Nesseby Municipality

or (also unofficially Uuniemi in Kven and Finnish) is a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Varangerbotn. Other villages in Nesseby include Gandvik, Karlebotn, Nesseby, Grasbakken and Nyelv. The European route E06 and European route E75 highways intersect at Varangerbotn in Nesseby.

The 1437 km2 municipality is the 62nd largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Nesseby is the 344th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 859. The municipality's population density is 0.6 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 6.5% over the previous 10-year period.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) was originally named after the old Næsseby farm since the first Nesseby Church was built there. The first element comes from the word which means "headland". The last element is which means "town". Thus it's the "town on the headland". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Næsseby. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Nesseby.

In 1989, the municipality formally changed its name to Unjárga-Nesseby. It was the second municipality in Norway to get a Sami name. This name was the old Sami name for the area. The meaning of the first element (u-) in the Sami name is unknown and the last element is njárga which means "headland". In 2005, the name was again changed, such that either Unjárga or Nesseby can be used. The spelling of the Sami language name changes depending on how it is used. It is called Unjárga when it is spelled alone, but it is Unjárgga gielda when using the Sami language equivalent to "Nesseby municipality".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 27 June 1986. The official blazon is "Gules, a cloudberry plant Or couped at base" (I rødt en opprett gul molteplante). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a cloudberry plant (Rubus chamaemorus). The cloudberry plant has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. Cloudberry plants are commonly found in the municipality and the Finnmark region, growing in marshes and wet fields. The berries are collected and eaten locally as well as commercially exported to other parts of Norway. The berries are at first red, but when ripe they get a golden or orange colour, so the colour combination of yellow and red was used on the arms to represent this. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen.

History


The most important winter market (during the 17th and 18th century) in Sapmi, was in present-day Nesseby municipality; in 2024, media said that archaeology has pinpointed the market to 1 km West of Karlebotn.

Wild reindeer used to cross the isthmus in prehistoric times until the year 1900, causing extensive human activity throughout the millennia. Therefore, the area is full of archeological finds from different periods.

Establishment of a municipality
The municipality of Nesseby was originally established in 1839 a year after the formannskapsdistrikt law went into effect. The large Vadsø landdistrikt municipality was divided and the western portion became Nesseby Municipality. Initially, there were 598 residents. This was short-lived, however, since the two were merged back together in 1858. On 1 January 1864, Nesseby Municipality was re-created from the western district of Vadsø landdistrikt. The initial population (this time) was 886. On 1 January 1903, the western part of Nesseby Municipality (population: 450) was separated to form the new Polmak Municipality.

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.

Economy
In 2013, 26% of jobs of in the municipality were within the health sector and social sector; 8% were within education; there were 373 jobs in the municipality. The hydroelectric power station, Gandvik kraftverk produces [around] 20.1 GWh (as of 2021).

Commercial fish processing has been going on at Kløvnes since 2017.

The innermost marina in the Varanger Fjord (Kløvnes havn near Nesseby Church) is operating at full capacity - 32 vessels; many of those are fishing vessels.

Geography
The municipality is situated on the isthmus between the Varangerfjord and the Tana River at the entrance to the Varanger Peninsula. All the people live in small settlements along the fjord. Varangerhalvøya National Park is partially located in the park. The river Jakobselva partially forms the border between Nesseby Municipality and Vadsø Municipality to the northeast. The highest point in the municipality is the 520 m tall mountain Midthaugen.

Birdlife
The municipality of Unjárga-Nesseby is known for its interesting birding localities and is mentioned in several birding guide books. Other than the Varangerford, the main habitat is tundra with areas of bog and marsh. One species that can usually be seen on small ponds during the summer months is the red-necked phalarope.

