Lurøy Municipality

Lurøy is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is located on the island of Onøya. Other villages in Lurøy include Aldra, Haugland, Konsvikosen, Lovund, Lurøy, Sleneset / Solværøyene, Stokkvågen, and Tonnes.

Lurøy Municipality Lurøy kommune
Municipality
Lurø herred  (historic name)
View of Tonnes in northern Lurøy
Flag Coat of arms
Nordland within Norway
Lurøy within Nordland
Coordinates: 66°25′55″N 12°51′18″E
Country	Norway
County	Nordland
District	Helgeland
Established	1 Jan 1838
• Created as	Formannskapsdistrikt
Administrative centre	Onøya
Government
• Mayor (2019)	Håkon Lund (H)
Area
• Total	265.16 km2 (102.38 sq mi)
• Land	258.11 km2 (99.66 sq mi)
• Water	7.04 km2 (2.72 sq mi)  2.7%
• Rank	#275 in Norway
Highest elevation [1]	1,172.7 m (3,847.4 ft)
Population  (2024)
• Total	1,886
• Rank	#288 in Norway
• Density	7.1/km2 (18/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	−0.8%
Demonym	Lurøyværing[2]
Official language [3]
• Norwegian form	Bokmål
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-1834[4]
Website	Official website
Data from Statistics Norway

The municipality is located on the coast just south of the Arctic Circle, on the western edge of the Saltfjellet mountain range. The Lurøygården (Lurøy Farm) on the island of Lurøya is a more-than-200-year-old renaissance garden with old plants, a pool, and a nearly 20-metre (66 ft) high Copper Beech.

The 265-square-kilometre (102 sq mi) municipality is the 275th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Lurøy is the 288th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,886. The municipality's population density is 7.1 inhabitants per square kilometre (18/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 0.8% over the previous 10-year period.^[5][6]

General information

View of the island Lovund

Lurøy was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1872, the far western island district (population: 289) was separated from Lurøy to become the new Træna Municipality. This left Lurøy with 1,554 residents. The borders of Lurøy have not changed since that time.^[7]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the island of Lurøya (Old Norse: Lúðrøy) since the first Lurøy Church was built there. The first element is lúðr which means "hollowed log" (here probably referring to the form of the mountain of the island). The last element is øy which means "island".^[8] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Lurø. On 6 January 1908, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Lurøy.^[9]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 22 August 1986. The official blazon is "Or, a navigation cairn sable" (Norwegian: I gull en svart sjøvarde). This means the arms have a field (background) that has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The charge is black navigational cairn. This was chosen to symbolize the local dependence on fishing and sailing in this island municipality. The arms were designed by Olga Nilsen after a proposal by Dagmar Vilfridadottir Olaisen.^[10][11][12]

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes (sokn) within Lurøy Municipality. It is part of the Nord-Helgeland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

Churches in Lurøy

Parish (sokn)	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Aldersund	Aldersund Church	Haugland	1971
Lurøy	Lovund Church	Lovund	1960
	Lurøy Church	Lurøya	1812
	Moflag Church	Moflaget	1921

Geography and climate

Lurøy is located on the western coast of Helgeland. The small strip of mainland Lurøy runs from Tonnes in the north along Norwegian County Road 17 to Stokkvågen along the Sjona fjord in the south. The rest of the municipality is located on 1,375 islands located to the west of the mainland. The major islands include Aldra, Lurøya, Onøya, Stigen, Solvær, and Lovund. There are also two islands in the northern part of Lurøya that are divided between Lurøy and neighboring Rødøy Municipality: Nesøya and Hestmona.^[13] The highest point in the municipality is the 1,172.7-metre (3,847 ft) tall mountain Strandtindan, a tripoint on the border of Lurøy Municipality, Rødøy Municipality, and Rana Municipality.^[1]

The populated islands are reached by car ferry from Stokkvågen on the mainland. The ferry reaches Onøy (which has a bridge to Lurøya), Solvær and Lovund 5 times per day.

Climate

The Norwegian Meteorological Institute has operated weather stations on Solvær islands since 1939. Data shows a marine west coast climate (oceanic climate) with very mild winters for the high latitude. Spring and summer are the driest seasons, while December is the wettest month. The all-time high was recorded in July 2018, and the all-time low is from February 1966. The average date for the last overnight freeze (low below 0 °C (32.0 °F)) in spring is 20 April^[14] and average date for first freeze in autumn is 5 November^[15] giving a frost-free season of 198 days (1981-2010 average for Solvær).

Climate data for Solvær 1991-2020 (10 m, precipitation days 1961-90, extremes 1954-2025)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	10.6 (51.1)	10.8 (51.4)	11.1 (52.0)	17.5 (63.5)	25.8 (78.4)	29.1 (84.4)	30.7 (87.3)	28 (82)	23.3 (73.9)	19.1 (66.4)	15.1 (59.2)	10.1 (50.2)	30.7 (87.3)
Daily mean °C (°F)	1.2 (34.2)	0.6 (33.1)	1.5 (34.7)	4.3 (39.7)	7.5 (45.5)	10.7 (51.3)	13.2 (55.8)	13.4 (56.1)	11 (52)	7.1 (44.8)	4.2 (39.6)	2.4 (36.3)	6.4 (43.6)
Record low °C (°F)	−14.5 (5.9)	−16 (3)	−10.2 (13.6)	−6.4 (20.5)	−2.5 (27.5)	0.3 (32.5)	4.4 (39.9)	3.9 (39.0)	0.5 (32.9)	−5.2 (22.6)	−8 (18)	−13.5 (7.7)	−16 (3)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	119 (4.7)	107 (4.2)	94 (3.7)	71 (2.8)	78 (3.1)	69 (2.7)	86 (3.4)	101 (4.0)	132 (5.2)	115 (4.5)	117 (4.6)	142 (5.6)	1,231 (48.5)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	16	14	14	13	11	11	14	14	18	20	17	18	180
Source: Norwegian Meteorological Institute[16]

Farms of Lurøy

Historically, the land of Lurøy was divided up into named farms. These farms were used in census and tax records and are useful for genalogical research.

Farm maps

Note: Coordinates are approximate. The map has been divided into parts consistent with the enumeration districts (Norwegian: tellingskrets) in the 1920 census of Norway. This map will include one farm name per farm number; other farm names or subdivision numbers may exist.

Lurøy

4km
2.5miles

56

56 Moflag church

55

Aldersund church

54

54 Lovund church

53

Lurøy church

52

52 Lurøy school

51

50

49

48

47

46

45

44

43

42

41

40

39

38

37

36

35

34

33

32

31

30

29

28

27

26

25

24

23

22

21

20

19

18

17

16

15

14

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

1

   

Farms:

1

Lovunden

2

Grønningen

3

Troldøen

4

Sengsdraget

5

Juløen

6

Risvær

7

Solvær søndre

8

Moflaget

9

Slaaterøen

10

Ulvøen

11

Lunderøen

12

Solvær norde

13

Reløen

14

Kvitvær

15

Sandvær

16

Maavær

17

Sutternes

18

Lurøen

19

Svinøen

20

Onøen indre

21

Onøen ytre

22

Stoksvik

23

Sjonøen

24

Sundet

25

Klippingvaag

26

Silen

27

Bogen

28

Røitvik

29

Selnes

30

Haugland

31

Aas (Ås)

32

Vatnet

33

Bratland

34

Lien

35

Olvikvatnet

36

Alderen

37

Hjart

38

Aspnes

39

Ørnes

40

Stuvland

41

Okstind

42

Fingammen

43

Kvinen

44

Konsvik

45

Kokviken

46

Aspdalen

47

Tonnes

48

Kvarøen indre

49

Kvarøen ytre

50

Hestmoen

51

Nesøen søndre

52

Lurøy school

53

Lurøy church (built 1812)

54

Lovund church (built 1960)

55

Aldersund church (built 1971)

56

Moflag church (built 1921)

Farm names and numbers

Following are the farms in Lurøy municipality, as they are listed in O. Rygh's series "Norske Gaardnavne" ("Norwegian Farm Names"), the Nordland volume of which was published in 1905.

See also: Digital version of Norske Gaardnavne - Nordland (in Norwegian)

The farm numbers are used in some census records, and numbers that are near each other indicate that those farms are geographically proximate. Handwritten Norwegian sources, particularly those prior to 1800, may use variants on these names. For recorded variants before 1723, see the digital version of O. Rygh.

