Hattfjelldal

This article is about the municipality in Norway. For the village in this municipality, see Hattfjelldal (village).

Hattfjelldal Municipality Hattfjelldal kommune Aarborten tjїelte
Municipality
Hatfjelddalen herred  (historic name)
View of Hattfjell ("hat mountain")
Flag Coat of arms
Nordland within Norway
Hattfjelldal within Nordland
Coordinates: 65°32′51″N14°08′04″E / 65.54750°N 14.13444°E / 65.54750; 14.13444
Country	Norway
County	Nordland
District	Helgeland
Established	1862
• Preceded by	Vefsn Municipality
Administrative centre	Hattfjelldal
Government
• Mayor (2023)	Sølvi Andersen (Ap)
Area
• Total	2,684.32 km2 (1,036.42 sq mi)
• Land	2,411.16 km2 (930.95 sq mi)
• Water	273.19 km2 (105.48 sq mi)  10.2%
• Rank	#20 in Norway
Population  (2023)
• Total	1,278
• Rank	#313 in Norway
• Density	0.5/km2 (1/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	−13.1%
Demonym	Hattfjelldaling [1]
Official languages [2]
•  Norwegian form	Neutral
•  Sámi form	Southern Sami
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-1826 [3]
Website	Official website
Data from Statistics Norway

Hattfjelldal (Norwegian) or Aarborte (Southern Sami) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hattfjelldal. Other villages include Grubben, Svenskvollen, and Varntresk. Hattfjelldal Airfield is located in the village of Hattfjelldal.

The 2,684-square-kilometre (1,036 sq mi) municipality is the 20th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Hattfjelldal is the 313th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,278. The municipality's population density is 0.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (1.3/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 13.1% over the previous 10-year period. ^{[4] [5]}

Hattfjelldal is one of the last strongholds for the severely endangered Southern Sami language. It was also one of the municipalities in Norway involved in the Terra Securities scandal.

General information

The municipality of Hattfjelldal was established in 1862 when it was separated from the large municipality of Vefsn. The initial population of Hattfjelldal was 961. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the part of Hattfjelldal on the north side of the lake Røssvatnet (population: 168) was transferred to the neighboring Hemnes Municipality. ^[6]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Hattfjelldalen farm (referred to as "Hatfieldalen" in 1723) where the first Hattfjelldal Church was built. The first element of the name comes from the local mountain Hattfjellet which has a hat-like shape. The mountain name is derived from the genitive case of the word hǫttr which means "hat" and the word fjall which means "mountain". The last element of the name is the definite form of the word dalr which means "valley" or "dale". Thus it is the "hat-shaped mountain valley". ^[7] Historically, the name of the municiaplity was spelled Hatfjelddalen. On 6 January 1908, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Hatfjelldalen (removing one "d"). ^[8] On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Hatfjelldal (removing the definite form ending). ^[9] On 29 January 1926, the spelling was changed again, this time by adding a "t" to make it Hattfjelldal. ^[10]

On 14 June 2019, the national government approved a resolution to add a co-equal, official Sami language name for the municipality: Aarborte. ^[11] The spelling of the Sami language name changes depending on how it is used. It is called Aarborte when it is spelled alone, but it is Aarborten tjїelte when using the Sami language equivalent to "Hattfjelldal municipality". ^[12]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 24 October 1986. The official blazon is "Per fess argent and vert embattled with one battlement" (Norwegian : Delt av sølv og grønt ved tindesnitt med en enkelt tinde). This means the arms have a field (background) that is divided by a horizontal line that has a rectangular raised area. The field above the line has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. Below the line, the field is colored green. The arms were designed to mimic the local Hattfjellet mountain which rises above the terrain and can be seen for great distances. The mountain has steep sides with a rather flat plateau at the top, giving it a distinctive look. The design is a canting element since the name of the municipality means "hat mountain valley". The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen. ^{[13] [14] [15]}

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Hattfjelldal. It is part of the Indre Helgeland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

Churches in Hattfjelldal

Parish (sokn)	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Hattfjelldal	Hattfjelldal Church	Hattfjelldal	1868
	Susendal Church	Svenskvollen	2001
	Varntresk Church	Varntresk	1986

Geography

View of the lake Krutvatnet

Hattfjelldal lies along the Swedish border in the southeastern part of Nordland county. The lake Røssvatnet (Southern Sami : Reevhtse) lies on the border between Hattfjelldal and Hemnes, and it serves as a reservoir. It has been the site of human occupation since the Stone Age. Its area of 219 square kilometres (85 sq mi) makes it the second largest lake in Norway by surface area.

