Country
Established
1 Jan 1838
Administrative centre
• Mayor (2019)
Aase Refsnes (SV)
• Total
1,009.26 km2 (389.68 sq mi)
• Land
963.58 km2 (372.04 sq mi)
• Water
45.68 km2 (17.64 sq mi) 4.5%
• Rank
#114 in Norway
• Total
2,665
• Rank
#244 in Norway
• Density
2.8/km2 (7/sq mi)
+4.4%
Steigværing[1]
• Summer (DST)
Website
Steigen ('stejgen) is a municipalityinNordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional districtofSalten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Leinesfjord. Other villages include Bogen, Leines, Nordfold, Nordskot, and Sørskot. Engeløy Airport, Grådussan is located in the northern part of the municipality. Måløy–Skarholmen Lighthouse is located in the Vestfjorden in the western part of the municipality. The only road access to the municipality is via the Steigen Tunnel.
The 1,009-square-kilometre (390 sq mi) municipality is the 114th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Steigen is the 246th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,665. The municipality's population density is 2.8 inhabitants per square kilometre (7.3/sq mi) and its population has increased by 4.4% over the previous 10-year period.[4][5]
The municipality of Steigen was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The southern part of Steigen was separated on 1 September 1900 to form the new Ledingen Municipality. This left 2,216 residents in Steigen.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, a major municipal merger took place. A new municipality Steigen was created by the merging the following areas:
Prior to the merger, the population of Steigen was 1,843, and after the merger, the new municipality had 4,545 residents.[6][7]
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Steigen farm (Old Norse: Steig) since the first Steigen Church was built there. The name is derived from the verb stíga which means "mount" or "rise". This is referring to the high and steep mountain Steigtinden (tinden means "the peak") behind the farm.[8]
The coat of arms was granted on 12 October 1988, but they were not formally approved by the government until 11 January 1991. The official blazonis"Or three axe blades sable in bend" (Norwegian: I gull tre svarte øksehoder i skrå rekke). This means the arms have a field (background) that has a tinctureofOr which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The charge is three axe heads from the Viking Age that are lined up diagonally. The design was chosen to represent the Viking history of the municipality. There are three axe heads to represent that three municipalities were merged in 1964 to form the present municipality. The arms were designed by Henry Tømmerås, the municipal cultural secretary at the time.[9][10][11][12]
The Church of Norway has three parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Steigen. It is part of the Salten prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Churches in Steigen
Parish (sokn)
Church name
Location of the church
Year built
Leiranger
1911
1912
1953
Nordfold
1976
Steigen
Steigen (Engeløya)
1250
1926
The municipality is located along the coast of the Vestfjorden, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of the town of Bodø, well inside the Arctic Circle. The road to Steigen departs from European route E6 and makes use of the 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) long Steigentunnelen (see World's longest tunnels). Steigen borders Hamarøy Municipality in the north and Sørfold Municipality to the south. The Vestfjorden and Lofoten are located west of Steigen. The Sagfjorden lies on the north and the Folda fjord in the south.
The municipality is mainly located on a peninsula dissected by many fjords. Steigen also includes several islands. The largest island is Engeløya, where there are ancient burial mounds (such as Sigarshaugen) and the world's most northerly naturally occurring Hazel forest in Prestegårdsskogen Nature Reserve. The largest glacier is Helldalsisen encircling a 1,361 metres (4,465 ft) mountain. The island of Engeløya is connected to the mainland by the Engeløy Bridges and just to the north of that lies the uninhabited island of Lundøya.
Steigen has fertile lowlands in between the mountains and the sea. There are several archeological sites showing settlements from the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Viking Age. Lakes in the region include Forsanvatnet, Hopvatnet, Makkvatnet, and Straumfjordvatnet.
