Sømna
| Sømna kommune | ||
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| Municipality | ||
View of the village of Berg
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| Country | Norway | |
| County | Nordland | |
| District | Helgeland | |
| Administrative centre | Vik i Helgeland | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor (2007) | Edmund Dahle (Sp) | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 194.62 km2 (75.14 sq mi) | |
| • Land | 191.19 km2 (73.82 sq mi) | |
| • Water | 3.43 km2 (1.32 sq mi) | |
| Area rank | 331 in Norway | |
| Population (2011) | ||
| • Total | 2,025 | |
| • Rank | 336 in Norway | |
| • Density | 10.6/km2 (27/sq mi) | |
| • Change (10 years) | -3.5 % | |
| Demonym(s) | Sømnværing[1] | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| ISO 3166 code | NO-1812 | |
| Official language form | Bokmål | |
| Website | www |
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Sømna is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative center of Sømna is the village of Vik i Helgeland. Other villages in the municipality include Dalbotn, Sund, Vennesund, and Berg.
The oldest boat remains ever found in Norway (Haugvikbåten - 2,500 years old) was discovered in a bog in Sømna.
Sømna has some of the best agriculture in the region. Dairy and beef cows as well as grains are produced in Sømna. There is also a dairy in Berg that produces milk and cheese.[2]
Contents
General information
The municipality of Vik was established on 1 January 1901 when it was separated from the large municipality of Brønnøy. The initial population of Vik was 2,731. In 1941 the municipality was renamed Sømna. On 1 January 1964, Sømna was merged with Brønnøysund, Velfjord, Brønnøy, and part of northern Bindal. Prior to the merger Sømna had 2,347 residents.
This merger was short-lived because on 1 January 1977, all of the old Sømna municipality (except the Hongsetbygda area) was removed from Brønnøy to become a separate municipality once again. There were 2,107 residents in the newly recreated Sømna municipality.[3]
Name
The Old Norse form of the name was probably Søfn. The meaning of the name is unknown, but it is possibly derived from sveifa which means "wind" or "wave" or it could be derived from svefja meaning a "quiet sleep".[2]
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times; they were granted on 14 June 1991. The arms show three combined silver leaves of clover (trefoils) on a red background. The arms symbolize agriculture, culture, and prosperity combined.[4]
Churches
The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Sømna. It is part of the Sør-Helgeland deanery in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
| Parish (Sokn) |
Church Name | Location of the Church |
Year Built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sømna | Sømna Church | Vik i Helgeland | 1876 |
Geography
The municipality of Sømna is mostly made up of the southern part of a peninsula off the mainland of Norway and the surrounding islands. It borders Brønnøy to the north by land and Bindal to the south and east by sea, across the Bindalsfjorden.
Sømna consists mainly of a wide Strandflaten lowland (coastal brim), and is one of few municipalities in Northern Norway where the farmers still grow some grain.
References
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sømna. |
Nordland travel guide from Wikivoyage- Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
- Sømna kommune (Norwegian)
