Sandnessjøen (historically named Stamnes) is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The 45 km2 municipality existed from 1899 until its dissolution in 1965. The municipality encompassed the northern part of the island of Alsta in what is now Alstahaug Municipality. Originally, it (briefly) also included all of what is now Leirfjord Municipality as well. The administrative centre of the municipality was the town of Sandnessjøen. Prior to its dissolution in 1965, the 45 km2 municipality was the 473rd largest by area out of the 525 municipalities in Norway. Sandnessjøen Municipality was the 254th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 3,753. The municipality's population density was 83.6 PD/km2 and its population had increased by 44.9% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Stamnes was established on 1 July 1899 when the old Alstahaug Municipality was divided into two. Originally, it consisted of the northern part of the island of Alsta and the mainland area around the Leirfjorden. Initially, Stamnes Municipality had 2,673 residents. On 1 July 1915, the mainland district of Stamnes Municipality (population: 2,003) was separated to form the new Leirfjord Municipality. This left Stamnes Municipality with 1,059 residents. In 1948, Stamnes Municipality was renamed Sandnessjøen Municipality, after Sandnessjøen, the main town in the small municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, Sandnessjøen Municipality (population: 3,856) was merged with most of Alstahaug Municipality (population: 970) and most of Tjøtta Municipality (population: 1,477) to form a new, larger Alstahaug Municipality.

Name

The municipality is named after the old Stamnes farm since the first Stamnes Church was built there. The first element is which is the word for the "mast/stem of a ship". The last element is which means "headland". Thus it is referring to the large mast-like peninsula on which the village of Stamnes was located. On 1 July 1948, a royal resolution changed the name of the municipality to Sandnessjøen, after the main town in the municipality. The town was named after the old Sandnes farm since the town grew up on the grounds of the old farm. The first element is which means "sand". The second element is which means "headland". The last element (-sjøen) was added on after the name of the farm. This word which means "the sea", thus it is the "sandy peninsula along the sea".

Churches

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

Geography

The highest point in the municipality was the 1072 m tall mountain Botnkrona, part of the De syv søstre on the border with Alstahaug Municipality.

Government

While it existed, Sandnessjøen 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.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Sandnessjøen was made up of 21 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

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