# Dverberg Municipality

Dverberg is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The administrative centre was the village of Dverberg where Dverberg Church is located. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality encompassed the central areas on the island of Andøya in what is now Andøy Municipality. Starting out at about 616 square kilometres (238 sq mi) in 1838, it was reduced in size in 1924. Upon its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was only 279 square kilometres (108 sq mi).
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the 279-square-kilometre (108 sq mi) municipality was the 296th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Dverberg Municipality was the 500th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,681. The municipality's population density was 6 inhabitants per square kilometre (16/sq mi) and its population had increased by 0.4% over the previous 10-year period.

## General information

The historic prestegjeld of Dverberg was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). It originally included the whole island of Andøya as well as about 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi) on the northeastern tip of the large island of Hinnøya, plus a number of very small surrounding islets.
On 1 January 1924, Dverberg Municipality was divided into three. The northern part of Dverberg became the new Andenes Municipality (population: 2,213) and the southern part of Dverberg Municipality was separated to become the new Bjørnskinn Municipality (population: 1,410). This left 1,477 residents in Dverberg Municipality which now only covered the central part of the island of Andøya.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Dverberg Municipality (population: 1,719) was merged (back) with the neighboring Bjørnskinn Municipality (population: 1,835) and Andenes Municipality (population: 3,812) to create the new Andøy Municipality

### Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Dverberg farm (Old Norse: Dvergaberg) since the first Dverberg Church was built there. The first element is dvergr which means "dwarf". The last element is berg which means "mountain". Thus the name is referring to a mountain where dwarfs live.

### Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within Dverberg Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Dverberg prestegjeld and the Vesterålen prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Churches in Dverberg :
| Parish (sokn) | Church name | Location of the church | Year built |
| Dverberg | Dverberg Church | Dverberg | 1843 |

## Geography

The highest point in the municipality is the 620.2-metre (2,035 ft) tall mountain Ressmålstinden. The municipality was located in the central part of the island of Andøya. Andenes Municipality was located to the north and Bjørnskinn Municipality was located to the south. The Andfjorden was located to the east and the Norwegian Sea was located to the west of the municipality.

## Government

While it existed, Dverberg 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 Dverberg was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who held this position:
* 1838-1840: August Thorvald Deinboll
* 1840-1844: Augustinus Johannesen Sellevold
* 1844-1848: Ole Anton Norman
* 1848-1852: Augustinus Johannesen Sellevold
* 1852-1854: Thorstein Hoel Jersin
* 1854-1856: Even Andreas Falch
* 1856-1860: Augustinus Johannesen Sellevold
* 1861-1864: Ingebrigt Olai Nielsen
* 1865-1865: Hans Fredrik Angell
* 1866-1872: Johan David Osenbroch
* 1873-1874: Jens Casper Mikkelborg
* 1875-1876: Nils Christian Hansen
* 1877-1888: Peder Pettersen
* 1889-1890: Martinus Heggelund Andreassen
* 1891-1892: Emil Bernhard Falch Olsen
* 1893-1894: Peder Pettersen
* 1895-1898: Wilhelm Nagel
* 1899-1904: Peder Pettersen
* 1905-1913: Benjamin Konrad Pettersen
* 1914-1918: Svend Christian Svendsen
* 1918-1923: Daniel Hveding Hægstad
* 1924-1925: Hans Petter Dybwik
* 1926-1934: Cedolf Olsen Baraa
* 1935-1940: Olaf H. Pettersen
* 1946-1949: Egil Sæbøe
* 1949-1963: Lindberg Nyborg

### Municipal council

The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Dverberg 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.
Dverberg herredsstyre 1960–1963 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 7 |
| | Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister) | 8 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 15 |
| Note: This municipality became part of the new Andøy Municipality on 1 January 1964. |||
Dverberg herredsstyre 1956–1959 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 7 |
| | Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister) | 8 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 15 |
Dverberg herredsstyre 1952–1955 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 6 |
| | Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister) | 6 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 12 |
Dverberg herredsstyre 1948–1951 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 5 |
| | Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister) | 7 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 12 |
Dverberg herredsstyre 1945–1947 :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 4 |
| | List of workers, fishermen, and small farmholders (Arbeidere, fiskere, småbrukere liste) | 1 |
| | Joint List(s) of Non-Socialist Parties (Borgerlige Felleslister) | 6 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 1 |
| Total number of members: | Total number of members: | 12 |
Dverberg herredsstyre 1938–1941* :
| Party name (in Norwegian) | Party name (in Norwegian) | Number of representatives |
| | Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) | 4 |
| | Local List(s) (Lokale lister) | 8 |
| 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. |||

## Notable people

* Torstein Raaby (1918-1964), a Norwegian resistance fighter and explorer