Lyngen Municipality

Lyngen Municipality Lyngen kommune Ivggu suohkan (Northern Sami) Yykeän komuuni (Kven)
Municipality
The peninsula as seen by Sentinel-2
Flag Coat of arms
Troms within Norway
Lyngen within Troms
Coordinates: 69°41′25″N 20°04′54″E / 69.69028°N 20.08167°E / 69.69028; 20.08167
Country	Norway
County	Troms
District	Nord-Troms
Established	1 Jan 1838
• Created as	Formannskapsdistrikt
Administrative centre	Lyngseidet
Government
• Mayor (2023)	Eirik Larsen (Local list)
Area
• Total	812.70 km2 (313.79 sq mi)
• Land	795.12 km2 (307.00 sq mi)
• Water	17.58 km2 (6.79 sq mi)  2.2%
• Rank	#141 in Norway
Highest elevation [1]	1,834 m (6,017 ft)
Population  (2024)
• Total	2,743
• Rank	#242 in Norway
• Density	3.4/km2 (9/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	−8.3%
Demonym	Lyngsfjerding[2]
Official language [3]
• Norwegian form	Neutral
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-5536[4]
Website	Official website
Data from Statistics Norway

Lyngen (Northern Sami: Ivgu; Kven: Yykeä^[5]) is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lyngseidet. Other notable villages include Furuflaten, Lattervika, Nord-Lenangen, and Svensby.

The 813-square-kilometre (314 sq mi) municipality is the 141st largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Lyngen is the 242nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,743. The municipality's population density is 3.4 inhabitants per square kilometre (8.8/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 8.3% over the previous 10-year period.^[6][7]

The parish of Lyngen was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1867, the southern mainland part of Karlsøy Municipality (population: 862) surrounding the Sørfjorden (innermost part of the Ullsfjorden) was transferred to Lyngen.

Then on 1 January 1875, a small part of Lyngen (population: 7) was transferred to the neighboring Balsfjord Municipality. On 1 January 1902, the Sørfjorden area (population: 1,139) was separated from Lyngen to form the new Sørfjord Municipality. This left Lyngen Municipality with 5,102 residents. On 21 June 1929, a royal resolution was issued that divided the large municipality of Lyngen into three parts. The northwestern part (population: 2,225) remained as Lyngen municipality. The northeastern part (population: 2,482) became the new Kåfjord Municipality. The southern part (population: 1,499) became the new Storfjord Municipality.^[8]

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the northern part of the Lyngen peninsula that was part of Karlsøy Municipality (population: 1,001) and with the Svensby area of Ullsfjord Municipality (population: 171) was merged with Lyngen Municipality (population: 2,761) to form a new, larger Lyngen Municipality. Then on 1 January 1992, the part of Lyngen Municipality located on the eastern shore of the Lyngenfjorden was removed from Lyngen. The Nordnes village area (population: 38) in the northern part of this area was transferred to the neighboring Kåfjord Municipality, and the unpopulated southern part was transferred to the neighboring Storfjord Municipality.^[9]

On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed Troms og Finnmark county. Previously, it had been part of the old Troms county.^[10] On 1 January 2024, the Troms og Finnmark county was divided and the municipality once again became part of Troms county.^[11]

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after local Lyngen fjord (Old Norse: Lygnir). The name derived from the word logn which means "quiet", "still", or "calm".^[12]

The coat of arms was granted on 11 September 1987. The official blazon is "Argent, a horse forcene regardant sable" (Norwegian: I sølv en oppreist svart hest med hodet vendt bakover). This means the arms have a field (background) with 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 a black horse (specifically, a local breed called Lyngshest). The horse is standing on its hind legs and its head is turned so it is looking backwards. The silver or white color in the field symbolizes the importance of the sea and fishing industry and the horse represents the local agriculture. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen.^[13][14][15]

The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within Lyngen Municipality. It is part of the Nord-Troms prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.

