Folden is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The 2271 km2 municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1887. Folden encompassed all of the areas surrounding the Folda fjord and all of the fjord branches that connect to the main fjord. It included all the areas in what is now Sørfold Municipality, plus the Kjerringøy area of Bodø Municipality, and the southeastern part of the Steigen Municipality. The administrative centre was the small village of Rørstad, where the old Rørstad Church is located.

General information

The municipality of Folden was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). The municipality existed until 1 January 1887, when it was divided into two new municipalities: Nordfolden-Kjerringø Municipality and Sørfold Municipality. Before the partition, Folden had a population of 3,293.

Name

The municipality is named after the local Folda fjord. The name is derived from the word fold which probably means "broad" or "wide" referring to the width of the fjord. The outer part of the fjord is usually what is referred to as the Folda fjord, while the inner part of the fjord is divided into two arms Nordfolda ("the northern Folda") and Sørfolda ("the southern Folda").

Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within Folden Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Folden prestegjeld and the Søndre Salten prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

Geography

The municipality was quite large, stretching from the mountainous border with Sweden to the open ocean in the west. The highest point in the municipality was the 1663.6 m tall mountain Skagmatoppen, on the border with Sweden. Steigen Municipality was to the northwest, Hamarøy Municipality was to the north, Sweden was to the east, and Fauske Municipality and Bodin Municipality were to the south.

Government

During its existence, Folden Municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.

Mayors

The mayor of Folden was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who held this position: