Ofoten (municipality)

Ofoten is a former municipality in Nordland 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.[1]

Ofoten herred
Former municipality
Nordland within
Norway
Ofoten within Nordland
Coordinates: 68.4363°N 17.3983°E / 68.4363; 17.3983
CountryNorway
CountyNordland
DistrictOfoten
Established1 Jan 1838
Disestablished1 Jan 1884
Administrative centreNarvik
Area
 • Total2,998.3 km2 (1,157.7 sq mi)
 *Area at municipal dissolution.
Population
 (1884)
 • Total4,131
 • Density1.4/km2 (3.6/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-1853
Created asFormannskapsdistrikt in 1838
Succeeded byAnkenes and Evenes in 1884
Data from Statistics Norway

History
View of the Ofoten area

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.[2]

Name

The municipality was named after the local Ofotfjorden (Old Norse: Ófóti). The meaning of the first element is unknown and the last element is derived from the Old Norse word 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.[1]

See also: the name of Lofoten
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See also

References
  1. Thorsnæs, Geir, ed. (2017-02-13). "Ofoten – tidligere kommune". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
  2. Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå.
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