Meløy Municipality

Meløy Municipality Meløy kommune
Municipality
Melø herred  (historic name)
View of Ørnes in winter
Flag Coat of arms
Nordland within Norway
Meløy within Nordland
Coordinates: 66°47′17″N 13°40′33″E / 66.78806°N 13.67583°E / 66.78806; 13.67583
Country	Norway
County	Nordland
District	Salten
Established	1 Jan 1884
• Preceded by	Rødøy Municipality
Administrative centre	Ørnes
Government
• Mayor (2015)	Sigurd Stormo (Ap)
Area
• Total	873.83 km2 (337.39 sq mi)
• Land	798.02 km2 (308.12 sq mi)
• Water	75.81 km2 (29.27 sq mi)  8.7%
• Rank	#133 in Norway
Highest elevation [1]	1,636.81 m (5,370.11 ft)
Population  (2024)
• Total	6,180
• Rank	#157 in Norway
• Density	7.1/km2 (18/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	−4.8%
Demonym	Meløyfjerding[2]
Official language [3]
• Norwegian form	Bokmål
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-1837[4]
Website	Official website
Data from Statistics Norway

Meløy is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ørnes. Other villages include Eidbukt, Neverdal, Glomfjord, Halsa, Reipå, Støtt, and Ågskardet.

The municipality is situated just to the north of the Arctic Circle on Norway's west coast. It encompasses the island of Meløya and some 700 other islands of various sizes around the Meløyfjorden, Glomfjorden, and Holandsfjorden in the south, along with a stretch of mainland coast.

The 874-square-kilometre (337 sq mi) municipality is the 133rd largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Meløy is the 157th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 6,180. The municipality's population density is 7.1 inhabitants per square kilometre (18/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 4.8% over the previous 10-year period.^[5][6]

The municipality of Meløy was established on 1 January 1884 when the large Rødøy Municipality was divided into two: Rødøy Municipality (population: 1,945) in the south and Meløy Municipality (population: 2,696) in the north. The municipal borders have not changed since then.^[7]

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the island of Meløya (Old Norse: Mjǫlva) since the first Meløy Church was built there. The first element comes from the word mjǫl which means "flour" or "meal" (referring to fine sand on the beaches of the island). The last element (which was added to the name around the year 1500) is øy which means "island".^[8] Historically, the name of the municiaplity was spelled Melø. On 6 January 1908, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Meløy.^[9]

The coat of arms was granted on 7 December 1984. The official blazon is "Azure, a poppy plant Or" (Norwegian: I blått en gull valmueplante). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a subspecies of the arctic poppy plant locally known as Svartisvalmue (Papaver radicatum subglobosum). The poppy plant has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The municipality is located near the second largest glacier in continental Norway, the Svartisen (black ice), and the plant is one of the plants found growing closest to the ice. The colors symbolize the blue glacial ice and the yellow flowers. The arms were designed by Rolf Tidemann after the original ideda by Knut Sørensen.^[10][11][12]

The Church of Norway has three parishes (sokn) within Meløy Municipality. It is part of the Bodø domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

Meløy has been inhabited for many centuries and still possesses various relics from the Viking Age. The Benkestok family, one of Norway's original noble families, established one of its seats at Meløy gård (farm) on the island of Meløya in the 16th century.

Due to the expansion of the population during the 19th century, the area of Meløy was split from its southern neighbour, Rødøy Municipality, in 1884. Its administrative centre was originally on Meløya, but it was later moved to the mainland coastal village of Ørnes. Ørnes is one of the stops on the route of the Hurtigruten (coastal express boat), with a notably scenic entrance via the fjord.

The second largest glacier in Norway, Svartisen, is a target for passenger visits. The mountains around Glomfjord are popular for fishing and hunting as well as skiing in the winter time.

Meløy Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.^[13] The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Salten og Lofoten District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Meløy is made up of 23 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

The mayor (Norwegian: ordfører) of Meløy is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position (incomplete list):^[33]

The municipality of Meløy is a coastal community that includes many of the surrounding islands. Many parts of the mainland were fairly isolated until road tunnels were built during the 20th century that connected them to the rest of Norway. Some of the main islands of Meløy are Åmøya, Meløya, Bolga, Mesøya, Grønøya, and Støtt. Åmøya is connected to the mainland via the Brattsund Bridge. The other islands are all accessible by boat or ferry only. The Kalsholmen Lighthouse is located in the southwestern part of the municipality.

The Vestfjorden passes Meløy in the northwest, and the Meløyfjorden, Glomfjorden, and Holandsfjorden cut into the mainland from the west. The Saltfjellet–Svartisen National Park is located in the southeast in the Saltfjellet mountain range, surrounding the Svartisen glacier. The highest point in the municipality is the 1,636.81-metre (5,370.1 ft) tall mountain Skjelåtinden, on the border with Beiarn Municipality.^[1]

Historically, the land of Meløy was divided up into named farms. These farms were used in census and tax records and are useful for genealogical research.

