Øksnes
Overview
Municipalities of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...
in Nordland
Nordland
is a county in Norway in the North Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Nord-Trøndelag in the south, Norrbottens län in Sweden to the east, Västerbottens län to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The county was formerly known as Nordlandene amt. The county administration is...
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...
. It is located on the island of Langøya
Langøya
Langøya is the third largest island of Norway , with an area of . The island is a part of Vesterålen, and is situated in Nordland county, just west of Hinnøya. The Sortlandssundet divides the two islands. It includes the municipality of Bø, and parts of the municipalities of Øksnes, Sortland and...
, part of the Vesterålen
Vesterålen
Vesterålen is a district and archipelago in Nordland, Norway, just north of Lofoten.-The name:The Norse forms of the name were Vestráll and Vestrálar . The first element is vestr n west, the last element is áll m ' sound, strait'...
traditional region
Districts of Norway
The country Norway is historically divided into a number of districts. Many districts have deep historical roots, and only partially coincide with today's administrative units of counties and municipalities. The districts are defined by geographical features, often valleys, mountain ranges, fjords,...
. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Myre
Myre, Øksnes
Myre is the administrative centre of Øksnes municipality on the island of Langøya in Vesterålen, Nordland, Norway. Its population is 1.995.-References:Myre styre....
.
Øksnes 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...
). The new municipality of Langenes
Langenes, Nordland
Langenes is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It was created by a split from Øksnes on July 1, 1919, at which point Langenes had a population of 1.085....
was separated from Øksnes on 1 July 1919, but it was merged back into the municipality of Øksnes on 1 January 1964.
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 Øksnes 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....
: Yxnes), since the first church was built there.
