Målselv
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Målselv kommune | |||
| — Municipality — | |||
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| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Troms | ||
| Municipality ID | NO-1924 | ||
| Administrative centre | Moen | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor (2003) | Viggo Fossum (AP) | ||
| Area (Nr. 10 in Norway) | |||
| - Total | 3,322 km² (1,282.6 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 3,208 km² (1,238.6 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2004) | |||
| - Total | 6,739 | ||
| - Density | 2/km² (5.2/sq mi) | ||
| - Change (10 years) | -6.6 % | ||
| - Rank in Norway | 147 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Official language form | Neutral | ||
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| Website: www.malselv.kommune.no | |||
Målselv is a municipality in the county of Troms, Norway.
Målselv was separated from Lenvik 1849. Øverbygd was separated from Målselv as a municipality of its own July 1, 1925 - but it was again merged with Målselv January 1, 1964.
Besides bordering on Sweden to the east, and the ocean (Malangen fjord) to the west, it borders on the municipalities of Balsfjord, Storfjord, Bardu, Sørreisa and Lenvik.
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[edit] History and Geography
.jpg/180px-Målselva_river(2).jpg)
Målselv was settled by farmers from southern Norway, especially Østerdalen from 1788 and onwards. They were attracted by the uninhabited land with vast forests and areas of fertile land in the broad Målselv valley. The valley and municipality take their name from the river Målselva. The river is well known for its salmon, and forms the Målselv waterfall (No:Målselvfossen, [1], [2]), which has been selected as Norways national waterfall. Målselva empties into the Malangen fjord north of Olsborg. There are several mountains; Njunis at 1,713 m (5,620 ft) is the highest, while Istind is popular among hikers. There are many lakes such as Andsvatnet, Finnfjordvatnet, Rostajavri, Lille Rostavatn and Takvatnet. One of the rarest orchids in Europe, Lysiella oligantha (No: Sibirnattfiol), occurs in Målselv. Øvre Dividal National Park is located in the easternmost part of Målselv, near the border with Sweden.
[edit] Economy
A local newspaper, Nye Troms, covering Målselv, Bardu and Balsfjord, has its main office in the Olsborg area. The municipality administration is located at Moen, about 2km east of Olsborg. Further south along the E6 is the Bardufoss region, which encompasses local communities Andselv and Heggelia, the latter including the Norwegian army's 6th division. Near Andselv is the Bardufoss Airport and the Bardufoss Air Station of the Royal Norwegian Air Force, including the 337th and 339th Air Force helicopter squadrons. Målselv municipality, together with neighbouring Bardu, has the largest concentration of army bases in the country.
Moving further up the valley, another local community is Rundhaug, and moving eastwards, closer yet to Øvre Dividal National Park (740km²), is the community Øverbygd, housing two more sub-communities - Skjold and Holt. The former also houses an army base for mechanised infantry and combat engineers.
[edit] The name
The municipality is named after the river Målselva. The first element is the genitive case of the old uncompounded name of the fjord Malangen: *Malr, the last element is (the finitt form of) elv f 'river'. The old name of the fjord is identical with the word malr m 'bag, sack' (referring to the shape of the fjord).
Until 1918 the name was written "Maalselven".
[edit] Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1985). The silver line represents the river Målselva.
[edit] External links
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![[1]](http://willy.woje.it-photo.com/bilder/p7089126a.jpg){kind=link}