Trondenes is a former municipality in Tromscounty, Norway. The 186.3-square-kilometre (71.9 sq mi) municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. It was located along the western shore of the Vågsfjorden in what is now Harstad Municipality. Trondenes included the southern part of the island of Grytøya and part of the eastern coast of the island of Hinnøya as well as some smaller islands. Located just north of the town of Harstad, the village of Trondenes was the administrative centre of the municipality. That village is also the site of the historic Trondenes Church, the northernmost medieval stone church in Norway and the seat of the historic Trondenes parish. The Trondenes Historical Center was built in 1997 near the church to teach about the history of the area. Trondenes Fort is also located on the Trondenes peninsula.[5][6]
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the 186.3-square-kilometre (71.9 sq mi) municipality was the 388th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Trondenes Municipality was the 128th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 6,423. The municipality's population density was 34.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (89/sq mi) and its population had increased by 37.3% over the previous 10-year period.[7][8]
General information
The parish of Trondenes was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The village of Harstad (population: 1,246) was declared a ladested and was therefore separated from Trondenes Municipality on 1 January 1904 to become a separate municipality. This left Trondenes with 7,775 inhabitants. On 1 January 1912, a part of southern Trondenes Municipality (population: 291) was transferred to the neighboring Evenes Municipality (located in Nordland county).[9]
On 1 July 1926, the large Trondenes Municipality was divided into three separate municipalities. The areas east of the Tjeldsundet strait and east of the Vågsfjorden (population: 2,443) became Skånland Municipality and the areas on the west side of the Tjeldsundet and Vågsfjorden were split two ways. The southern part (population: 4,224) became Sandtorg Municipality and the northern part (population: 3,429) remained as Trondenes Municipality. On 25 October 1956, a small border adjustment was made between Trondenes Municipality and the neighboring Kvæfjord Municipality. This resulted in 32 inhabitants becoming residents of Trondenes Municipality.[9]
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Trondenes Municipality (population: 6,567), Sandtorg Municipality (population: 7,512), the town of Harstad (population: 3,808) were merged to form a new, larger Harstad Municipality.[9]
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Trondenes farm (Old Norse: Þróndarnes) since the historic Trondenes Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the word þróndr which means "hog", referring to the shape of a nearby mountain. The last element is nes which means "headland". The shape of the headland has been compared with that of the snout of a hog.[5][10]
The municipal council(Herredsstyre) of Trondenes was made up of 29 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
The mayor (Norwegian: ordfører) of Trondenes was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:[18]
^Helland, Amund (1899). "Trondenes herred". Norges land og folk: Tromsø amt (in Norwegian). Vol. XIX. Kristiania, Norway: H. Aschehoug & Company. p. 73. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
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