Sortland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sortland kommune | |||
| — Municipality — | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | Norway | ||
| County | Nordland | ||
| District | Vesterålen | ||
| Municipality ID | NO-1870 | ||
| Administrative centre | Sortland | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor (2003) | Svein Roar Jacobsen (Ap) | ||
| Area (Nr. 152 in Norway) | |||
| - Total | 722 km² (278.8 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 698 km² (269.5 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2004) | |||
| - Total | 9,509 | ||
| - Density | 14/km² (36.3/sq mi) | ||
| - Change (10 years) | 8.6 % | ||
| - Rank in Norway | 105 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Official language form | Neutral | ||
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| Website: www.sortland.kommune.no | |||
Sortland is a town and municipality in the county of Nordland, Norway.
Sortland was separated from Hadsel in 1841. The area of Godfjorden was transferred from Kvæfjord (and Troms county) to Sortland (and Nordland county) January 1, 2000.
Sortland is located on Langøya island and is the largest town and commercial centre in Vesterålen. Sortland is located close to the Sortland Bridge, connecting Langøya to Hinnøya by road. The Norwegian Coast Guard has its northern base in this town (Kystvaktskvadron Nord).
In 1997, the municipality decided to declare township for Sortland. With most houses painted blue, Sortland is often referred to as the blue town. The famous author Lars Saabye Christensen, receiver of The Nordic Council's Literature Prize, has been living in Sortland for parts of his life.
[edit] The name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old farm Sortland (Norse Svortuland), since the first church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of a rivername *Svorta, the last element is land n 'land, farm'. The rivername is derived from svartr 'black' - and the meaning is 'the black/dark one'.
[edit] Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1985). It shows a gate (to represent Sortland as 'the gateway to Vesterålen').
[edit] External links
- Information from Sortland Municipality (Norwegian)
- Tourist information about Vesterålen Islands (English)
- Forfjorddalen nature reserve with the oldest pine trees in Norway
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