Astafjord


Astafjord is a former municipality in the old Troms county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1926 until its dissolution in 1964. It was located in the eastern part of the present-day municipality of Tjeldsund in Troms og Finnmark county. The municipality surrounded the Grovfjorden. The administrative center of the former municipality was the village of Grov where Astafjord Church is located. The Astafjorden flowed along the northern part of the municipality and it was the namesake for the municipality.

History

Historically, Astafjord was a prestegjeld that encompassed a large part of southern Troms county, including the present-day municipalities of Bardu, Gratangen, Ibestad, Lavangen, Salangen, and most of Skånland. When municipalities were created in Norway in 1838, the old parish was created as Ibestad Municipality.
The municipality of Astafjord was established on 1 July 1926 when the large Ibestad Municipality was separated into four municipalities: Ibestad, Andørja, Astafjord, and Gratangen. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Astafjord was merged with the part of Skånland municipality on the mainland to create a new larger Skånland Municipality.

Name

The municipality was named after the Astafjorden strait which was named after the old Ånstad farm. The first element of the old name comes from the male name Arna or "Arne", the second element staða means "home" or "farm", and the last element fjǫrðr is identical with the word for "fjord". Thus, the name literally means the "fjord by Arne's farm".

Government

Municipal council

The municipal council of Astafjord was made up of 15 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council was as follows: