- Nordreisa
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Nordreisa kommune — Municipality — 
Coat of arms
Troms within
NorwayNordreisa within Troms
Coordinates: 69°42′18″N 21°12′33″E / 69.705°N 21.20917°ECoordinates: 69°42′18″N 21°12′33″E / 69.705°N 21.20917°E Country Norway County Troms District Nord-Troms Administrative centre Storslett Government - Mayor (2008) John R. Karlsen (FrP) Area - Total 3,436.66 km2 (1,326.9 sq mi) - Land 3,351.49 km2 (1,294 sq mi) - Water 85.17 km2 (32.9 sq mi) Area rank 9 in Norway Population (2010) - Total 4,757 - Rank 200 in Norway - Density 1.4/km2 (3.6/sq mi) - Change (10 years) -1.3 % Demonym Nordreisværing[1] Time zone CET (UTC+1) - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2) ISO 3166 code NO-1942 Official language form Bokmål Website nordreisa.kommune.no Data from Statistics Norway Nordreisa (Northern Sami: Ráissa suohkan, Kven: Raisin komuuni) is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Storslett.
The municipality consists of the valley of Reisadalen, with the Reisa river and deep pine forests, surrounded by mountains and high plateaus. Most people live in Storslett, where the river meets the fjord. Close by, in Sørkjosen there is the Sørkjosen Airport. The European route E6 runs through the northern part of the municipality.
Contents
General information
Map of Nordreisa
Nordreisa (population: 1,057) was separated from the municipality of Skjervøy on 1 January 1886. On 1 January 1890, the Trætten and Loppevolden farms (population: 32) were transferred to Nordreisa from Skjervøy. The parts of Skjervøy lying on the mainland (population: 1,556) were transferred from Skjervøy to Nordreisa on 1 January 1972. On 1 January 1982, the southern part of Uløya (population: 128) was transferred from Skjervøy to Nordreisa.[2]
Name
The municipality is named after the Reisafjorden (originally Reisa), which again is named after Reisaelva ("Reisa river" - originally Reisa). The river name is probably derived form the verb rísa which means "raise" (referring to flooding).
The first element Nord ("northern") was added to distinguish the municipality from Sørreisa. The municipality was originally named Nordreisen, but the ending was later changed to the present form.[3]
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 21 December 1984. The arms show two salmon, since one of the country's best salmon rivers runs through the municipality.[4]
(See also coat-of-arms for Grane, Kvalsund and Mandal.)
History
Most inhabitants are descendants of settlers from Finland who came over in the 18th century, escaping famine and war. Today, only a few old people can speak Finnish. Some inhabitants have Sami or Norwegian backgrounds, and today the Norwegian language is most commonly used.
Few old buildings survive in Nordreisa, as virtually everything was destroyed in early 1945 by retreating German troops. The two major attractions are the old trading post at Havnnes, with picturesque old houses that escaped the war damages, and the waterfall of Mollisfossen, which is 269 metres (883 ft) high. The upper, or southernmost, areas of the municipality are covered by the Reisa National Park with unique forest and high plateau vegetation.
In the 2007 municipal elections, Nordreisa recorded the highest vote for the right-wing Progress Party in Norway at 49.3%.
References
- ^ "Personnemningar til stadnamn i Noreg" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. http://www.sprakrad.no/nb-no/Sprakhjelp/Rettskrivning_Ordboeker/Innbyggjarnamn/.
- ^ Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/90/rapp_9913/rapp_9913.pdf.
- ^ Rygh, Oluf (1911) (in Norwegian). Norske gaardnavne: Troms amt (17 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. pp. 185. http://www.dokpro.uio.no/perl/navnegransking/rygh_ng/rygh_bla.prl?enhid=277653&avid=61543.
- ^ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". http://www.ngw.nl/int/nor/n/nordreis.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
External links
Media related to Nordreisa at Wikimedia Commons
The Wiktionary definition of nordreisa- Troms travel guide from Wikitravel
- Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
Municipalities of Troms 
Categories:- Municipalities of Troms
- Nordreisa
- Populated places of Arctic Norway
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