The monthly 24-hr averages range from −1 °C (30 °F) in January and February to 13 °C (55 °F) in July and August, with precipitation ranging from 49 millimetres (1.9 in) in May to 146 millimetres (5.7 in) in October; annual average is 970 millimetres (38.2 in) and mean annual temperature is 5.1 °C (41 °F).[13]
All municipalities in Norway are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal councilofdirectly elected representatives. The mayorisindirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.[14] The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Salten og Lofoten District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Steigen is made up of 17 representatives that are elected for four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
Steigen kommunestyre 2023–2027 [15]
Party name (in Norwegian)
Number of
representatives
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)
4
Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)
1
Conservative Party (Høyre)
2
Red Party (Rødt)
1
Centre Party (Senterpartiet)
3
Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)
5
Liberal Party (Venstre)
1
Total number of members:
17
Steigen kommunestyre 2019–2023 [16]
Party name (in Norwegian)
Number of
representatives
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)
3
Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)
1
Conservative Party (Høyre)
1
Red Party (Rødt)
1
Centre Party (Senterpartiet)
7
Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)
3
Liberal Party (Venstre)
1
Total number of members:
17
Steigen kommunestyre 2015–2019 [17]
Party name (in Norwegian)
Number of
representatives
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)
4
Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)
1
Conservative Party (Høyre)
2
Pensioners' Party (Pensjonistpartiet)
1
Red Party (Rødt)
2
Centre Party (Senterpartiet)
5
Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)
1
Liberal Party (Venstre)
1
Total number of members:
17
Steigen kommunestyre 2011–2015 [18]
Party name (in Norwegian)
Number of
representatives
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)
4
Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)
1
Conservative Party (Høyre)
1
Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)
1
Pensioners' Party (Pensjonistpartiet)
2
Red Party (Rødt)
1
Centre Party (Senterpartiet)
3
Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)
1
Liberal Party (Venstre)
3
Total number of members:
17
Steigen kommunestyre 2007–2011 [17]
Party name (in Norwegian)
Number of
representatives
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)
4
Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)
2
Conservative Party (Høyre)
1
Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)
1
Centre Party (Senterpartiet)
6
Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)
1
Liberal Party (Venstre)
2
Total number of members:
17
Steigen kommunestyre 2003–2007 [17]
Party name (in Norwegian)
Number of
representatives
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)
4
Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)
1
Conservative Party (Høyre)
1
Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)
1
Centre Party (Senterpartiet)
5
Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)
2
Liberal Party (Venstre)
3
Total number of members:
17
Steigen kommunestyre 1999–2003 [17]
Party name (in Norwegian)
Number of
representatives
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)
6
Conservative Party (Høyre)
3
Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)
1
Centre Party (Senterpartiet)
5
Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)
1
Liberal Party (Venstre)
2
Cross-party list for Steigen (Tverrpolitisk liste for Steigen)
3
Total number of members:
21
Steigen kommunestyre 1995–1999 [19]
Party name (in Norwegian)
Number of
representatives
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)
4
Conservative Party (Høyre)
2
Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)
1
Centre Party (Senterpartiet)
7
Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)
1
Liberal Party (Venstre)
1
Cross-party list (Tverrpolitisk liste)
5
Total number of members:
21
Steigen kommunestyre 1991–1995 [20]
Party name (in Norwegian)
Number of
representatives
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)
7
Conservative Party (Høyre)
3
Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)
1
Centre Party (Senterpartiet)
7
Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)
1
Cross-party list (Tverrpolitisk list)
2
Total number of members:
21
Steigen kommunestyre 1987–1991 [21]
Party name (in Norwegian)
Number of
representatives
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)
10
Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)
1
Conservative Party (Høyre)
5
Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)
2
Centre Party (Senterpartiet)
8
Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)
2
Liberal Party (Venstre)
1
Total number of members:
29
Steigen kommunestyre 1983–1987 [22]
Party name (in Norwegian)
Number of
representatives
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)
11
Conservative Party (Høyre)
5
Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)
3
Centre Party (Senterpartiet)
7
Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)
2
Liberal Party (Venstre)
1
Total number of members:
29
Steigen kommunestyre 1979–1983 [23]
Party name (in Norwegian)
Number of
representatives
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)
7
Conservative Party (Høyre)
5
Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)
3
Centre Party (Senterpartiet)
10
Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)
2
Liberal Party (Venstre)
2
Total number of members:
29
Steigen kommunestyre 1975–1979 [24]
Party name (in Norwegian)
Number of
representatives
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)
8
Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)
3
Centre Party (Senterpartiet)
11
Liberal Party (Venstre)
1
Free voters non-party list (Frie velgeres upolitiske liste)
3
Fishing industry non-party list (Fiskerinæringens upolitiske liste)
3
Total number of members:
29
Steigen kommunestyre 1971–1975 [25]
Party name (in Norwegian)
Number of
representatives
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)
10
Conservative Party (Høyre)
2
Centre Party (Senterpartiet)
14
Liberal Party (Venstre)
3
Total number of members:
29
Steigen kommunestyre 1967–1971 [26]
Party name (in Norwegian)
Number of
representatives
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)
12
Conservative Party (Høyre)
3
Centre Party (Senterpartiet)
7
Liberal Party (Venstre)
2
Local List(s) (Lokale lister)
5
Total number of members:
29
Steigen kommunestyre 1963–1967 [27]
Party name (in Norwegian)
Number of
representatives
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)
8
Conservative Party (Høyre)
5
Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)
2
Centre Party (Senterpartiet)
8
Local List(s) (Lokale lister)
6
Total number of members:
29
Steigen herredsstyre 1959–1963 [28]
Party name (in Norwegian)
Number of
representatives
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)
4
Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)
2
Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)
11
Total number of members:
17
Steigen herredsstyre 1955–1959 [29]
Party name (in Norwegian)
Number of
representatives
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)
5
Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)
2
Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)
5
Local List(s) (Lokale lister)
5
Total number of members:
17
Steigen herredsstyre 1951–1955 [30]
Party name (in Norwegian)
Number of
representatives
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)
3
Local List(s) (Lokale lister)
13
Total number of members:
16
Steigen herredsstyre 1947–1951 [31]
Party name (in Norwegian)
Number of
representatives
Local List(s) (Lokale lister)
16
Total number of members:
16
Steigen herredsstyre 1945–1947 [32]
Party name (in Norwegian)
Number of
representatives
Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)
2
Local List(s) (Lokale lister)
14
Total number of members:
16
Steigen herredsstyre 1937–1941* [33]
Party name (in Norwegian)
Number of
representatives
List of workers, fishermen, and small farmholders (Arbeidere, fiskere, småbrukere liste)
3
Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)
6
Local List(s) (Lokale lister)
7
Total number of members:
16
Note: Due to the German occupation of Norway during World War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945.
The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Steigen:[34][35]
Nordland travel guide from Wikivoyage
Authority control databases: Geographic 