The Lyngen Church was built at Karnes in 1731, and was moved to its present location at Lyngseidet in 1740. In 1775, the church was rebuilt in its current cruciform shape, with the material from the old church used for a boathouse in Oldervik. Finally in 1840–1845, the church was renovated with a new tower, galleries, windows and panelling.^[16]

Other interesting buildings include the large wooden school in Solhov, which was built in 1924 to strengthen the Norwegian influence in this area which was largely populated by the Sami people and Kven people.

Lyngen has also lent its name to the Lyngen line, a defensive line at the pinch point between the Lyngen fjord and the mountains. The line was first established during the German occupation of Norway and the main purpose was to halt a Soviet invasion.^[17] During the Cold War the Norwegian Army continued to reinforce the Lyngen lined against a possible invasion from the east. However, there were always worries that the Soviets could also advance through Finland and the sparsely defended extreme north of Sweden (north of Kiruna, south of Treriksröset) and attack the Lyngen position from the rear via Signaldalen.

The municipality is situated on the Lyngen Peninsula, with the Lyngen fjord to the east and Ullsfjorden to the west. The municipal centre is the village of Lyngseidet, a pretty settlement on an isthmus that almost cuts the peninsula in the middle. Other villages include Furuflaten, which has various industries, and Svensby. Nord-Lenangen faces the open sea, and is largely a fishing village. The municipality has its own shipping company, operating the car ferries west to Breivikeidet in Tromsø Municipality and east to Olderdalen in Kåfjord Municipality where the European route E6 highway can be accessed. There is also a road going south along the shore of the fjord connecting to the main E6 road, giving ferry-free access to the main road network.

The Lyngen peninsula is a very scenic and mountainous area, known as the Lyngen Alps, with the highest peaks in Troms county. The highest peak in the municipality is Jiehkkevárri, reaching 1,834 metres (6,017 ft).^[1] Another prominent mountain is Store Lenangstind. The Strupbreen lies in this mountain range, northwest of Lyngseidet. The Lyngen Alps are used frequently by off-piste skiers from around the world.

Winters in Lyngen are long and snow-rich, but not very cold considering the very northerly latitude. Average 24-hr temperatures are below freezing from November to early April, with a January average of −4.5 °C (24 °F). May is cool, with an average of 5.5 °C (42 °F); summer temperatures usually arrives in June. July is the warmest month with 24-hr average of 12.5 °C (55 °F); August's average is 11.6 °C (53 °F) and October's is 3.5 °C (38 °F). The average annual precipitation varies from 500 millimetres (19.7 in) in Lyngseidet (half that of Tromsø) to 950 millimetres (37.4 in) in the northern part of the peninsula (Nord-Lenangen).

Spring often sees much sunshine and is the driest season; average monthly precipitation is approximately 30 millimetres (1.2 in) from March to June, while October is the wettest month.^[18] In the mountains of the Lyngen Alps, the average temperatures typically remain below freezing from October to May, and snow accumulation can exceed 5 metres (16.4 ft)

Lyngen 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.^[19] The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Nord-Troms og Senja District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Lyngen 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.

The mayor (Norwegian: ordfører) of Lyngen 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):

• Just Knud Qvigstad (1853 in Lyngseidet – 1957), a philologist, linguist, ethnographer, historian, cultural historian, headmaster in Tromsø, and mayor of Tromsø
• Joachim Giæver (1856 in Jøvik – 1925), an American civil engineer who designed major structures in the USA
• Leonhard Seppala (1877 in Lyngen – 1967), a sled dog breeder, trainer, and musher who competed in the 1932 Winter Olympics
• Ola Krogseng Giæver (1885 in Lyngseidet – 1945), a farmer, politician, and mayor of Lyngen from 1913-1925
• Ingvald Jaklin (1896 in Lyngen – 1966), a politician and mayor of Tromsø
• Runo Isaksen (born 1968 in Lyngen), a writer
• Trond Olsen (born 1984 in Lyngen), a former footballer with over 400 club caps
• Maria Nysted Grønvoll (born 1985 in Furuflaten), a retired cross-country skier

• Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway (in Norwegian)