Gildeskål


Gildeskål is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Bodø Region and the traditional district of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Inndyr. Other villages include Forstranda, Lekanger, Mevik, Mårnes, Nygårdsjøen, Saura, Storvika, Sør-Arnøy, Sørfinnset, and Våg.
The municipality is the 170th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Gildeskål is the 285th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,950. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 2.3% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Gildeskaal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. In 1853, the eastern district of Gildeskaal was separated to become the new municipality of Beiarn. This left Gildeskaal with about 2,400 residents. The municipal boundaries have not changed since.

Name

The municipality is named after the old Gildeskaal farm because the first church was built there. The first element is the plural genitive case of gildi which means 'feast' or 'banquet' and the last element is skáli which means 'hall'.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted in 1988. The arms show a silver or white cup on a blue background. The arms are canting since the meaning of the name Gildeskål refers to a banquet hall.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish within the municipality of Gildeskål. It is part of the Bodø domprosti in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Parish Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
GildeskålGildeskål ChurchInndyr1881
GildeskålOld Gildeskål ChurchInndyr12th century
GildeskålSaura ChurchSaura1884
GildeskålMevik ChapelMevik1910
GildeskålNordstranda ChapelLekanger1963
GildeskålSørfjorden ChapelSørfinnset1957

Geography

Gildeskål is a coastal municipality that encompasses part of the mainland as well as many islands. Major islands include Fleina, Fugløya, Nordarnøya, Sørarnøya, and Sandhornøya. The southern part of the municipality includes part of the Saltfjellet mountains and the northern part of the municipality borders the Saltfjorden and the Vestfjorden.
There are many lakes in the municipality including: Fellvatnet, Langvatnet, Litle Sokumvatnet, and Sokumvatnet.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Gildeskål, are responsible for primary education, outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor. The municipality falls under the Salten District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Gildeskål is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Gildeskål :
connects the island of Sandhornøya to the mainland. The Kjellingstraumen Bridge crosses the outer end of the Beiar Fjord.
There is a VLF-transmitter in Gildeskål that is used for sending messages to submerged submarines. It uses as antenna multiple wires spun between two mountains. The transmitter building is located at.