Lebesby

This article is about the municipality in Finnmark, Norway. For the village with the same name, see Lebesby (village).
Lebesby kommune
Davvesiidda gielda
Lebespyyn komuuni
Municipality

Coat of arms

Finnmark within
Norway

Lebesby within Finnmark
Coordinates: 70°56′43″N 27°21′4″E / 70.94528°N 27.35111°E / 70.94528; 27.35111Coordinates: 70°56′43″N 27°21′4″E / 70.94528°N 27.35111°E / 70.94528; 27.35111
Country Norway
County Finnmark
District Øst-Finnmark
Administrative centre Kjøllefjord
Government
  Mayor (2010) Stine Akselsen (Ap)
Area
  Total 3,457.76 km2 (1,335.05 sq mi)
  Land 3,231.92 km2 (1,247.85 sq mi)
  Water 225.84 km2 (87.20 sq mi)
Area rank 8 in Norway
Population (2014)
  Total 1,341 (Increase from last year)
  Rank 373 in Norway
  Density 0.39/km2 (1.0/sq mi)
  Change (10 years) -9.0 %
Demonym(s) Lebesbyværing[1]
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code NO-2022
Official language form Bokmål
Website www.lebesby.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Lebesby (Northern Sami: Davvesiidda and Kven: Lebespyy) is a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kjøllefjord. Other villages in the municipality include Ifjord, Kunes, Lebesby, and Veidnes.

The municipality consists of the western half of the Nordkinn Peninsula, along with areas around the Laksefjorden. Most people live in the village of Kjøllefjord. This municipality is dominated by ethnic Norwegians, whereas the areas around the Laksefjorden are predominantly Sami. Fishing is the mainstay of the population.

General information

Map of Lebesby

The parish of Lebesby was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). In 1864, the eastern part of Lebesby that surrounds the Tanafjorden (population: 1,388) was separated to become the new municipality of Tana. Tana was later separated into Tana, Gamvik, and Berlevåg. The borders of Lebesby have remain unchanged since that time.[2]

Name

Lebesby is may be a Norwegianized form of a Northern Sami name Leaibbessiida. The first element is then derived from leaibi which means "alder" and the last element is siida which means "dwelling place" (Norwegian: by). The other possible option is the at Lebesby is a corruption of the Old Norse Liðvarðsbýr. That name is made up of Liðvarð, a man's name, and býr which also means "dwelling place" (Norwegian: by).[3][4]

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 22 July 1988. The arms are divided yellow over black by two embattlements. The idea is that the arms represent the Finnkirka ("the Finn Church"), a cliff by the sea in the municipality. This cliff formation has the appearance of a church, and in former times was used by Sami people as a place of sacrifice.[5]

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Lebesby. It is part of the Hammerfest deanery in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.

Churches in Lebesby
Parish (sokn)NameLocationYear built
KjøllefjordKjøllefjord ChurchKjøllefjord1951
LebesbyLebesby ChurchLebesby1962
Kunes ChapelKunes1982

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Lebesby, 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 Lebesby is made up of 18 representatives that are elected to every four years. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:[6]

Lebesby Kommunestyre 2015–2019
Party NameName in NorwegianNumber of
representatives
 Labour PartyArbeiderpartiet8
 Conservative PartyHøyre1
 Green PartyMiljøpartiet De Grønne3
 Socialist Left PartySosialistisk Venstreparti1
 Local ListsLokale lister5
Total number of members:18

Geography

View of the Finnkirka mountain

The municipality consists of the areas around the Laksefjorden, including the eastern part of the Sværholt Peninsula and the western half of the Nordkinn Peninsula. At the entrance to the Kjøllefjorden at the northwestern tip of the Nordkinn Peninsula, one finds the spectacular Finnkirka sea cliff, so named because of its soaring spires that look like a church. On the other side of the Oksefjorden on the northern end of the peninsula, the Kinnarodden cape (shared with the municipality of Gamvik) is the northernmost point on the European mainland. There are several large lakes in the municipality including Kjæsvannet, Store Måsvann, and Suolojávri.

Birdlife

The same seacliffs mentioned above hold large numbers of breeding seabirds. In fact Norway's third largest seabird colony can be found in the municipality. Experiencing a seabird colony is one of nature's great experiences, here you can see and listen to thousands of birds with such species as fulmar and Atlantic puffin being a part of a fascinating ecosystem.

Flora

The world's northernmost birch forest is located in this municipality, near Oksefjorden, 9 km east of Kjøllefjord (70°58′N 27°34′E / 70.967°N 27.567°E / 70.967; 27.567)[7]

Climate

Climate data for Lebesby
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Daily mean °C (°F) −6.8
(19.8)
−6.6
(20.1)
−4.5
(23.9)
−1.1
(30)
3.5
(38.3)
8.0
(46.4)
11.0
(51.8)
10.2
(50.4)
6.5
(43.7)
1.7
(35.1)
−2.3
(27.9)
−5.5
(22.1)
1.2
(34.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 44
(1.73)
36
(1.42)
30
(1.18)
29
(1.14)
28
(1.1)
38
(1.5)
57
(2.24)
54
(2.13)
58
(2.28)
59
(2.32)
45
(1.77)
42
(1.65)
520
(20.47)
Source: Norwegian Meteorological Institute[8]

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. Rygh, Oluf (1924). Norske gaardnavne: Finmarkens amt (in Norwegian) (18 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 214.
  4. Store norske leksikon. "Lebesby" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2013-02-22.
  5. "Kommunevåpen". Flags of the World. 28 June 2002. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
  6. "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway. 2015.
  7. Verdens nordligste skog (Norwegian)
  8. "eKlima Web Portal". Norwegian Meteorological Institute.
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