Vågan
Vågan () is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Lofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Svolvær. Some of the villages in Vågan include Digermulen, Gimsøysand, Gravermarka, Henningsvær, Hopen, Kabelvåg, Kleppstad, Laupstad, Liland, Skrova, Straumnes, and Sydalen. The municipality is the 210th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Vågan is the 117th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 9,608. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 6.5% over the previous 10-year period. General information. Vågan  was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). In 1856, the northwestern part of Vågan Municipality (population: 987) was separated to form the new Gimsøy Municipality. On 1 July 1918, the town of Svolvær (population: 2,429) was separated to form its own municipality. This left Vågan with 3,399 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the municipalities of Gimsøy (population: 1,551), Svolvær (population: 3,952), and Vågan (population: 4,820) were merged to form the new, larger municipality of Vågan. Name. The municipality  (originally the parish) is named after the old "Vågan" farm (Old Norse: "Vágar"), since the first Vågan Church was built there. The name is the plural form of "vág" which means "bay". The island of Austvågøya (Old Norse: "Vágøy") was named after this important site (which later led the neighboring island to be named Vestvågøya). The name was historically spelled "Vaagan". Coat of arms. The coat of arms is from modern times; they were granted on 30 March 1973. The arms show a white colored cod on a blue background. This was chosen because fishing is the main source of  income for the municipality. The cod was also part of the older arms of the town/municipality of Svolvær. Churches. The Church of Norway has five parishes () within the municipality of Vågan. It is part of the Lofoten prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland. Geography. The main population centres are the town of Svolvær and the villages of Kabelvåg and Henningsvær, located on the largest island, Austvågøya (although Svolvær and Henningsvær are partly located on smaller islands adjacent to the main island). All three have a picturesque situation under the rugged Lofoten mountains, facing the rough body of  water called Vestfjorden. Vågan municipality includes over half of Austvågøya island, all of the islands of Gimsøya, Skrova, Stormolla, Litlmolla, numerous other tiny islets, plus the southwestern tip of the island of Hinnøya. The Moholmen Lighthouse and Skrova Lighthouse are both located in the Vestfjorden. Two notable mountains in the municipality are Higravstinden and Svolværgeita. Other mountains include Fløyfjellet, Trakta, and Vågakallen. Climate. Skrova near Svolvær has a temperate climate (marine west coast) in the 1991-2020 period. Government. All municipalities in Norway, including Vågan, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment  and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor. The municipality falls under the Lofoten District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal. Municipal council. The municipal council () of Vågan is made up of 29 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows: Mayor. The mayors of Vågan (incomplete list): History and economy. Kabelvåg is the oldest fishing village in Lofoten, where King Øystein built the first fishing shacks in the early 12th  century. The Lofoten Cathedral, built in 1898, seats 1,200 people, and used to be filled to the last seat during the Lofoten fishing in the winter. Henningsvær has a picturesque situation on several islands, and is today more important for fishing. Svolvær is the municipal centre, and has an impressive number of artists' studios and galleries. In addition to the cod fisheries, salmon fish farming and tourism are economically important in Vågan. Transportation. The islands that make up Vågan are connected by several different bridges. The European route E10 highway connects the neighboring municipality of Vestvågøy to Vågan (Gimsøya island ) by the Sundklakkstraumen Bridge. Gimsøya island connects to Austvågøya island by the Gimsøystraumen Bridge. The islands of Henningsvær are connected to Austvågøya by the Henningsvær Bridges. The rest of the small islands are only accessible by boats and ferries. In the town of Svolvær, the Svinøy Bridge connects the main part of town to the island of Svinøya. Svolvær Airport, Helle is located just east of the town of Svolvær.