Most residents of Alstahaug live in the town of Sandnessjøen which is situated on the island of Alsta. The characteristic Seven Sistersmountain range is found on the eastern part of the island. Local legend has made this chain of peaks into seven sisters, two adjacent peaks representing twin sisters. The island is connected to the mainland via the impressive Helgeland Bridge along Norwegian County Road 17. The Sandnessjøen Airport, Stokka is located just south of Sandnessjøen. The municipality is the 307th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Alstahaug is the 137th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 7,447. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 3.5% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The large municipality of Alstahaug was established on 1 January 1838. In 1862, the southern district was separated to become the new municipality of Tjøtta. This left Alstahaug with about 3,280 residents. Just two years later, in 1864, the western island district was separated to become the new municipality of Herøy. Then on 1 July 1899, the northern district was separated to form the new municipality of Stamnes. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, several major municipal changes took place. First, the Husvær island area of Alstahaug was transferred from Alstahaug to Herøy Municipality. On the same day, the following areas were merged to form the new, larger municipality of Alstahaug:
most of the municipality of Tjøtta, except the Skogsholmen area
The municipality is named after the old Alstahaug farm, since the first Alstahaug Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the island Alöst and the last element is haugr which means "hill" or "mound".
At Alstahaug, on the southern end of the island of Alsta, lies the medieval Alstahaug Church, where the poet and minister Petter Dass worked around 1700. Tjøtta, an island south of Alsta, is the place where the famous VikingHårek resided in the 11th century.
Nature
Birdlife
Lying just south of the Arctic Circle in an area that is known as Outer Helgeland, Alstahaug offers the visitingbird watcher a chance to do some birding in spectacular scenery, be it coastal or inland where The Seven Sistersmountain chain marks the boundary between the habitats. One of the better areas to birdwatch is Tjøtta. Here you will find the small nature reserve Ostjønna.
Geography
Alstahaug is a municipality consisting entirely of islands. Most residents live on the main islands of Alsta and Tjøtta, and Alstahaug stretches from the Skålvær island group in the west, to the Vefsnfjorden in the east, and to Mindlandet island to the south. The municipalities of Leirfjord, Vefsn, and Vevelstad lie to the east and Dønna, Herøy, and Vega lie to the north, west, and south, respectively.
Climate
Alstahaug has an oceanic climate. February is often the coldest month, and August is often the warmest. October is almost as warm as May. The mean annual precipitation is at Sandnessjøen and at Tjøtta. The wettest period is from September to January with approximately each month, while in May and June it averages each month.
The municipal council of Alstahaug is made up of 27 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:
