Værøy is an island municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Lofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sørland on the main island of Værøya. The other village in Værøy is Nordland. Most of the residents live in the Sørland area surrounding the main harbor. The old Værøy Lighthouse sits at the end of that harbor. The 19 km2 municipality is the 352nd largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Værøy is the 348th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of only 683. The municipality's population density is 36.6 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 12.1% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

Værøy Municipality was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 July 1928, the southern district of Værøy (population: 731) was separated to become the new Røst Municipality. The borders have not changed since that time.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the island of Værøya since the first Værøy Church was built there. The first element is the word which means "weather" (here referring to harsh weather and the exposed and unsheltered position of the island). The last element is which means "island". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Værø. On 6 January 1908, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Værøy.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 7 October 1988. The official blazon is "Azure, a puffin argent armed gules". This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a puffin. The puffin has 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 also "armed gules" which means that the beak and feet are colored red. The blue color in the field symbolizes the importance of the sea. The churge is a puffin to represent the fact that they nest in large numbers in the area and historically, they held great importance for the island municipality, both for meat and down feathers. The arms were designed by John Digernes.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within Værøy Municipality. It is part of the Bodø domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

Geography

The island municipality is made up of many islands, the two largest islands being Værøya and Mosken. It is located at the end of the Lofoten archipelago. The Norwegian Sea lies to the northwest and the Vestfjorden lies to the southeast. The Moskenstraumen maelstrom lies to the north between Værøya and Moskenesøya. The highest point in the municipality is the 450.13 m tall mountain Nordlandsnupen, on the south side of the village of Nordland.

Climate

The weather in Værøy can be very changeable. Sunshine, rain, wind, and mist may interchange rapidly. The winter climate is mild and the temperature seldom drops much below 0 C even in mid-winter. This makes conditions for stockfish exceptionally good. Røst and Værøy are among the most northern locations in the world where there is no meteorological winter because the average temperature generally stays above freezing all year. The winter temperatures in southern Lofoten represent the highest temperature anomaly in the world relative to latitude. However, the winter weather is rather windy. The polar night occurs from 13 to 29 December and the midnight sun occurs from 28 May to 15 July. Værøy has a subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc) with short, cool summers and long, but not very cold, winters. The all-time low of -9.5 C since recording started in 2005 is extremely mild for a location north of the Arctic Circle, and even milder than the record low for Madrid, Spain or Jacksonville, Florida.

Government

Værøy 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 Salten og Lofoten District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Værøy is made up of 13 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 mayor of Værøy is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position (incomplete list):

Transportation

Helicopter transport is available from Bodø at the Værøy Heliport in Sørland. There was airplane service at Værøy Airport, but it was discontinued after the Værøy accident in 1990 in which five people died. The airport was determined to be in a bad position, due to the location next to a mountain and the frequent presence of strong and unpredictable winds, which made takeoffs and landings dangerous. Ferry service is also available from Bodø, Moskenes, and Røst.

Tourist attractions

In literature

Notable people