Berg, Norway

Berg kommune
Birgi suohkan
Municipality

Coat of arms
Troms within
Norway

Berg within Troms
Coordinates: 69°28′0″N 17°23′52″E / 69.46667°N 17.39778°E / 69.46667; 17.39778Coordinates: 69°28′0″N 17°23′52″E / 69.46667°N 17.39778°E / 69.46667; 17.39778
Country Norway
County Troms
District Midt-Troms
Administrative centre Skaland
Government
 • Mayor (2011) Guttorm Nergård (Local list)
Area
 • Total 294.09 km2 (113.55 sq mi)
 • Land 276.54 km2 (106.77 sq mi)
 • Water 17.55 km2 (6.78 sq mi)
Area rank 280 in Norway
Population (2012)
 • Total 887
 • Rank 407-408 in Norway
 • Density 3.2/km2 (8/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years) -16.4 %
Demonym(s) Bergsværing[1]
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-1929
Official language form Bokmål
Website www.berg.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Berg is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skaland. Other villages include Finnsæter, Mefjordvær, and Senjahopen.

The municipality was the first place in the world to utilize a hydroelectrical power station in the mining community of Hamn. When the mining industry ceased, the "electrical adventure" did as well. The buildings are still located at Hamn, now functioning as a special hotel/lodge.

The first female pastor in the Lutheran Church of Norway, Ingrid Bjerkås, worked in this parish, starting in 1961.

General information

Map of Berg
View of the Ersfjorden

Berg was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The southern part of Berg (population: 1,229) was separated from Berg to form the new municipality of Torsken on 1 January 1902. This left Berg with 1,002 residents. The municipal borders have not changed since.[2]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Berg farm (Old Norse: Berg). The name is identical with the word berg which means "mountain".

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 2 October 1987. The profile represents the three mountains of Trælen, Oksen, and Kjølva. The colors represent "winter darkness", "black sea", and "toward brighter times."[3]

Churches

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

Churches in Berg
Parish (Sokn)Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
BergBerg ChurchSkaland1955
Finnsæter ChapelFinnsæter1982
Mefjordvær ChapelMefjordvær1916

Geography

View towards Melfjorden (to the right) and Øyfjorden (to the left). Segla (640 m) is the mountain top in the middle of the photo. Fjordgård village lies far down to the left. Photo by Simo Räsänen.

The municipality faces the Atlantic Ocean on the west side of the large island of Senja. The largest urban area in Berg is the village of Senjahopen. The highest point on the island, the mountain Breidtinden, is located in the northeastern part of Berg. There are three large fjords that cut into the municipality: Bergsfjorden, Ersfjorden, and Mefjorden.

Climate

Climate data for Skaland, Berg
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Daily mean °C (°F) −2.5
(27.5)		 −2.5
(27.5)		 −1.4
(29.5)		 1.2
(34.2)		 5.3
(41.5)		 8.8
(47.8)		 11.3
(52.3)		 11.1
(52)		 7.8
(46)		 4.1
(39.4)		 0.6
(33.1)		 −1.6
(29.1)		 3.5
(38.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 109
(4.29)		 94
(3.7)		 88
(3.46)		 77
(3.03)		 55
(2.17)		 67
(2.64)		 77
(3.03)		 91
(3.58)		 115
(4.53)		 152
(5.98)		 129
(5.08)		 131
(5.16)		 1,185
(46.65)
Source: Norwegian Meteorological Institute[4]

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Berg, 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.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Berg is made up of 15 representatives that are elected to every four years. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:[5]

Berg Kommunestyre 2015–2019
Party NameName in NorwegianNumber of
representatives
 Labour PartyArbeiderpartiet6
 Progress PartyFremskrittspartiet1
 Local ListsLokale lister8
Total number of members:15

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. ↑ "Beskrivelse av kommunevåpenet" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  4. ↑ "eKlima Web Portal". Norwegian Meteorological Institute.
  5. ↑ "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway. 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-03-06.

External links

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