Ofoten Municipality
Ofoten herred
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Nordland within Norway
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Ofoten within Nordland
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| Coordinates: 68°26′11″N 17°23′54″E / 68.4363°N 17.3983°E / 68.4363; 17.3983 | |
| Country | Norway |
| County | Nordland |
| District | Ofoten |
| Established | 1 Jan 1838 |
| • Created as | Formannskapsdistrikt |
| Disestablished | 1 Jan 1884 |
| • Succeeded by | Ankenes and Evenes |
| Administrative centre | Narvik |
| Area
(upon dissolution)
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| • Total | 2,998.3 km2 (1,157.7 sq mi) |
| Population
(1884)
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| • Total | 4,131 |
| • Density | 1.4/km2 (3.6/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | NO-1853[1] |
Ofoten is a former municipalityinNordland county, Norway. The 2,998.3-square-kilometre (1,157.7 sq mi) municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1884. The municipality included the areas on both sides of the inner part of the Ofotfjorden mostly in what is now the municipalities of Narvik, Ballangen, and Evenes. The administrative centre of Ofoten was the village of Narvik (which later became a town in 1902). After the municipality was dissolved in 1884, the name Ofoten has been used to refer to the region that once was this municipality.[2]
The municipality of Ofoten was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1884, the municipality ceased to exist when it was split into two municipalities: Ankenes (population: 1,734) in the east and Evindnæs (population: 2,397) in the west.[3]
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the local Ofotfjorden (Old Norse: Ófóti) since the fjord is the central feature of the area as well as the name of the whole Ofoten region. The first element of the name has an uncertain meaning. The last element is fótr which means "foot". The oldest form of the name could have been Úffóti. In this case, the first element is úfr which means "Eurasian eagle-owl". The three inner branches of the Ofotfjord might have been compared with the three claws of an owl.[2][4]
During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal councilofelected representatives, which in turn electedamayor.[5]
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