Talvik or Talvig is a former municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The municipality existed for 101 years, from 1863 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality included all the coastal areas in the outer Altafjorden in the northern part of what is now Alta Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Talvik where the Talvik Church is located. Other notable villages in the municipality included Komagfjord, Langenes, Langfjordbotn, and Leirbotn.
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 36th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Talvik Municipality was the 268th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 3,378 (in 1963). The municipality's population density was .
History The municipality was established in 1863, when the large Alten-Talvig Municipality was dissolved and it was divided into two separate municipalities: Talvik Municipality (population: 1,938) in the north and Alta Municipality (population: 2,442) in the south. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the neighboring municipalities of Talvik (population: 3,266) and Alta (population: 6,629) were merged to form a new, larger Alta Municipality.
Name The municipality is named after the old Talvik farm since the first Talvik Church was built there. The first element of the name is rather uncertain. If the first element was of Old Norse origin then it is derived from the word which means "pine" (due to the large number of pine trees in the area). The other explanation is that it is a corruption of the Northern Sami word or the longer name which translates as "fog" or "fog bay". The early Norwegian settlers would have translated that as (meaning "fog bay") and this could have been corrupted from to . The last element of the name is which means "inlet" or "cove". Historically, the name was spelled Talvig using the old Danish spelling, and later it was "Norwegianized" to Talvik.
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Talvik Municipality. It was part of the Talvik prestegjeld and the Alta prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.
Churches in Talvik MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtTalvikTalvik ChurchTalvik1883Komagfjord ChapelKomagfjord1960Langfjord ChapelLangfjordbotn1891Leirbotn ChapelLeirbotn1935*
Geography The municipality was located along the outer Altafjorden. The municipality also included the southern parts of the islands of Seiland and Stjernøya. The highest point was the tall mountain Store Haldi, located on the border with Alta Municipality to the south.
Government While it existed, Talvik Municipality was 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 was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Talvik Municipality was made up of 21 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
Mayors The mayor () of Talvik Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
1863–1865: Gerhard William Stuhr 1865–1867: Peder Andreas Olsen 1867–1871: Knud Toenberg 1871–1875: Ludvig Kristoffer Olavius Strømme 1875–1891: Peder Eilertson 1891–1893: Alexander Kristian William Hald 1893–1897: Anders Halvorsen 1897–1900: Andreas Nikolai Hammerø 1901–1905: Ove Edvard Olsen 1905–1907: Johan Petter Bjørgan 1908–1916: Jens Sevald Jensen 1917–1920: Ludvig Thomassen 1920–1923: Jens Sevald Jensen 1924–1926: Ludvig Thomassen 1926–1937: Kristoffer Kristoffersen 1938–1942: Hagbart Pedersen 1942–1945: Peder Frostmo (NS) 1945–1945: Hagbart Pedersen 1945–1951: Cornelius Karlstrøm (Ap) 1951–1959: Lauritz Mortensen 1959–1963: Thorleif Johansen (Ap)
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References