Vevelstad
Vevelstad is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Forvika. The municipality is the 199th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Vevelstad is the 322nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 462. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 9.4% over the previous 10-year period. General information. The municipality of Vevelstad was established on 1 July 1916 when it was separated from the municipality of Tjøtta. Initially, the municipality  had 1,097 residents. On 1 July 1920, the Giskå farm area (population: 10) was transferred from Tjøtta to Vevelstad. The borders have not changed since that time. Name. The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old "Vevelstad" farm (), since the first Vevelstad Church was built there. The first element is the genitive case of the Norse male name "Vifill" and the last element is "staðir" which means "homestead" or "farm". Coat of arms. The coat of arms was granted on 13 November 1991. The arms are blue with three silver V shapes (two over one). The arms are  canting, showing the first letter of the name of the municipality, V. The municipality applied for arms in the 1970s, but all the proposals were rejected by either the municipal council or the national archives. Finally, the present arms were adopted and granted in 1991. Churches. The Church of Norway has one parish () within the municipality of Vevelstad. It is part of the Sør-Helgeland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland. Geography. The municipality lies in the middle of Norway, surrounded by mountains and fjords. A lot of the municipality is a part of Lomsdal–Visten National Park . The lake Søre Vistvatnet lies in the southeastern part of the municipality inside the national park. Most of the residents live along the coastline or on the island Hamnøya. The mouth of the Velfjorden lies in the southern part of the municipality. Government. All municipalities in Norway, including Vevelstad, 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 Brønnøy District Court and  the Hålogaland Court of Appeal. Municipal council. The municipal council () of Vevelstad is made up of 13 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows: Mayor. The mayors of Vevelstad (incomplete list):