Farm names were often used as part of Norwegian names, in addition to the person's given name and patronymic or inherited surname. Some families retained the farm name, or toponymic, as a surname when they emigrated, so in those cases tracing a surname may tell you specifically where in Norway the family was from. This tradition began to change in the mid to late 19th century, and inherited surnames were codified into law in 1923.

If you can't find an entry when you are searching for a word that starts with AE, Ae, O, A or Aa, it may have been transcribed from one of those letters not used in English. Try looking for it under the Norwegian letter; Æ, Ø, and Å appear at the end of the Norwegian alphabet.

Farm Name	Farm Number
Lovunden	1
Grønningen	2
Troldøen	3
Sengsdraget	4
Juløen	5
Risvær	6
Solvær søndre	7
Moflaget	8
Slaaterøen	9
Ulvøen	10
Lunderøen	11
Solvær norde	12
Reløen	13
Kvitvær	14
Sandvær	15
Maavær	16
Sutternes	17
Lurøen (island)	18
Svinøen	19
Onøen indre	20
Onøen ytre	21
Stoksvik	22
Sjonøen	23
Sundet	24
Klippingvaag	25
Kokviken	25, 3
Silen	26
Bogen	27
Røitvik	28
Selnes	29
Haugland	30
Aas (Ås)	31
Vatnet	32
Bratland	33
Lien	34
Olvikvatnet	35
Alderen	36
Hjart	37
Aspnes	38
Ørnes	39
Stuvland	40
Okstind	41
Fingammen	42
Kvinen	43
Konsvik	44
Kokviken	45
Aspdalen	46
Tonnes	47
Kvarøen indre	48
Kvarøen ytre	49
Hestmoen	50
Nesøen søndre	51

Government

Lurøy 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.^[17] The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Helgeland District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Lurøy 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.

Lurøy kommunestyre 2023–2027 ^[18]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	5
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	2
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	7
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Coastal Party (Kystpartiet)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	3
Total number of members:		19

Lurøy kommunestyre 2019–2023 ^[19]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	6
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	2
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	4
	Coastal Party (Kystpartiet)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	6
Total number of members:		19

Lurøy kommunestyre 2015–2019 ^[20]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	6
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	1
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Coastal Party (Kystpartiet)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	6
	Lovund Cross-Party List (Lovund Tverrpolitiske Liste)	1
Total number of members:		19

Lurøy kommunestyre 2011–2015 ^[21]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	8
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	1
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Coastal Party (Kystpartiet)	2
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	2
	Lovund Cross-Party List (Lovund Tverrpolitiske Liste)	2
Total number of members:		19

Lurøy kommunestyre 2007–2011 ^[20]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	7
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	1
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Coastal Party (Kystpartiet)	4
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	4
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
	Lovund cross-party list (Lovund tverrpolitiske liste)	1
Total number of members:		19

Lurøy kommunestyre 2003–2007 ^[20]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	8
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	1
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Coastal Party (Kystpartiet)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	3
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
	Lovund cross-party list (Lovund Tverrpolitiske Liste)	2
Total number of members:		19

Lurøy kommunestyre 1999–2003 ^[20]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	1
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Coastal Party (Kystpartiet)	3
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	5
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
	Joint list of the Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) and the Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	8
Total number of members:		19

Lurøy kommunestyre 1995–1999 ^[22]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	8
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	2
	Joint list of the Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) and the Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	10
Total number of members:		23

Lurøy kommunestyre 1991–1995 ^[23]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	7
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	7
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	2
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
Total number of members:		21

Lurøy kommunestyre 1987–1991 ^[24]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	9
	Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)	1
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	3
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Centre Party (Senterpartiet)	4
	Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti)	1
	Liberal Party (Venstre)	1
	Cross-party election list for Aas school area (Tverrpolitisk valgliste for Aas skolekrets)	1
Total number of members:		21

Lurøy kommunestyre 1983–1987 ^[25]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	10
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	4
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	2
	Joint list of the Centre Party (Senterpartiet) and the Liberal Party (Venstre)	5
Total number of members:		21

Lurøy kommunestyre 1979–1983 ^[26]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	4
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	3
	Election list for the Lurøy interior and Aldra (Valgliste for Lurøy innland og Aldra)	6
	Election list for the Gnog, Lurøy, Kvarøy and Sornesøy areas (Valgliste for Gnog, Lurøy, Kvarøy og Sornesøy kretser)	5
	Election list for the Moflag area (Valgliste for Moflag krets)	2
	Lovund local list (Lovund kretsliste)	1
Total number of members:		21

Lurøy kommunestyre 1975–1979 ^[27]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Election list for the Lurøy interior, Aldra, and Kvarøy (Valgliste for Lurøy innland, Aldra, og Kvarøy)	9
	Election list for the Onøy, Lurøy, Kvarøy and Sornesøy areas (Valgliste for Onøy, Lurøy, Kvarøy og Sornesøy kretser)	6
	Election list for the Moflag and North Solvær areas (Valgliste for Moflag og Nord-Solvær krets)	4
	Lovund local list (Lovund kretsliste)	2
Total number of members:		21

Lurøy kommunestyre 1971–1975 ^[28]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	21
Total number of members:		21

Lurøy kommunestyre 1967–1971 ^[29]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	2
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	2
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	17
Total number of members:		21

Lurøy kommunestyre 1963–1967 ^[30]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	6
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	2
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	13
Total number of members:		21

Lurøy herredsstyre 1959–1963 ^[31]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	6
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	1
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	14
Total number of members:		21

Lurøy herredsstyre 1955–1959 ^[32]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	8
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	1
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	5
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	7
Total number of members:		21

Lurøy herredsstyre 1951–1955 ^[33]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	8
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	2
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	10
Total number of members:		20

Lurøy herredsstyre 1947–1951 ^[34]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	9
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	7
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	4
Total number of members:		20

Lurøy herredsstyre 1945–1947 ^[35]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	11
	Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti)	1
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	7
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	1
Total number of members:		20

Lurøy herredsstyre 1937–1941* ^[36]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	6
	List of workers, fishermen, and small farmholders (Arbeidere, fiskere, småbrukere liste)	2
	Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister)	4
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	8
Total number of members:		20
Note: Due to the German occupation of Norway during World War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945.

Mayors

The mayor (Norwegian: ordfører) of Lurøy 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:^[37]

• 1838-1840: Christian Eilert Rasch
• 1840-1845: Daniel Strøm Dundas
• 1846-1850: Carl Nicolai Bugge
• 1850-1854: Benjamin Olsen
• 1854-1860: Jeremias Willichsen
• 1860-1864: John Erik Steffensen
• 1865-1865: Paul Christian Føyn
• 1865-1866: Jens Christian Pettersen Tønder
• 1867-1869: John Erik Steffensen
• 1869-1870: Cornelius Eitran
• 1871-1875: Iver Olsen Riise
• 1875-1881: Knut Hansen
• 1881-1884: Anders Knutsen
• 1885-1886: Laurits Torgersen
• 1886-1886: Martin Israelsen
• 1887-1896: Mathias Knutsen
• 1896-1922: Isak Dundas
• 1922-1941: Jakob Victor Hansen
• 1941-1943: Fredrik Thorstein Krüger
• 1943-1945: Peder Larsen
• 1945-1947: Aubert Jentoft
• 1947-1961: Torvald Brandser
• 1961-1963: Ivar Riise
• 1963-1971: Torleif Hansen
• 1971-1973: Per Rise
• 1973-1975: Egil Fjellgård
• 1975-1978: Nils Nermark
• 1979-1988: Johannes Bentzen (Sp)
• 1988-2007: Steinar A. Joakimsen (Ap)
• 2007-2011: Carl Einar Isachsen, Jr. (Sp)
• 2011-2015: Bjørnar Skjæran (Ap)
• 2015-2019: Carl Einar Isachsen, Jr. (Sp)
• 2019–present: Håkon Lund (H)

Media gallery

• 
  Aldersundet strait and Aldra island; October 8, 2005
• 
  The island Lovund with its puffin colony is located in Lurøy
• 
  Aldersundet, October 2005

Notable people

• Harry Johan Olai Klippenvåg (1913 in Lurøy – 1994), a Norwegian politician, Mayor of Sør-Varanger in 1940's & 50's
• Herluf Nygaard (1916 in Lurøy – 2001), a Norwegian military officer, active resistance fighter during WWII