Bridge; Lavangen municipality to the south; Bardu to the east; and Dyrøy and Sørreisa to the north.

Geology

The area itself is part of the Caledonian Orogeny formed of part of a series of Nappes that run down the coast of Norway. These nappes were metamorphosed as a result of partial subduction beneath Laurentia during the early to middle Paleozoic. On a smaller scale, the municipality is located mainly on quartzite. In the hills to the south, there is garnet-rich schist.
Across the nearby lake Nervatnet and towards the village of Strokkenes, granite within marble is present. This granite is Leucratic, an indicative sign of granite intruded within an orogenic mountain building event.

Climate

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Salangen, 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 Salangen is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows: