Ofoten is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1884. The municipality included the areas on both sides of the inner part of the Ofotfjorden mostly in what is now Narvik Municipality and Evenes Municipality. The administrative centre of Ofoten was the village of Narvik (which later became a town in 1902). After the municipality was dissolved in 1884, the name Ofoten has been used to refer to the region that once was this municipality.
General information
The municipality of Ofoten was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1884, the municipality ceased to exist when it was split into two: Ankenes Municipality (population: 1,734) in the east and Evindnæs Municipality (population: 2,397) in the west.
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the local Ofotfjorden () since the fjord is the central feature of the area as well as the name of the whole Ofoten region. The first element of the name has an uncertain meaning. The last element is which means "foot". The oldest form of the name could have been . In this case, the first element is which means "Eurasian eagle-owl". The three inner branches of the Ofotfjord might have been compared with the three claws of an owl.
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Ofoten Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Ofoten prestegjeld and the Nordre Salten prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Churches in Ofoten MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtAnkenesAnkenes ChurchAnkenesstranda1867EvenesEvenes ChurchEvenes1800
Geography The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Storsteinsfjellet. The municipality was located at the inner part of the Ofotfjorden, along the border with Sweden (to the east and south). To the west was Lødingen Municipality and Tjeldsund Municipality. To the north was Ibestad Municipality and Bardu Municipality (both in Troms county).
Government While it existed, Ofoten Municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.
Mayors
The mayor () of Ofoten 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:
1838–1844: Johan Klitzing Iversen 1844–1846: Unknown 1846–1848: Johan Klitzing Iversen 1848–1852: Peder Slangerup Schjønning 1852–1854: Unknown 1854–1856: Johan Klitzing Iversen 1857–1858: Martinius P. Hønich Jensen 1859–1866: Johan Christian Dahlsen 1867–1872: Hans Olai Christoffersen 1873–1875: Johan T.S. Østberg 1875–1881: Esten A. Osmark 1882–1884: Bertheus Normann
See also List of former municipalities of Norway Ofoten - a geographical area within Nordland county
References