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 Nesseby 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 Nesseby:


 * 1846–1847: Jørris Schelderup Hansen
 * 1848–1849: Johan Christian Astrup
 * 1849–1850: Jørris Schelderup Hansen
 * 1850–1853: Christian Sommerfelt
 * 1854-1854: Carl Johan Scanche
 * 1855-1855: Christian Andreassen
 * 1855–1856: Christian Sommerfelt
 * 1856–1857: Christian Andreassen
 * 1857–1859: Carl Johan Scanche
 * 1859–1860: Andreas Nordvi
 * 1863-1863: Hieronymus Heyerdahl
 * 1865–1876: Otto Andreas Pleym, Sr.
 * 1877–1879: Olaf Olafsen Lassen
 * 1880-1880: Otto Andreas Pleym, Sr.
 * 1881–1898: Johan Bjørvik Jacobsen
 * 1899–1904: Otto Andreas Pleym, Jr.
 * 1905–1913: Anton Olsen Hoem
 * 1914–1915: Isak Saba (Ap)
 * 1916–1925: Kristian Martin Andersen
 * 1926–1931: Erling Hoem
 * 1932–1934: Bernhard Haldorsen Skauge
 * 1935–1937: Herman Anton Losvik
 * 1938–1940: Julius Herman Endresen
 * 1944–1945: Sverre Oskar Raddum
 * 1945-1945: Julius Herman Endresen
 * 1946–1950: Andreas Gustav Adolf Berg
 * 1951–1954: Mathis Johan Saba
 * 1954-1954: Julius Leonhard Johansen
 * 1955-1955: Per Nilsen Balk
 * 1956–1959: Truls Holm
 * 1959-1959: Johan Petter Store
 * 1960–1961: Einar Leonhard Samuelsen
 * 1962–1967: Per Nilsen Balk
 * 1968–1971: Otto Bjørvik Pleym (H)
 * 1972–1975: Johan Per Erik Store (Ap)
 * 1976–1979: Einar Rudolf Johansen (Ap)
 * 1980–1983: Øystein Nilsen (Sp)
 * 1984–1987: Einar Rudolf Johansen (Ap)
 * 1988–1989: Thore Andreas Sundfær (Ap)
 * 1990–1991: Mari-Ann Nilssen (H)
 * 1991–1999: Jarle-Wilfred Andreassen (Ap)
 * 1999–2003: Thore Andreas Sundfær (Ap)
 * 2003–2007: Ann-Jorid Henriksen (Ap)
 * 2007–2011: Inger Katrine Juuso (Ap)
 * 2011–2023: Knut Inge Store (Ap)
 * 2023–present: Berit Ranveig Nilssen (LL)

Culture
The building that is likely the oldest, is at [Nesseby graveyard] Nesseby kirkegård; it is [a small hut made of timber] tømmerstue, and it is probably from when the first chapel was built (year 1718) at Angsnes - further inside the fjord, according to media.

Grasbakken (settlement) has its landmark building; It has the appearance of a small church; It was built as a pentecostal church, but later sold to an association of community members of Grasbakken.

Sami culture
Most inhabitants are of Sami origin, and today Sami is being taught as the first language in schools. The municipality has its own Sami costume.

A survey conducted on behalf of the Sami Language Council in the year 2000 showed that 75 percent of the population are Sami speakers.

The Norwegian Sami Parliament's department of culture and environment is located in Unjárga-Nesseby. The Várjjat Sámi Museum is located in the municipality. The museum is about the sea-sami culture. Unjárga-Nesseby is also the birthplace of Isak Saba the first Sami to be elected into the Norwegian Parliament.

'A municipality of Coastal Sami', or sjøsamekommune, is a description used by media and the government of Norway.

The popular teen-age pop-band The Blacksheeps come from Nesseby.

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

Notable people

 * Søren Kristian Sommerfelt (1851–1934), a Lutheran priest
 * Anathon Aall (1867–1943), an academic, philosopher, and psychologist
 * Isak Saba (1874–1921), the first Sami to be elected to the Stortinget
 * Finn Lützow-Holm (1890–1950), a military officer, aviation pioneer, and polar explorer
 * Anton Johnson Brandt (1893–1951), a veterinarian and academic
 * Signe Iversen (born 1956), a Sami-language consultant and author of children's literature
 * Raimo Valle (born 1965), a civil servant and politician for the Labour Party
 * Silje Karine Muotka (born 1975), a member of the Sami Parliament of Norway
 * Kirsti Bergstø (born 1981), a politician for the Socialist Left Party
 * Agnete Johnsen (born 1994), a musician and lead singer of The BlackSheeps