Gratangen

Gratangen is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Central Hålogaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Årstein.

The 313 km2 municipality is the 261st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Gratangen is the 328th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,079. The municipality's population density is 3.5 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 3.6% over the previous 10-year period.

The largest settlement in the municipality is Årstein, which is located approximately 60 km north of the town of Narvik and 85 km east of the town of Harstad. Other villages in Gratangen include Elvenes, Fjordbotn, and Hilleshamn. The European route E6 highway runs through the southeastern part of the municipality.

General information
The municipality of Gratangen was established on 1 July 1926 when it was separated from the large municipality of Ibestad. The initial population of Gratangen was 1,967. 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 Troms county. On 1 January 2024, the Troms og Finnmark county was divided and the municipality once again became part of Troms county.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Gratangen fjord (Grjótangr). The first element is grjót which means "stone". The last element is angr which means "fjord".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 15 June 1990. The official blazon is "Azure, a chevron embowed argent" (I blått en innbøyd sølv sparre). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a curved chevron. The chevron has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The blue color in the field symbolizes the blue sky (on top) and the Gratangen fjord and sea (on the bottom). The chevron was chosen to represent the snowy mountain peaks. The arms were designed by Even Jarl Skoglund.

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

History
Gratangen was the site of the Battle of Gratangen, one of the first battles between the German 3rd Mountain Division under Eduard Dietl and the Norwegian 6th Division under General Carl Gustav Fleischer after the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940.

Geography
The municipality encompasses the land on both sides of the Gratangen and southeast of the Astafjorden. The municipality borders Skånland to the west, Ibestad (across the Astafjorden) to the north, Lavangen to the east, and Narvik (in Nordland county) to the south.

The municipality is very mountainous, with only one third of the land being below the tree line of 250 to 300 m above sea level. Most of the livable land is a narrow area along both sides of the fjord, several side valleys that branch away from the fjord, plus the Fjordbotn area at the head of the fjord.

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 Midtre Hålogaland District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Gratangen is made up of 15 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 Gratangen:


 * 1926–1929: Mikal Jakobsen
 * 1929–1931: O.M. Eilivsen-Thraning
 * 1932–1934: Mikal Jakobsen
 * 1935–1937: Arthur Heggelund (Ap)
 * 1938–1941: Mikal Nilsen
 * 1941–1942: Arthur Heggelund (Ap)
 * 1942-1942: Ove Seines
 * 1942-1942: O.M. Eilivsen-Thraning
 * 1942–1945: Christian Selnes
 * 1946–1947: Arthur Heggelund (Ap)
 * 1948–1951: Øyvind Bahr
 * 1952–1961: Anker Nikolaisen (Ap)
 * 1962–1967: Alfred Pedersen (Ap)
 * 1968–1971: Heiberg Karlsen (LL)
 * 1972–1975: Odd Thraning (Ap)
 * 1976–1979: Arvid Fjellheim (Ap)
 * 1980–1983: Reidar Schjelderup (Sp)
 * 1984–1985: Odd Thraning (Ap)
 * 1986–1989: Arvid Fjellheim (Ap)
 * 1990–1991: Roy-Idar Sandberg (Sp)
 * 1992–1993: Håkon Kristiansen (Ap)
 * 1994–1999: Roy-Idar Sandberg (Sp)
 * 1999–2003: Rita H. Roaldsen (Sp)
 * 2003-2003: Håkon Kristiansen (Ap)
 * 2003–2011: Eva Ottesen (Ap)
 * 2011–2015: Ronny Grindstein (Sp)
 * 2015-2019: Eva Ottesen (Ap)
 * 2019–present: Anita Karlsen (Sp)