Moskenes

Moskenes kommune
—  Municipality  —
Coat of arms Nordland within Norway
Moskenes within Nordland
Coordinates: 67°55′31″N 12°57′32″E / 67.92528°N 12.95889°E / 67.92528; 12.95889Coordinates: 67°55′31″N 12°57′32″E / 67.92528°N 12.95889°E / 67.92528; 12.95889
Country	Norway
County	Nordland
District	Lofoten
Administrative centre	Reine
Government
- Mayor (2003)	Lillian Hansen (Ap)
Area
- Total	119 km2 (45.9 sq mi)
- Land	110 km2 (42.5 sq mi)
Area rank	374 in Norway
Population (2004)
- Total	1,212
- Rank	391 in Norway
- Density	11/km2 (28.5/sq mi)
- Change (10 years)	-15.5 %
Demonym	Moskenesfjerding[1]
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code	NO-1874
Official language form	Neutral
Website	moskenes.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Moskenes is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The area of the municipality comprises the southern part of Moskenesøya. It is part of the Lofoten traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Reine.

Near Å, Moskenes

Fiskebåter ved Reine; painting by Gunnar Berg.

Sørvågen

General information

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Moskenes farm ("Muskenes" - 1567), since the first church was built there. The first element is probably derived from the word mosk/musk n 'sea spray', the last element is nes which means 'headland'. (See also Moskstraumen.)

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 12 September 1986. The arms show a vortex spiral. Vortexes or whirlpools, such as the Moskstraumen, appear in the channel just south of the island of Moskenes when the tide comes in, making it a hazardous channel.^[2]

History

The municipality was created by the division of the municipality of Flakstad on 1 July 1916, at which time Moskenes had a population of 1,306. On 1 January 1964, the two municipalities were reunited, this time under the name Moskenes. However, Flakstad broke away again on 1 January 1976 to once again form a separate municipality.

Attractions

Moskenes is among the most scenic municipalities in all Norway, and the picturesque fishing villages of Hamnøy, Reine, Sørvågen, Moskenes, Å, and Tind have a dramatic backdrop of jagged peaks rising above the Vestfjord.

Moskenes to the west

Between Lofotodden, the southwestern tip of the Lofoten chain, and the offshore island of Mosken, there is the tidal current of Moskstraumen. This is better known internationally as the Maelstrom, feared by all sailors. On the isolated north western coast of the island, there are also interesting stone age cave paintings. The highest mountain is Hermannsdalstinden at 1,029 metres (3,376 ft).

Notable residents

• Hans Erik Dyvik Husby, musician
• Birger Eriksen, commander at Oscarsborg, and responsible for the sinking of Blücher, the German ship headed for Oslo on the night between 8-9 April 1940.

References

1. ^ "Personnemningar til stadnamn i Noreg" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. http://www.sprakrad.no/nb-no/Sprakhjelp/Rettskrivning_Ordboeker/Innbyggjarnamn/. 
2. ^ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". http://www.ngw.nl/int/nor/m/moskenes.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-24. 

External links

• Media related to Moskenes at Wikimedia Commons
• Video:Driving the E10 road in Moskenes