Hadsel


Hadsel is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Vesterålen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Stokmarknes. Other villages in Hadsel include Fiskebøl, Gjerstad, Grønning, Grytting, Hanøyvika, Hennes, Kaljord, Melbu, Sanden, and Sandnes.
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The municipality is the southernmost municipality in the Vesterålen region. It is spread over several main islands: Hadseløya, Børøya, Hinnøya, Langøya, and Austvågøya. About 70% of the population live on Hadseløya island. Hadseløya island is connected to Langøya by the Hadsel Bridge and Børøy Bridge. Also, the Stokmarknes Airport, Skagen, is located nearby. It is the busiest small aircraft airport in Norway, serving 100,000 passengers annually.
The municipality is the 192nd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Hadsel is the 130th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 8,061. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 1% over the previous 10-year period.
The municipality is surrounded by several other municipalities: Sortland lies to the north, Bø to the west, Vågan to the south, and Lødingen to the east.

History

Hadsel was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. The northern district of Hadsel was separated in 1841 to form the new Sortland Municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1963, the Indre Eidsfjord district of Hadsel was transferred to Sortland municipality.

Name

The municipality is named after the old Hadsel farm, since the first Hadsel Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of hǫfði which means "high and steep cliff" and the last element is segl which means "sail".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms is from modern times; they were granted on 11 March 1976. The arms show four golden rings on a blue background. This design represents the four main islands of that make up Hadsel: Hadseløya, Austvågøya, Hinnøya, and Langøya.

Churches

The Church of Norway has three parishes ' within the municipality of Hadsel. It is part of the Vesterålen prosti in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Parish 'Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
HadselHadsel ChurchHadseløya1824
HadselInnlandet ChurchHennes1992
MelbuMelbu ChurchMelbu1938
MelbuSand ChurchSanden1914
Ytre EidsfjordGrønning ChurchGrønning1968

Geography

The municipality is located upon four main islands in the Vesterålen archipelago: Hinnøya, Langøya, Hadseløya, and Austvågøya, plus the small islands of Børøya and Brottøya. The mountain Higravstinden on the border with Vågan is one of the tallest mountains in the region.

Climate

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Hadsel, 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 Vesterålen District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Hadsel is made up of 25 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Hadsel :