Skjerstad () is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2005. The area is now part of Bodø Municipality in the traditional district of Salten. The administrative centre was the village of Misvær. Another village in the municipality was the village of Skjerstad where Skjerstad Church was located. The municipality generally encompassed the area around the Misværfjorden, although it originally was much larger, also including the entire present-day Fauske Municipality.
Prior to its dissolution in 2005, the municipality was the 216th largest by area out of the 434 municipalities in Norway. Skjerstad Municipality was the 408th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,030. The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 15.8% over the previous 10-year period.
General information The municipality of Skjerstad was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1905, most of Skjerstad Municipality located on the north side of the Skjerstadfjorden (population: 4,646) was separated to form the new Fauske Municipality. In 1949, a small district of Skjerstad Municipality (population: 10) was transferred to neighboring Saltdal Municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1963, the small area of Skjerstad Municipality on the north side of the fjord (population: 224) was transferred to neighboring Bodin Municipality. On 1 January 2005, Skjerstad Municipality was merged with Bodø Municipality to form a new, larger Bodø Municipality. Just prior to the merger (in 2004), the population of Skjerstad Municipality was 1,030.
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Skjerstad farm () since the first Skjerstad Church was built there. The first element possibly comes from the old name for the local river which means "pure" or "clear". The last element is which means "homestead" or "farm".
Coat of arms The coat of arms was granted on 14 July 1991 and they were in use until 1 January 2005 when the municipality was dissolved. The official blazon is "Vert, a millstone argent" (). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is a millstone or grinding stone. The millstone has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The millstone was chosen to symbolize all the large and small mills that existed in Skjerstad in the past. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen.
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Skjerstad Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Skjerstad prestegjeld and the Bodø domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Churches in Skjerstad MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtSkjerstadSkjerstad ChurchSkjerstad1959Misvær ChapelMisvær1912
Geography The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Lurfjelltinden, located on the border with Beiarn Municipality and Bodø Municipality. The municipality was located southeast of Bodø Municipality, southwest of Fauske Municipality, west of Saltdal Municipality, and northeast of Beiarn Municipality.
Government While it existed, Skjerstad 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 Skjerstad Municipality was made up of 13 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 Skjerstad Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who held this position:
1838–1842: Johan Fredrik Lampe 1842–1844: Carl Berg 1844–1848: Nils Jønsberg 1848–1851: Carl Berg 1851–1852: Johan Normann 1852–1856: Nils Jønsberg 1856–1856: Johan P. Schjelderup 1856–1860: Marcus Randers 1861–1862: Bernhard Koch 1863–1866: Wilhelm Sandberg 1867–1868: Bernhard Koch 1869–1870: Christian Evjenth 1871–1872: Bernhard Koch 1873–1874: Jens Johannesen 1875–1878: Ulrik Neumann 1879–1880: Hans Hansen 1881–1886: Bernhard Koch 1887–1892: Johan Jørgensen 1893–1901: Olaf Amundsen 1901–1904: Johan Jørgensen 1905–1913: Johan Olsen 1914–1931: Sofus Thoresen 1932–1934: Ivar Sjaastad 1935–1941: Isak Naurstad 1941–1945: Thoralf Thoresen 1945–1951: Isak Naurstad 1952–1955: Julius Breivik 1955–1959: Sigurd Sandåker 1960–1963: Karsten Thoresen (Ap) 1964–1967: Otto Moeng (Sp) 1968–1971: Harald Dankertsen 1972–1975: Karsten Thoresen (Ap) 1976–1979: Aasmund Brekke (Sp) 1980–1984: Otto Moeng (Sp) 1984–1996: Fredrik Støvset (Ap) 1996–2003: Sven-Åke Hagen (Sp) 2003–2005: Sissel Jakobsen (SV)
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References