Gamvik Municipality

is a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Mehamn. The other notable villages in Gamvik include Gamvik and Skjånes. Gamvik is known as one of the poorest and most undeveloped municipalities in Norway. The number of inhabitants rose at one moment in 2012, but in 2014, after the fish factory closed, the population declined dramatically with the departure of the eastern European fishermen.

Most people live in the village of Mehamn (about 500 inhabitants), which has an airport, Mehamn Airport, and is also a port of call of the hurtigruten coastal boats. The Slettnes Lighthouse near the village of Gamvik is the northernmost lighthouse on the mainland of Europe. Nervei and Langfjordbotn are two very small villages in southern Gamvik that are only accessible by boat. Finnkongkeila is an abandoned village along the Tanafjorden.

The 1416 km2 municipality is the 65th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Gamvik is the 331st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,070. The municipality's population density is 0.8 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 2.6% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The municipality of Gamvik was established on 1 January 1914 when the old Tana Municipality was divided into three municipalities: Tana (population: 1,426) in the south, Berlevåg Municipality (population: 784) in the northeast, and Gamvik Municipality (population: 1,371) in the northwest. The municipal boundaries have not changed since that time.

On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed Troms og Finnmark county. Previously, it had been part of the old Finnmark county. On 1 January 2024, the Troms og Finnmark county was divided and the municipality once again became part of Finnmark county.

Name
The Old Norse form of the name may have been Gangvík. The first element is then gangr which means "path" and the last element is vík which means "cove" or "wick".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 28 September 1990. The official blazon is "Gules, three net needles Or in bend sinister" (I rødt tre skråstilte gule garnnåler). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is three fishing net sewing needles that are arranged diagonally. The net needles have a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. These needles are a characteristic maritime tool used for making and mending the fishing nets used by local fishermen. These arms were chosen to emphasize the importance of fishing in the area.

Churches
The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Gamvik. It is part of the Hammerfest prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.

History
In June 1972 construction started for [a landside terminal and] running a SOSUS cable into the sea. The SOSUS station was one of more than twenty worldwide.

1982 air crash
On 12 March 1982, a Widerøe Twin Otter, registration number LN-BNK, crashed into the sea near Mehamn, killing all fifteen on board. More than twenty years and four rounds of investigation later, this incident remained highly controversial in Norway.

Government
All municipalities in Norway are 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 is under the jurisdiction of the Indre og Østre Finnmark District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Gamvik is made up of 13 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Gamvik:


 * 1914-1920: Fredrik Forberg
 * 1920-1923: Hans Schanche
 * 1923-1926: Andreas M. Irgens (H)
 * 1926-1927: Fredrik Forberg
 * 1927-1935: Leonhard Grønhaug (Ap)
 * 1935-1937: Harald Lunde (Ap)
 * 1938-1941: Hjalmar Bellika (Ap)
 * 1941-1945: Andreas M. Irgens (H)
 * 1945-1947: Hjalmar Bellika (Ap)
 * 1947-1964: Ragnvald Mathisen (Ap)
 * 1965-1968: Birger Bertheussen (Ap)
 * 1968-1979: Bjarne Jensen (Ap)
 * 1979-1983: Tora Høgestøl (LL)
 * 1983-1987: Bjarne Jensen (Ap)
 * 1987-2007: Roger Leif Hansen (Ap)
 * 2007-2011: Marius Nilsen (Ap)
 * 2011-2015: Inga Manndal (SV)
 * 2015-2019: Trond Einar Olaussen (Ap)
 * 2019–2023: Alf Normann Hansen (SV)
 * 2023-present: Ragnhlid Vassvik (Ap)

Geography
The municipality consists of the eastern half of the Nordkinn Peninsula. Kinnarodden, located in Gamvik, is the northernmost point of mainland Europe (the more well-known North Cape is located nearby on Magerøya island). The Tanafjorden flows along the eastern coast of Gamvik. Lebesby Municipality is located to the west and Tana Municipality is located to the south. Across the fjord to the east is Berlevåg Municipality. The highest point in the municipality is the 672.3 m tall mountain Duolbagáisá.

Climate
The inhabited places of Gamvik, such as Mehamn, has a boreal climate (Köppen climate classification: Dfc). The spring is very late to warm up and is among the coldest in Norway. Summers are short and cool. Winters are moderated by the Barents Sea and only slightly colder than in the capital Oslo. However, winds can be strong in winter. Slettnes Lighthouse, located on an exposed headland in the northern part of the municipality, is the only remaining weather station in mainland Norway with a tundra climate with the 1991-2020 normals. The all-time high in Gamvik municipality is 32.2 °C recorded at Slettnes Lighthouse in July 1972, and the second warmest is 31.4 °C recorded at Slettnes in July 2018. The all-time low in Gamvik is -23.1 °C recorded February 1985 at Slettnes. Overnight freezes are very rare in summer and has never happened in July. The coldest low in August at Mehamn Airport is -0.7 °C recorded 2012, while the coldest August overnight low at Slettnes is 1.4 °C from 1984.

Birdlife
The area surrounding the lighthouse at Slettnes is also an interesting locality for those interested in birds and birdwatching. There is a nature reserve and bird observatory.



Notable people

 * Tor Henriksen (1933 in Gamvik – 2017), a politician for the Socialist Left Party
 * Torgeir Vassvik (born 1963), a Sami musician and composer
 * Ragnhild Vassvik Kalstad (born 1966 in Gamvik), a politician for the Labour Party
 * Eivind Eriksen (born 1973 in Mehamn), a former footballer with over 150 club caps