# Gimsøy Municipality

Gimsøy is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The 186.5-square-kilometre (72.0 sq mi) municipality existed from 1856 until its dissolution in 1964. It was located in the northwestern part of what is now Vågan Municipality. The municipality consisted of the island of Gimsøya and the northwestern part of the larger neighboring island of Austvågøya. The municipality also included 407 other small islands as well as hundreds of little islets and skerries, all of which are located in the Lofoten archipelago. The administrative centre was located at the village of Gimsøysand, where the Gimsøy Church is located.
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the 186.5-square-kilometre (72.0 sq mi) municipality was the 386th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Gimsøy Municipality was the 521st most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,600. The municipality's population density was 8.6 inhabitants per square kilometre (22/sq mi) and its population had decreased by 10% over the previous 10-year period.

## General information

The municipality of Gimsøy was established in 1856 when it was split off from the large Vågan Municipality. Initially, Gimsøy had a population of 987. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Gimsøy Municipality (population: 1,551) was merged with the neighboring town of Svolvær (population: 3,952) and Vågan Municipality (population: 4,820) to form the new, larger Vågan Municipality.

### Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the island of Gimsøya (Old Norse: Gimista) since the first Gimsøy Church was built there. The first element is the dative case of the word gimisto which is a contraction of the Old Norse words gimist which means "sheep" and vista which means "place of residence". The island was historical used for sheep farming. Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Gimsø. On 6 January 1908, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Gimsøy.

### Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within Gimsøy Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Gimsøy prestegjeld and the Lofoten prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Churches in Gimsøy :
| Parish (sokn) | Church name | Location of the church | Year built |
| Gimsøy | Gimsøy Church | Gimsøysand | 1876 |

## Geography

The municipality encompassed the whole island of Gimsøya and the northwestern part of the island of Austvågøya plus many smaller islets and skerries surrounding the two large islands. The highest point in the municipality is the 818-metre (2,684 ft) tall mountain Breitinden on the island of Austvågøya. Valberg Municipality and Borge Municipality were located to the west (on the island of Vestvågøya), Vågan Municipality was to the south (on the island of Austvågøya), and Hadsel Municipality (also on Austvågøya).

## Government

While it existed, Gimsøy 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 is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

### Mayors

The mayor (Norwegian: ordfører) of Gimsøy was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:
* 1899–1904: L. Dyrkorn
* 1905–1910: Nils Winther
* 1911–1922: Johan O. Gjendahl
* 1923–1931: Edvard Tellemann (V)
* 1932–1933: Sverre Thurn
* 1933–1937: Håkon Benjaminsen
* 1938–1942: Torgeir Walle (Ap)
* 1942–1944: Konrad Hov (NS)
* 1945–1955: Harald Dreyer
* 1956–1963: Konrad Høydahl (V)

### Municipal council

The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Gimsøy was made up of 15 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
Gimsøy herredsstyre 1960–1963 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 15 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 15 |
| Note: On 1 January 1964, Gimsøy Municipality became part of Vågan Municipality. |||
Gimsøy herredsstyre 1956–1959 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 15 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 15 |
Gimsøy herredsstyre 1952–1955 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 12 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 12 |
Gimsøy herredsstyre 1948–1951 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 2 |
| | Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister) | 4 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 6 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 12 |
Gimsøy herredsstyre 1945–1947 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 2 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 10 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 12 |
Gimsøy herredsstyre 1938–1941* :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 8 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 4 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 12 |
| 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. |||