,, or is a municipality in Troms og Finnmarkcounty, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hatteng. Other villages in Storfjord include Elvevoll, Oteren, and Skibotn. The municipality is the 54th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Storfjord is the 290th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,829. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 3.1% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The municipality of Storfjord was established in 1929 when the large Lyngen Municipality was divided into three: Lyngen Municipality in the northwest, Kåfjord Municipality in the northeast, and Storfjord Municipality in the south. The initial population of Storfjord was 1,499. On 1 January 1964, the Elvebakken farm of Balsfjord Municipality was transferred to Storfjord. Then on 1 January 1992, one uninhabited farm in the Nordnes area of Lyngen Municipality was transferred to Storfjord. 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 Storfjorden. The first element is stor which means "great" or "big", so it basically means "great fjord". After a long debate within the municipality, in 2014 the municipality approved co-official names of the municipality in the Northern Sami language and Kven language. or are parallel, co-equal names that can be used interchangeably to refer to the municipality in the three different languages.
The Sami culture is the original culture; however, in the 19th century, settlers came from Finland and from the valleys of Southern Norway to establish themselves. Sami culture, though, has survived in parts of Storfjord to the present. In the 19th century, Laestadianism, a puritan religious movement, obtained a strong position. Skibotn is even today a stronghold for this movement. The market of Skibotn was traditionally a meeting point between ethnic groups, where Sami, Finns, and Norwegians met to trade. This market still takes place today. The ethnic mix is interesting, with both Sami and Finnish cultures represented. In the valley of Signaldalen, a Norwegian dialect of southern origin is spoken, a relic of the valley's settlement from the south in the early 19th century.
There were several prison camps there during World War Two. A 2014 NRK article estimated that a total of around 7000 or 8000 Soviet prisoners, were interred in these prison camps. Furthermore, the Mallnitz Camp was the worst.
The municipal council of Storfjord is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:
The municipality is situated around the inner parts of the Lyngen fjord. Storfjord borders both Finland and Sweden, and the borders of the three countries meet at the beacon of Treriksröset, the northernmost point of Sweden. Treriksrøysa is a popular hiking destination; there are no fences, so at this location one step forward is all that is needed to get from one country to another. Pine and birch forests are common in the valleys in Storfjord, and the more rare calcareous pine forests, with several orchids, are also present. The lake Rihpojávri is located near the eastern border of Storfjord.
Climate
The Skibotn valley has a microclimate with very little clouds by Norwegian standards, and annual precipitation down to. The monthly 24-hr average temperature varies from in January to in July.