Meløy municipality, tellingskrets 1-8 from 1920 census

4km
2.5miles

28: Halsa kirke

27

26

25

24

23

22

21

20

19

18

17

16

15

14

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

  

Tellingskrets (enumeration districts): 1, Bolga (lime); 2, Åmnes (black); 3, Herstad (blue); 4, Aag (purple); 5, Holand (green); 6, Sneland (red); 7, Halsa; (teal) 8, Bjerangen (gray). List of farms:

1

1: Smyen

2

2: Bolga

3

77: Kalsholm fyr

4

4: Tind

5

5: Kjørhaugvik

6

6: Vikvoll

7

7: Åmnes

8

8: Stavnes

9

39: Grønøy

10

9: Skaret

11

10: Herstad

12

3: Voldvik

13

17: Rendalsvik

14

18: Fondal

15

19: Engen

16

22: Brasett

17

23: Sommerseth

18

24: Aspnes

19

20: Myrvold

20

21: Storvik

21

25: Skålsvik

22

26: Halsa

23

27: Æsøy

24

28: Slætan

25

29: Grønaas

26

30: Breivik

27

31: Bjerangen

28

Halsa kirke (church), built 1960

Meløy municipality, tellingskrets 9-16

4km
2.5miles

58: Glomfjord kirke

57: Ørnes kirke

56: Fore kirke

55: Meløy kirke

54

53

52

51

50

49

48

47

46

45

44

43

42

41

40

39

38

37

36

35

34

33

32

31

30

29

28

27

26

25

24

23

22

21

20

19

18

17

16

15

14

13

12

11

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9

8

7

6

5

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3

2

1

  

Tellingskrets (enumeration districts): 9, Enga (lime); 10, Vasdal (teal); 11, Glomfjorden (blue); 12, Øbugt (purple); 13, Spildra (green); 14, Nordbygden (red); 15, Stol (black); 16, Meløy (gray). List of farms:

1

32: Kjeldal

2

33: Angelsheim

3

34: Oldra

4

35: Saura

5

36: Osa

6

37: Enga

7

38: Valla

8

40: Fokeng

9

41: Jenslund

10

42: Vasdal

11

43: Sandvik

12

45: Glommen

13

46: Hugvik

14

44: Reindalen

15

48: Selstad

16

49: Næverdal

17

50: Saudå

18

51: Øbugt, nedre

19

52: Øbugt, yttre

20

53: Borvik

21

54: Vollvik

22

84: Silvik

23

85: Balsethvandet

24

86: Rauseth

25

55: Korsnes

26

56: Spildra øvre

27

57: Spilderdalen

28

58: Digermulen

29

59: Vinterveien

30

60: Djupvik

31

61: Mosvoll

32

62: Løvset

33

63: Torsvik

34

64: Gjerset

35

65: Teksmo

36

83: Mesøy

37

66: Stien

38

67: Ronemoen

39

68: Sør Fore

40

69: Sæterenget

41

70: Dalen

42

71: Kleiven

43

72: Kunna

44

73: Støtt

45

74: Gaasvær

46

75: Otervær

47

76: Skagen

48

77: Meløysjøen

49

78: Vanvik

50

79: Røshagen

51

80: Fagervik

52

81: Risvik

53

82: Meløsund

54

87: Skjærpvik

55

Meløy kirke (church), built 1867

56

Fore kirke (church), built 1909

57

Ørnes kirke (church), built 1990

58

Glomfjord kirke (church), built 1957

Coordinates on the maps are approximate. Each map has a maximum number of listings it can display, so the map has been divided into parts consistent with the enumeration districts (Norwegian: tellingskrets) in the 1920 census of Norway. This map will include one farm name per farm number; other farm names or subdivision numbers may exist.

Following are the farms in the Meløy municipality, as they are listed in O. Rygh's series Norske Gaardnavne (lit. 'Norwegian farm names'), the Nordland volume of which was published in 1905.

See also: Digital version of Norske Gaardnavne - Nordland (in Norwegian)

The farm numbers are used in some census records, and numbers that are near each other indicate that those farms are geographically proximate. Handwritten Norwegian sources, particularly those prior to 1800, may use variants on these names. For recorded variants before 1723, see the digital version of O. Rygh. Note that the 1920 census records mapped above may not match O. Rygh.

Farm names were often used as part of Norwegian names, in addition to the person's given name and patronymic or inherited surname. Some families retained the farm name, or toponymic, as a surname when they emigrated, so in those cases tracing a surname may tell you specifically where in Norway the family was from. This tradition began to change in the mid to late 19th century, and inherited surnames were codified into law in 1923.

The industrial development—and thus the main contributor to the economic development and growth of the Meløy community—started around the time of World War I. It was based on electrical power production in then new Glomfjord power plant from water coming from the Svartisen glacier and the lake Storglomvatnet and gathered in the mountains. In the bottom of Glomfjorden, Norsk Hydro (today YARA) started out producing fertilizers in Glomfjord, today yara is Meløy's biggest workplace with 190 people working there

A conglomerate of industries is found there today in Glomfjord Industry Park. The municipality's overall industries are some light industry, agriculture, forestry, fishing, salmon production, and tourism.

Meløy Energi, an electrical power company, is one of the most important employers in the municipality (as of Q4 2022).^[40]

• Eindride Sommerseth (1918 – 2010), a trade unionist and politician
• Arne Pettersen (1906 - 1981), a sailor who was the last person to leave Ellis Island.

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway (in Norwegian)
• Video from Engabreen • Svartisen