Other lakes in the region include Daningen, Elsvatnet, Famnvatnet, Jengelvatnet, Kjerringvatnet, Krutvatnet, Ranseren, Simskardvatnet, and Unkervatnet. The large river Vefsna runs through the municipality.

Børgefjell National Park is partly located in the southern part of Hattfjelldal, as is Jetnamsklumpen, a prominent mountain. There are several nature reserves, such as Varnvassdalen with a varied topography and old growth forest of pine, birch and some spruce. ^[16]

Government

All municipalities in Norway are 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. ^[17] The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Helgeland District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Hattfjelldal is made up of 15 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Hattfjelldal kommunestyre 2023–2027 ^[18]   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	8
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	7
Total number of members:		15

Hattfjelldal kommunestyre 2019–2023 ^[19]   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	5
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	5
	Hattfjelldal Local List (Hattfjelldal Bygdeliste)	1
Total number of members:		11

Hattfjelldal kommunestyre 2015–2019 ^[20]   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	7
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	6
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	1
	Hattfjelldal Local List (Hattfjelldal Bygdeliste)	3
Total number of members:		17

Hattfjelldal kommunestyre 2011–2015 ^[21]   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	7
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	8
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	2
Total number of members:		17

Hattfjelldal kommunestyre 2007–2011 ^[20]   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	10
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	6
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	1
Total number of members:		17

Hattfjelldal kommunestyre 2003–2007 ^[20]   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	10
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	1
	Joint list of the Conservative Party (Høyre), Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti), and Centre Party  (Senterpartiet)	6
Total number of members:		17

Hattfjelldal kommunestyre 1999–2003 ^[20]   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	8
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	6
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	1
	Joint list of the Conservative Party (Høyre), Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti), and Liberal Party  (Venstre)	2
Total number of members:		17

Hattfjelldal kommunestyre 1995–1999 ^[22]   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	7
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	7
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	1
	Joint list of the Conservative Party (Høyre), Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti), and Liberal Party  (Venstre)	2
Total number of members:		17

Hattfjelldal kommunestyre 1991–1995 ^[23]   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	9
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	5
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	2
Total number of members:		17

Hattfjelldal kommunestyre 1987–1991 ^[24]   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	12
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	2
	Joint list of the Conservative Party (Høyre), Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti), Centre Party (Senterpartiet), and Liberal Party  (Venstre)	7
Total number of members:		21

Hattfjelldal kommunestyre 1983–1987 ^[25]   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	11
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	1
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	5
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	2
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		21

Hattfjelldal kommunestyre 1979–1983 ^[26]   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	11
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	1
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	1
	Joint list of the Centre Party (Senterpartiet), Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti), and Liberal Party  (Venstre)	8
Total number of members:		21

Hattfjelldal kommunestyre 1975–1979 ^[27]   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	11
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	6
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	2
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		21

Hattfjelldal kommunestyre 1971–1975 ^[28]   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	11
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	6
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	2
	Socialist common list (Venstresosialistiske felleslister)	1
Total number of members:		21

Hattfjelldal kommunestyre 1967–1971 ^[29]   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	9
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	5
	Socialist People's Party (Sosialistisk Folkeparti)	1
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	2
Total number of members:		17

Hattfjelldal kommunestyre 1963–1967 ^[30]   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	11
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	5
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		17

Hattfjelldal herredsstyre 1959–1963 ^[31]   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	10
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	4
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	3
Total number of members:		17

