Øverbygd Municipality

Øverbygd is a former municipality in Troms county in Norway. The 2104 km2 municipality existed from 1925 until its dissolution in 1964. It was located in what is now the eastern part of Målselv Municipality, stretching from the border with Sweden in the east, through the Dividalen and Rostadalen valleys to the Målselva river and the eastern part of the Målselvdalen valley. The administrative centre was the village of Skjold.

Prior to its dissolution in 1963, the 2104 km2 municipality was the 20th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Øverbygd Municipality was the 582nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,217. The municipality's population density was 0.6 PD/km2 and its population had increased by 56.4% over the previous 10-year period.

Skjold was the site of the local church, Øverbygd Church as well as home to a large garrison for the Norwegian Army. Øvre Dividal National Park made up a large part of the southeastern part of the municipality. Dividalen is used as a setting in TV drama Outlier (2020).

General information
The municipality of Øverbygd was established on 1 July 1925 when the large Målselv Municipality was divided into two municipalities: Målselv in the west and Øverbygd in the east. Initially, Øverbygd had a population of 566 inhabitants.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, a major municipal merger took place. All of Øverbygd Municipality (population: 1,232), all of Målselv Municipality (population: 5,584), the Naveren and Målsnes areas of Malangen Municipality (population: 118), and the Skogli ved Heia farm (population: 2) from Balsfjord Municipality were all merged to form a new, larger Målselv Municipality:

Name
The municipality is named Øverbygd. The first element may be derived from the present tense form of the verb which means "to exercise" or "to practice". The last element comes from the word which means "settlement" or "farm".

Churches
The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within Øverbygd Municipality. It was part of the Målselv prestegjeld and the Indre Troms prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.

World War II
During World War II, the German army created a military base at Øverbygd. The base was initially a supply point for the German forces attack on Murmansk. German soldiers on retreat at the end of the war came through Øverbygd. Maukstadmoen and Holmen were undeveloped pine forests, but virtually all of the commercial forest was cut down to provide German troops land and building materials.

Large barracks for the officer's quarters were established on Maukstadmoen. They also built large stock barracks, a cold storage plant, and a German military hospital. A Prisoner-of-war camp for Russian prisoners of war and medical camp was built near Holmen.

Geography
The highest point in the municipality is the 1717.1 m tall mountain Njunis.

Government
While it existed, Øverbygd Municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Øverbygd was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayor (ordfører) of Øverbygd 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:


 * 1925-1931: A.M. Elvevold
 * 1931-1941: Bjarne Haug (LL)
 * 1942-1943: Tollef Tollefsen
 * 1943-1944: Arne Thraasdal
 * 1944-1945: Erik Heggelund
 * 1945-1945: Bjarne Haug (LL)
 * 1946-1947: Åsmund Forseth (Ap)
 * 1948-1951: Bjarne Haug (LL)
 * 1952-1955: Åsmund Forseth (Ap)
 * 1955-1963: Ole M. Stefanussen (LL)