Nordvik is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The 114 km2 municipality existed from 1917 until its dissolution in 1962. The island municipality encompassed the southern part of the island of Dønna as well as the smaller surrounding islands of Vandve, Slapøya, Havstein, and many others in what is now the southern part of Dønna Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Solfjellsjøen. The municipality had 2 churches: Nordvik Church in the north and Hæstad Church in the south. Prior to its dissolution in 1962, the 114 km2 municipality was the 507th largest by area out of the 731 municipalities in Norway. Nordvik Municipality was the 589th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,315. The municipality's population density was 11.5 PD/km2 and its population had decreased by 14.1% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Nordvik was established on 1 July 1917 when the northern part of Herøy Municipality was divided into two with Nordvik in the north and Herøy in the south. Initially, Nordvik Municipality had a population of 1,530. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, Nordvik Municipality (population: 1,293) was merged with the part of Herøy Municipality located on the island of Dønna (population: 19), most of Dønnes Municipality (population: 1,348), and the part of Nesna Municipality on the island of Løkta (population: 80) to become the new Dønna Municipality.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Nordviken farm. The first element is which means "north". The last element is which means "bay" or "inlet from the sea".

Churches

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

Geography

The highest point in the municipality was the 855.1 m tall mountain Dønnmannen, on the southern border with Herøy Municipality. Nordvik Municipality was primarily located on the southern part of the island of Dønna plus many smaller surrounding islands. It was located south of Dønnes Municipality and north of Herøy Municipality.

Government

While it existed, Nordvik Municipality was 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 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.

Mayors

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

Municipal council

The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Nordvik was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.