Hattfjelldal herredsstyre 1955–1959 ^[32]   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	10
	Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)	4
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	3
Total number of members:		17

Hattfjelldal herredsstyre 1951–1955 ^[33]   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	9
	Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)	4
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	3
Total number of members:		16

Hattfjelldal herredsstyre 1947–1951 ^[34]   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	9
	Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti)	1
	Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)	2
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	4
Total number of members:		16

Hattfjelldal herredsstyre 1945–1947 ^[35]   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	10
	Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)	1
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	5
Total number of members:		16

Hattfjelldal herredsstyre 1937–1941* ^[36]   

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	8
	Farmers' Party (Bondepartiet)	2
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	6
Total number of members:		16
Note: Due to the German occupation of Norway during World War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945.

Mayors

The mayors (Norwegian : ordfører) of Hattfjelldal (incomplete list):

• 1913-1916: Peter Olsen Bolstad (Ap)
• Bjarne Aaslid
• 1970-1977: Karl Ingebrigtsen (Ap)
• Herlaug Granås
• 1996-2000: Terje Daleng (Sp)
• 2000-2015: Asgeir Almås (Ap)
• 2015-2023: Harald Lie (Sp)
• 2023–present: Sølvi Andersen (Ap)

Notable people

• Anders K. Orvin (1889–1980) a Norwegian geologist and explorer
• Anna Jacobsen (1924–2004), champion of Southern Sami language and culture
• Karl Ingebrigtsen (born 1935) a Norwegian politician

References

1. "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
2. "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
3. Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (26 January 2023). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
4. Statistisk sentralbyrå. "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian).
5. Statistisk sentralbyrå. "09280: Area of land and fresh water (km²) (M)" (in Norwegian).
6. Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå.
7. Rygh, Oluf (1905). Norske gaardnavne: Nordlands amt (in Norwegian) (16 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrykkeri. p. 86.
8. "Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. 1908. Samling af Love, Resolutioner m.m". Norsk Lovtidend (in Norwegian). Kristiania, Norge: Grøndahl og Søns Boktrykkeri: 24. 1908.
9. "Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. 1917. Samling af Love, Resolutioner m.m". Norsk Lovtidend (in Norwegian). Kristiania, Norge: Grøndahl og Søns Boktrykkeri: 1057–1065. 1917.
10. "Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. 1926. Samling af Love, Resolutioner m.m". Norsk Lovtidend (in Norwegian). Oslo, Norway: Grøndahl og Søns Boktrykkeri: 51. 1926.
11. "Fastsettelse av samisk navn på Hattfjelldal kommune, Nordland" (in Norwegian). LovData.no. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
12. "Stadnamn og rettskriving" (in Norwegian). Kartverket . Retrieved 19 November 2023.
13. "Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
14. "Hattfjelldal, Nordland (Norway)". Flags of the World. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
15. "Godkjenning av våpen og flagg". Lovdata.no (in Norwegian). Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet. 14 November 1986. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
16. "Varnvassdalen naturreservat" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
17. Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget . Retrieved 14 October 2022.
18. "Kommunestyrevalg 2023 - Nordland". Valg Direktoratet. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
19. "Tall for Norge: Kommunestyrevalg 2019 - Nordland". Valg Direktoratet. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
20. "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway.
21. "Tall for Norge: Kommunestyrevalg 2011 - Nordland". Valg Direktoratet. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
22. "Kommunestyrevalget 1995" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1996. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
23. "Kommunestyrevalget 1991" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1993. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
24. "Kommunestyrevalget 1987" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1988. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
25. "Kommunestyrevalget 1983" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1984. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
26. "Kommunestyrevalget 1979" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1979. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
27. "Kommunevalgene 1975" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1977. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
28. "Kommunevalgene 1972" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1973. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
29. "Kommunevalgene 1967" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1967. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
30. "Kommunevalgene 1963" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1964. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
31. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1959" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1960. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
32. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
33. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
34. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
35. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
36. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938. Retrieved 2 April 2020.

External links

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway (in Norwegian)

• Nordland travel guide from Wikivoyage