Dønnes is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1888 until its dissolution in 1962. The area is now part of Dønna Municipality and Nesna Municipality in the traditional district of Helgeland. The administrative centre was the village of Dønnes.
Prior to its dissolution in 1962, the municipality was the 556th largest by area out of the 731 municipalities in Norway. Dønnes Municipality was the 548th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,542. The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 5% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
Dønnes was established as a municipality on 1 July 1888 when the western part of the old Nesna Municipality was separated to form a new municipality. Initially, Dønnes Municipality had a population of 1,348. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, Dønnes Municipality ceased to exist. The part of Dønnes Municipality on the island of Tomma (population: 80) was merged into Nesna Municipality. The remainder of Dønnes Municipality (population: 1,348) was merged with the part of Herøy Municipality on the island of Dønna (population: 19), all of Nordvik Municipality (population: 1,293), and the part of Nesna Municipality on the island of Løkta (population: 80) to become the new Dønna Municipality.
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Dønnes farm () since the first Dønnes Church was built there. The first element is which is the genitive case of the old name of the island of Dønna. The island name means to "rumble" or "roar" (referring to the swell of the waves on the island). The last element is which means "headland".
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Dønnes Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Nesna prestegjeld and the Nord-Helgeland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Churches in Dønnes MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtDønnesDønnes ChurchDønnesc. 1200Husby ChapelHusby1905Vandve ChurchVandve1956
Government While it existed, Dønnes 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 Dønnes 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 Dønnes 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:
1888–1901: Hans Johan Emahus Tønder Coldevin 1902–1907: Ivar Klæboe 1908–1913: Martin Dahl 1914–1916: Karl Gidske 1917–1920: Johan W.A. Sand 1921–1922: Albert Olsen 1922–1931: Karl Gidske 1931–1944: Arne Eliot Pedersen Rølvaag (NS) 1945–1945: Johan Løvdahl 1946–1947: Ebbe Jensen 1948–1956: Johannes Dahl 1956–1957: Einar Ellingsen 1958–1961: Arnold Nordøy
Geography The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Tommtinden on the island of Tomma. The municipality encompassed the northern part of the island of Dønna, the western parts of the islands of Tomma and Løkta, and over 300 smaller surrounding islands, islets, and skerries.
Farms of Dønnes Farm names were often used as part of Norwegian names, in addition to the person's given name and patronymic or inherited surname. Some families retained the farm name, or toponymic, as a surname when they emigrated, so in those cases tracing a surname may tell you specifically where in Norway the family was from. This tradition began to change in the mid to late 19th century, and inherited surnames were codified into law in 1923.
Map of farms Coordinates are approximate. Note that each map has a maximum number of listings it can display, so the map has been divided into parts consistent with the enumeration districts (tellingskrets) in the 1920 census. This map will include one farm name per farm number; other farm names or subdivision numbers may exist.
Note that in 1920, the southern portion of today's Dønna Municipality was part of Nesna Municipality; the farms of that area are part of the Nesna farm map.
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References
External links