The 313-square-kilometre (121 sq mi) municipality is the 261st largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Gratangen is the 331st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,070. The municipality's population density is 3.4 inhabitants per square kilometre (8.8/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 5.7% over the previous 10-year period.[8][9]
The largest settlement in the municipality is Årstein, which is located approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of the town of Narvik and 85 kilometres (53 mi) east of the town of Harstad. Other villages in Gratangen include Elvenes, Fjordbotn, and Hilleshamn. The European route E6 highway runs through the southeastern part of the municipality.[7]
General information
The municipality of Gratangen was established on 1 July 1926 when it was separated from the large Ibestad Municipality. The initial population of Gratangen was 1,967. The municipal boundaries have not changed since that time.[10]
On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed Troms og Finnmark county. Previously, it had been part of the old Troms county.[11] On 1 January 2024, the Troms og Finnmark county was divided and the municipality once again became part of Troms county.[12]
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Gratangenfjord (Old Norse: Grjótangr). The first element is grjót which means "stone". The last element is angr which means "fjord".[7]
On 16 February 2024, the national government approved a resolution to add a co-equal, official Sami language name for the municipality: Rivttága suohkan.[13] The spelling of the Sami language name changes depending on how it is used. It is called Rivtták when it is spelled alone, but it is Rivttága suohkan when using the Sami language equivalent to "Gratangen Municipality".[6]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 15 June 1990. The official blazon is "Azure, a chevronembowedargent" (Norwegian: I blått en innbøyd sølv sparre). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a curved chevron. The chevron has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The blue color in the field symbolizes the blue sky (on top) and the Gratangen fjord and sea (on the bottom). The chevron was chosen to represent the snowy mountain peaks. The arms were designed by Even Jarl Skoglund.[7][14][15][16]
The municipality is very mountainous, with only one third of the land being below the tree line of 250 to 300 metres (820 to 980 ft) above sea level. Most of the livable land is a narrow area along both sides of the fjord, several side valleys that branch away from the fjord, plus the Fjordbotn area at the head of the fjord. The highest point in the municipality is the 1,332.36-metre (4,371.3 ft) tall mountain Vassdalfjellet which is located on the border with Narvik Municipality.[1]
The municipal council(Kommunestyre) of Gratangen is made up of 15 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
The mayor (Norwegian: ordfører) of Gratangen is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:[38]
