Kvalsund Municipality

Kvalsund ( and Valasnuora) is a former municipality in Finnmark county in Norway. The area is now part of Hammerfest Municipality. The municipality existed from 1869 until its dissolution in 2020. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Kvalsund. Other villages in the municipality included Áisaroaivi, Kokelv, Oldernes, Oldervik, Revsneshamn, Skaidi.

At the time of its dissolution on 1 January 2020, the 1844 km2 municipality was the 37th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Kvalsund was also the 394th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 988. The municipality's population density was 0.5 PD/km2 and its population had decreased by 5.4% over the previous 10-year period.

The Kvalsund Bridge (Kvalsundbrua) is a suspension bridge that crosses the Kvalsundet strait from the mainland to the island of Kvaløya.

In 2015, the media said that for four years an application has been filed for establishing Norway's largest copper mine, depending on a permit for creating a zone in Repparfjorden for depositing waste from the mine.

General information
The municipality of Kvalsund was established on 1 July 1869 when it was separated from the Hammerfest landdistrikt (the rural municipality surrounding the town of Hammerfest). Initially, Kvalsund had 514 residents. On 1 January 1963, the Kokelv area in southern Måsøy Municipality (population: 34) was transferred to Kvalsund.

On 1 January 2020, Kvalsund Municipality was merged into the neighboring Hammerfest Municipality, a decision that the people of the two municipalities had agreed to in 2017.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Kvalsundet strait (Hvalsund). The first element comes from the name of the island Kvaløya. The island's name comes form the Old Norse word which means "whale". The last element is which means "strait" or "sound". The Sámi name also translates to "whale strait" ( means "whale" and nuorri means strait).

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 27 March 1987. The official blazon is "Azure, three salmon argent in pall heads to center" (I blått tre hvite lakser i trepass med hodene innover). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is three salmon arranged in pall with their heads facing the centre. The salmon have a tincture of argent which means they are commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The blue color in the field and the salmon were chosen to represent fishing in various forms: as a traditional way of living and source of income, as modern fish farming, and as a recreational activity in the area. The arms were designed by Ingunn Bjerkås.

Churches
The Church of Norway had two parishes (sokn) within Kvalsund Municipality. It was part of the Hammerfest prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.

Aboriginal culture
Until a few hundred years ago, the Coast Sámi culture was completely dominant in Kvalsund. Norwegian and Kven immigration soon made the area multicultural. During Norwegianization much of the traditional culture was lost. Kokelv is the village that has most successfully preserved elements of Sámi culture, and today has a Coast Sámi museum. The gakti of the Kvalsund region is easily recognizable by dots and jags on the collars (for men) and sleeves (for women).

Fægstock
The municipality hosts an annual rock festival known as Fægstock, which takes place in Fægfjord (, meaning "twilight fiord").

Government
While it existed, Kvalsund Municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was 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 Kvalsund was made up of 15 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Kvalsund:


 * 1869-1870: A. Holmgren
 * 1871-1878: Andreas Nørager Buck
 * 1879-1882: Peder Nilsen
 * 1883-1885: Mathis Abrahamsen
 * 1886-1888: Andreas Nørager Buck
 * 1889-1892: Martin Nilsen
 * 1893-1895: Andreas Nørager Buck
 * 1896-1898: Martin Nilsen
 * 1899-1901: Karl Svendsen
 * 1902-1913: Martin Nilsen
 * 1914-1916: Karl Mölbach Buck
 * 1917-1919: Johannes Olsen
 * 1920-1931: Håkon Pedersen
 * 1932-1934: Edvard Skjeldnes
 * 1935-1935: S. Indrebø
 * 1936-1937: H. Schrøder
 * 1945-1947: Arne Bjørnå
 * 1948-1955: Ole Mathiasen
 * 1956-1959: Hans Arne Arnesen
 * 1960-1967: Erling Nilsen
 * 1968-1974: Henning Bårdsen
 * 1974-1983: Ernst Hokland
 * 1984-1991: Egil Johansen
 * 1992-1995: Svein-Erik Torbergsen
 * 1995-1999: Ragnar Olsen (Ap)
 * 1999-2003: Geir Nesse
 * 2003-2007: Ragnar Olsen (Ap)
 * 2007-2011: Tor Arvid Myrseth (LL)
 * 2011-2015: Ragnar Olsen (Ap)
 * 2015-2019: Terje Wikstrøm (Ap)

Geography
The municipality was mostly located on the mainland, but parts of the municipality were also located on the islands of Kvaløya and Seiland. The Seilandsjøkelen glacier was partially located in Kvalsund, and at 986 m in height, it was the highest point in the municipality. Lakes in the municipality included Bjørnstadvatnet and Doggejávri.

Settlements
The main village in the municipality was called Kvalsund in Norwegian and Ráhkkerávju in Sámi. Historically, that village was called Finnbyen, a name meaning simply "Coast Sámi settlement". Most villages in the municipality had two names: one in Norwegian and one in Sami. Other villages in the municipality included Skáidi ("meeting-place of rivers" in Sámi); Stállugárgu/Stallogargo ("troll beach"); Neverfjord/Návvuotna; and Kokelv/Guoikejohka. Regarding the latter toponyms, the Neverfjord translates to "tinder fjord" and Návvuotna to "cowshed fjord"; while Kokelv is "boiling river" in Norwegian and Guiokejohka means "rushing river" in the Sámi language.

Birdlife
The municipality of Kvalsund had several localities that had a rich and varied bird fauna. One of these was Repparfjordbotn with its large colony of Arctic terns and its autumn numbers of goosander.

Climate
Kvalsund has continental subarctic climate. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Dfc".