Lenvik is a municipality

Municipalities of Norway

Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...

 in Troms

Troms

or Romsa is a county in North Norway, bordering Finnmark to the northeast and Nordland in the southwest. To the south is Norrbotten Län in Sweden and further southeast is a shorter border with Lapland Province in Finland. To the west is the Norwegian Sea...

 county

Counties of Norway

Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. The municipality is partly situated on the mainland, partly on the island of Senja

Senja

Senja is the second largest island in Norway . It is located along the Troms county coastline with Finnsnes as the closest town. Senja is connected to the mainland by the Gisund Bridge. The municipalities located on Senja are Lenvik , Berg, Torsken, and Tranøy...

. The administrative center is the town of Finnsnes

Finnsnes

is a small town located in the municipality of Lenvik on the mainland near the island of Senja, in Troms county, Norway. The population is 4,185. The municipality is well provided with kindergartens and a decentralized school system on both primary and secondary level...

, where the Gisund Bridge

Gisund Bridge

Gisund Bridge is a cantilever road bridge that crosses Gisundet from Finnsnes on the mainland to Silsand on Senja in Troms county in Norway. The bridge is 1147 metres long, the main span is 143 metres, and the maximum clearance to the sea is 41 metres...

 connects Senja to the mainland by road. Other settlements include Aglapsvik

Aglapsvik

Aglapsvik is a small isolated coastal village along the Malangen fjord in the municipality of Lenvik in Troms county in Northern Norway. It is located north of Finnsnes. The area is mostly hilly and forested and there is one small road passing through. There are about 50 residents and the main...

, Gibostad

Gibostad

Gibostad is a village on Senja island in the municipality of Lenvik in Troms county, Norway. Its population is 348. Gibostad is a former trading centre, located about north of the Gisund Bridge. Many of the buildings in the harbour area are about 200 years old...

, Botnhamn

Botnhamn

Botnhamn is a small place in Northern Norway, located more than north of the Arctic Circle on the northern part of the island of Senja. The place is spread out along the west side of the fjord of Stønnesbotn and is part of Lenvik municipality in Troms county. The population is 308. Botnhamn...

, Fjordgård

Fjordgård

Fjordgård is a small fishing village in the municipality of Lenvik in Troms county, Norway. Its population is 213. It is located on the northern part of Senja, the second largest island in Norway. Fjordgård lies on the west side of the fjord Ørnfjorden, which is a continuation of the fjord...

, Finnfjordbotn, Husøy

Husøy, Senja

Husøy is an island in the Øyfjorden off the northwest coast of Senja in the municipality of Lenvik in Troms county, Norway, about southwest of the city of Tromsø. The island's population is 232. The village of Fjordgård is across the fjord on the island of Senja...

, Langnes, Laukhella

Laukhella

Laukhella is a village in the municipality of Lenvik in Troms county, Norway. The village lies to the west of the town of Silsand on the island of Senja. It is located along the Laksfjorden, about west of the municipal centre of Finnsnes....

, Silsand

Silsand

Silsand is a village in the municipality of Lenvik in Troms county, Norway. It has a population of 1,313, making it the largest village on the island of Senja. Silsand is now considered a suburb of the neighboring town of Finnsnes, which is located across the Gisundet strait...

, and Rossfjordstraumen

Rossfjordstraumen

Rossfjordstraumen is a village in the municipality of Lenvik in Troms county, Norway. It serves as a community center for the areas around the Rossfjord and the lake, Rossfjordvatnet. It is located about northeast of Finnsnes, and about northeast of the village of Langnes...

. The lake Lysvatnet

Lysvatnet (Lenvik)

Lysvatnet is a lake that lies in the Helvetesdalen valley on the island of Senja in the municipality of Lenvik in Troms county, Norway. The long lake covers ....

 is located on Senja island west of Gibostad.

General information

Lenvik was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt

Formannskapsdistrikt

Formannskapsdistrikt was the name for a Norwegian local self-government districts put into force in 1838. This system of municipality was created in a bill approved by the Storting and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January 1837...

). In 1848, most of the mainland parts of Lenvik (population: 2,616) was separated to form the new municipality of Målselv

Målselv

Målselv is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Moen. Some other villages include Andslimoen, Bardufoss, Alappmoen, Holmen, Fossmoen, and Heggelia...

, leaving Lenvik with 3,029 residents. Then in 1855, the northern part of Lenvik (population: 811) was separated to form the new municipality of Hillesøy

Hillesøy

Hillesøy is a former municipality in Troms county in Norway. It is located in the present-day municipalities of Tromsø and Lenvik and both sides of the Malangen fjord...

. This left Lenvik with 2,757 inhabitants. On 1 January 1871, a small part of Lenvik (population: 70) was transferred to the neighboring municipality of Malangen

Malangen

Malangen is a fjord and a former municipality in Troms county in Norway. The fjord is located between the islands of Kvaløya and Senja and the area today is divided between the municipalities of Balsfjord, Lenvik, Tromsø, and Målselv...

.

On 1 January 1964, many border adjustments took place: the part of Sørreisa

Sørreisa

Sørreisa is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sørreisa.- General information :...

 on the island of Senja (population: 129); the Hellemo, Paulsrud, Johnsgård, and Stormo farms in Tranøy

Tranøy

Tranøy is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The municipality is situated on the southern coast of the island Senja. The municipal centre is the village of Vangsvik in the east. Stonglandseidet and Å in the west are other population centers. The now abandoned island of Tranøya, with its 18th...

 (population: 106); and the part of Hillesøy on Senja and the island of Hekkingen (population: 1,159) were all merged together with Lenvik to form a new, larger municipality of Lenvik with a total population of 10,219.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

) is named after the old Lenvik farm (Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

: Lengjuvík), since the first church was built there. The first element is the genitive case

Genitive case

In grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...

 of the river name Lengja and the last element is vík f "cove

Cove

A cove is a small type of bay or coastal inlet. They usually have narrow, restricted entrances, are often circular or oval, and are often inside a larger bay. Small, narrow, sheltered bays, inlets, creeks, or recesses in a coast are often considered coves...

, wick

Wick

Wick may refer to:* David Wicks, fictional character from a British soap opera. Not to be confused with David Wicks, American comedian/actor.* Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp...

". The river name is derived from the word langr which means "long". From 1889-1908, the name was spelled Lenviken.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms

Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 is from modern times. They were granted on 22 August 1986. The arms show three oar

Oar

An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Oarsmen grasp the oar at the other end. The difference between oars and paddles are that paddles are held by the paddler, and are not connected with the vessel. Oars generally are connected to the vessel by...

s and are a symbol for the fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 and sailing

Sailing

Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...

 in the municipality. To distinguish the arms from those from many other fishing towns, the oar was chosen as a symbol.

History

The first church was built around 1150, and for a century, this was the northernmost church in the world. The religious centre was at Bjorelvnes. Important local centres in the past include Klauva and Gibostad. However, in the 20th century, Finnsnes took over as the centre, and has recently been declared a city.

External links

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
  Statistics Norway
  Statistics Norway is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876.Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every year on its web site. All releases are published both in Norwegian and English...