Dønna

Dønna kommune
Municipality

Coat of arms
Nordland within
Norway

Dønna within Nordland
Coordinates: 66°5′29″N 12°31′33″E / 66.09139°N 12.52583°E / 66.09139; 12.52583Coordinates: 66°5′29″N 12°31′33″E / 66.09139°N 12.52583°E / 66.09139; 12.52583
Country Norway
County Nordland
District Helgeland
Administrative centre Solfjellsjøen
Government
 • Mayor (2011) Anne S. Mathisen (Ap)
Area
 • Total 193.90 km2 (74.87 sq mi)
 • Land 187.64 km2 (72.45 sq mi)
 • Water 6.26 km2 (2.42 sq mi)
Area rank 330 in Norway
Population (2011)
 • Total 1,449
 • Rank 365 in Norway
 • Density 7.7/km2 (20/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years) -9.2 %
Demonym(s) Dønnværing[1]
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-1827
Official language form Bokmål
Website www.donna.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Dønna is an island and a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland region. The administrative centre of the island municipality is the village of Solfjellsjøen. Other villages include Bjørn, Dønnes, Hestad, Sandåker, and Vandve. The main island of Dønna is connected to Herøy to the south by the Åkviksundet Bridge.

General information

The old trading house at Lauvøy, surrounded by Sitka spruce
Dønnes Church
View of the Dønnamannen mountain

Municipal history

The municipality of Dønna was established on 1 January 1962 when the municipality of Nordvik (population: 1,293) was merged with the part of Herøy on the southern tip of the island of Dønna (population: 19), the part of Nesna on the island Løkta (population: 80), and most of Dønnes municipality (population: 1,348). The borders have not changed since that time.[2]

Name

The municipality is named after the island of Dønna (Old Norse Dyn). The name is probably derived from the Norse verb dynja which means to "rumble" or "roar" (referring to the swell of the waves on the island).[3]

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times; they were granted on 29 May 1981. The arms show a wave as a canting symbol for the municipality since the Norwegian word dønning means wave.[4]

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Dønna. It is part of the Nord-Helgeland deanery in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

Churches in Dønna
Parish
(Sokn)		Church NameLocation
of the Church		Year Built
DønnaDønnes ChurchDønnes13th century
Hæstad ChurchHestad1912
Løkta ChurchSandåker1968
Nordvik ChurchNordvik1877
Vandve ChurchVandve1956

Economy

Much of the industry focuses on fishing, aquaculture, and fish processing. There is also some agriculture, tourism, and some public services.

Geography

Dønna is located in Outer Helgeland which also consists of the municipalities of Leirfjord, Alstahaug, and Herøy. The municipality is made up of a large archipelago consisting of islands, islets, and reefs. The three largest islands in the municipality are Dønna, Løkta, and Vandve. The Åsværet islands (and the Åsvær Lighthouse) lie in the western part of the municipality. The island municipality is situated at the mouth of the Ranfjorden.

View from Dønnesfjellet, Dønna. The strandflaten lowland in the foreground and several islands with unique mountain formations visible in the distance

Notable residents

References

  1. ↑ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  2. ↑ Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå.
  3. ↑ "Helgelands stedsnavn". Historisk tidsskrift (in Norwegian) (Kristiania, Norge: Den Norske historiske forening): 70. 1871. Retrieved 2008-11-18.
  4. ↑ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". Retrieved 2008-11-20.

External links

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