Skjervøy Municipality

Skjervøy Municipality (Skjervøy kommune, ; Kieruan komuuni) is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Skjervøy on the island of Skjervøya, where most of the inhabitants live. The main industries are fishing and shipbuilding. Other villages in the municipality include Akkarvik and Arnøyhamn.

The 474 km2 municipality is the 211th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Skjervøy is the 240th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,794. The municipality's population density is 5.9 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 3% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The large municipality of Skjervøe (later spelled Skjervøy) was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1863, the southeastern (inland) part of the municipality (population: 1,677) was separated to form the new Kvænangen Municipality. This left 2,785 people in Skjervøy. Then on 1 January 1886, the southern part of the municipality (population: 1,057) was separated from Skjervøy to form the new Nordreisa Municipality. This left 2,096 inhabitants in Skjervøy Municipality.

On 1 January 1890, the Trætten and Loppevolden farms (population: 32) were transferred from Skjervøy Municipality to Nordreisa Municipality. On 1 January 1965, the Meilands area (population: 12) was transferred to Kvænangen Municipality. On 1 January 1972, the southern part of the island of Uløya and most of Skjervøy Municipality located on the mainland (population: 1,556) were all transferred from Skjervøy Municipality to Nordreisa Municipality. Also on that date, the uninhabited Mannskarvik farm was transferred from Skjervøy Municipality to Kvænangen Municipality. Then on 1 January 1982, the Hamneidet area on the mainland (population: 128) was transferred from Skjervøy Municipality to Nordreisa Municipality. After this, Skjervøy Municipality only included land on islands and nothing on the mainland.

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 small island of Skjervøya (Skerføy) since the first Skjervøy Church was built there. The first element is which means "rocky ground". The last element is which means "island". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Skjervøe or Skjervø. On 6 January 1908, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Skjervøy.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 27 March 1987. The official blazon is "Argent, a cormorant head erased sable" (I sølv et svart skarvehode). This means the arms have a field (background) with a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The charge is the head of a cormorant which has a tincture of sable. The arms are partly canting since the Norwegian word skarf means cormorant and that word is similar to the name Skjervøy. The cormorant also symbolizes the coastal municipality, which (like the bird) is dependent on fishing for its living. The cormorant is also a common bird in the area. The arms were designed by Kåre Bondesen and Jan Roald Andreassen.

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

History
Skjervøy Church dates back to 1728 and it is the oldest wooden church in Troms county. The village of Maursund is an old trading post with well-preserved 19th-century houses.

Government
Skjervøy Municipality is 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 Nord-Troms og Senja District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Skjervøy is made up of 19 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 (ordførere) of Skjervøy:


 * 1837–1838: Jens Schmidt
 * 1839–1840: Peder Borch Lund
 * 1841–1853: Samuel Bugge Giæver
 * 1854–1858: Andreas Qvale
 * 1859–1860: Peder Borch Lund
 * 1861–1866: Andreas Qvale
 * 1867–1868: Simon Kildal Giæver
 * 1869–1872: Christian Magelssen
 * 1873–1874: Bendiks Bæverdahl
 * 1875–1878: Christian Magelssen
 * 1879–1880: Johannes Holmboe Giæver
 * 1881–1892: John Hagen (V)
 * 1893–1894: Ivar Lund
 * 1895–1896: Peder Martin Blyth Daae
 * 1897–1901: Johan Georgsen
 * 1902–1913: Marcelius Hansen (V)
 * 1914–1922: Thorvald Hoseth Giæver
 * 1923–1925: Marcelius Hansen (V)
 * 1926–1941: Rønning Østgaard (Bp)
 * 1945-1945: Nils Jacobsen
 * 1945-1945: Peder Rasmus Dyrkoren
 * 1945-1945: Thorvald Hoseth Giæver
 * 1946–1963: Lars Hallen (Ap)
 * 1964–1971: John Steffensen (Ap)
 * 1972–1982: Aksel Jørgensen (V)
 * 1983–1995: Kurt Leif Strøm (H)
 * 1995–2011: Roy Waage (KrF/K)
 * 2011–2015: Torgeir Johnsen (K/Sp)
 * 2015–present: Ørjan Albrigtsen (KrF)

Geography
The island municipality is surrounded by the Norwegian Sea to the north, Ullsfjorden to the west, Lyngenfjorden to the southwest, Reisafjorden to the southeast, and Kvænangen fjord to the east. The municipality consists of several islands, the major one being Arnøya, with the villages of Årviksand, Akkarvik, and Arnøyhamn. Most people, however, live on the relatively small island of Skjervøya, where more than 2,316 people live in the central village of Skjervøy with its sheltered harbour. The other islands include Haukøya, Kågen, Laukøya, Vorterøya, and the northern half of Uløya. Kågen and Skjervøya are connected by the Skjervøy Bridge. Kågen is connected to the mainland by the Maursund Tunnel. The highest point in the municipality is the 1229.58 m tall mountain Store Kågtinden on the island of Kågen.

Climate
Skjervøy has continental subarctic climate. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Dfc". The Norwegian Meteorological Institute has been operating a weather station in Skjervøy since 1936.

Transportation
The Hurtigruten (coastal cruise and cargo ship service) stops at the village of Skjervøy. There is also a scheduled express ferry operated by Boreal Transport Nord AS with intermediate stops between the village of Skjervøy and the city of Tromsø. The undersea Maursund Tunnel connects this island with the mainland to the south. There are also ferry connections between the islands of Arnøya and Laukøya offered by both Boreal Transport Nord AS and Torghatten Nord AS. Sørkjosen Airport offers flights to Tromsø and several destinations in Finnmark.

Notable people

 * Leonhard Seppala (1877-1967), a Norwegian-Kven dog musher who was brought up in Skjervøy
 * Knut Werner Hansen (born 1951 in Skjervøy), a Norwegian politician and county mayor of Troms
 * Hanne Grete Einarsen (born 1966), a Norwegian-Sami artist who was brought up in Skjervøy
 * Odd-Karl Stangnes (born 1968 in Skjervøy), a football coach and former player
 * Kristina Torbergsen (born 1987 in Skjervøy), a Norwegian politician