Borge is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until 1963. It was located on the northern part of the island of Vestvågøya in what is now Vestvågøy Municipality. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Bøstad where Borge Church is located. Other villages in the municipality included Borg, Knutstad, and Tangstad.
Prior to its dissolution in 1963, the municipality was the 379th largest by area out of the 705 municipalities in Norway. Borge Municipality was the 208th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 4,082. The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 10.4% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The prestegjeld of Borge was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1927, the southern district of Borge (population: 625) acrimoniously split off to form the new Valberg Municipality. This left Borge Municipality with 4,093 inhabitants. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1963, Borge Municipality (population: 4,056) was merged with the neighboring Buksnes Municipality (population: 4,416), Hol Municipality (population: 3,154), and Valberg Municipality (population: 662) to create the new Vestvågøy Municipality.
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Borge farm () since the first Borge Church was built there. The name is the plural form of borg which means "castle" or "hill/plateau suitable for a castle".
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Borge Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Borge prestegjeld and the Lofoten prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Churches in Borge MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtBorgeBorge ChurchBøstad1898 (burned down in 1983)Knutstad ChapelKnutstad1915
Geography The municipality was located on the northern part of the large island of Vestvågøya. Valberg Municipality was located to the southeast and Buksnes Municipality was located to the southwest. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Himmeltindan, which was located on the border with neighboring Buksnes Municipality.
Government While it existed, Borge 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 Borge Municipality was made up of 17 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 Borge Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:
1871–1884: Jens Foslie
1888–1889: K. Nilsen
1898–1900: Hans D.W. Smith 1900–1904: Jens Riksheim 1904–1905: Anton Pettersen Sand
1919–1934: William P. Olsen 1934–1941: Johan Walle (Ap) 1941–1942: Trygve Sand 1943–1944: Kristoffer Angelsen 1945–1951: Johan Walle (Ap) 1951–1962: Birger Val (H)
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References