Lurøy


Lurøy is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lurøy, located on the island of Lurøya. Other villages in Lurøy include Aldra, Haugland, Konsvikosen, Lovund, Sleneset / Solværøyene, Stokkvågen, and Tonnes.
The municipality is located on the coast just south of the Arctic circle, on the western edge of the Saltfjellet mountain range. The Lurøygården on the island of Lurøya is a more-than-200-year-old renaissance garden with old plants, a pool, and a nearly high Copper Beech.
The municipality is the 275th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Lurøy is the 288th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,890. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 0.5% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Lurøy was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. On 1 January 1872, the far western island district was separated from Lurøy to become the new municipality of Træna. This left Lurøy with 1,554 residents. The borders of Lurøy have not changed since that time.

Name

The municipality is named after the island of Lurøya, since the first Lurøy Church was built there. The first element is lúðr which means "hollowed log". The last element is øy which means "island".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 22 August 1986. The arms show a black buoy on a gold background. The buoy is an appropriate symbol for a municipality since it is dependent on fishing and sailing.

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes within the municipality of Lurøy. It is part of the Nord-Helgeland prosti in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Parish Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
AldersundAldersund ChurchHaugland1971
LurøyLovund ChurchLovund1960
LurøyLurøy ChurchLurøya1812
LurøyMoflag ChurchMoflaget1921

Geography

Lurøy is located on the western coast of Helgeland. The small strip of mainland Lurøy runs from Tonnes in the north along Norwegian County Road 17 to Stokkvågen along the Sjona fjord in the south. The rest of the municipality is located on 1,375 islands located to the west of the mainland. The major islands include Aldra, Lurøya, Onøya, Stigen, Solvær, and Lovund. There are also two islands in the northern part of Lurøya that are divided between Lurøy and neighboring Rødøy Municipality: Nesøya and Hestmona.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Lurøy, 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 Rana District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Lurøy is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

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