Flakstad Municipality

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Municipality in Nordland, Norway

title: "Flakstad Municipality" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["flakstad-municipality", "lofoten", "municipalities-of-nordland", "populated-places-of-arctic-norway", "1838-establishments-in-norway", "1964-disestablishments-in-norway", "1976-establishments-in-norway", "populated-places-established-in-1838", "populated-places-disestablished-in-1964", "populated-places-established-in-1976"] description: "Municipality in Nordland, Norway" topic_path: "geography/norway" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flakstad_Municipality" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Municipality in Nordland, Norway ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox kommune"]

Field	Value
name	Flakstad
image_skyline	Ramberg (Lofoten).jpg
image_caption	View of a beach in Flakstad
idnumber	1859
county	Nordland
district	Lofoten
capital	Ramberg
established	1 Jan 1838
preceded	none
disestablished	1 Jan 1964
succeeded	Moskenes Municipality
established2	1 Jan 1976
preceded2	Moskenes Municipality
demonym	Flakstadfjerding
language	Neutral
coatofarms	Flakstad komm.svg
webpage	www.flakstad.kommune.no
mayor	Einar Benjaminsen
mayor_party	LL
mayor_as_of	2023
elevation_max_m	938.71
highest_point_ref
area_rank	312
area_total_km2	178.54
area_land_km2	169.23
area_water_km2	9.31
area_water_percent	5.2
population_as_of	2024
population_rank	318
population_total	1229
population_density_km2	6.9
population_increase	-10.2
coordinates
::

Flakstad is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of the island group Lofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ramberg. Other villages in the municipality include Fredvang, Napp, Nusfjord, Sund, and Vareid. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Ramberg_La_Plage.jpg" caption="Ramberg"] ::

The municipality is located in the Lofoten Islands and comprises the entire island of Flakstadøya and the northern part of the island of Moskenesøya, plus many smaller islets surrounding the main islands. The European route E10 highway runs across the whole municipality.

The 179 km2 municipality is the 312th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Flakstad Municipality is the 318th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,229. The municipality's population density is 6.9 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 10.2% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Trolig_Flakstad_krk.JPG" caption="Flakstad church"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Skagsanden.JPG" caption="Skagsanden beach, Flakstad"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Nusfjord6.jpg" caption="Nusfjord is a small harbor with traditional ''rorbus''."] ::

The municipality of Flakstad was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 July 1916, the southern part of the municipality (population: 1,306) was separated to form the new Moskenes Municipality. This left Flakstad with 1,667 residents.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Flakstad Municipality (population: 2,067) was merged into the neighboring Moskenes Municipality (population: 2,001), creating a new, larger Moskenes Municipality. This merger, however, only lasted for twelve years. On 1 January 1976, the merger was undone with Moskenes Municipality (population: 1,705) and Flakstad Municipality (population: 2,007) becoming separate municipalities once again.

Name

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Flakstad.jpg" caption="Flakstad"] ::

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Flakstad farm ( or Flatarstaðir) since the first Flakstad Church was built there. The first element of the name is uncertain. It may come from the word flak which may have meant "reckless". Another option is that it derived from the word flag which meant "rock wall", possibly referring to the large cliff near the church site. The last element is the plural form of which means "homestead", "abode", or "farm".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 14 July 1989. The official blazon is "Azure, a mooring bollard argent" (). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a mooring bollard which is a type of fixed device used for tying a hawser line from a boat to the dock. The mooring bollard has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The blue color in the field symbolizes the importance of the sea and the mooring bollard was chosen to represent the municipality's seafaring history. The arms were designed by Jorunn Thomassen and Jarle Henriksen.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within Flakstad Municipality. It is part of the Lofoten prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

::data[format=table title="style="font-size:medium"|'''''Churches in Flakstad Municipality'''''"]

Parish (sokn)	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Flakstad	Flakstad Church	Flakstad	1780
::

Economy

The municipality's economy is dominated by fishing. The fishing fleet mainly consists of small boats. There are also several fish farm in Flakstad. There is some agriculture in Flakstad, but mostly cattle and sheep farming rather than growing crops.

Government

Flakstad Municipality is 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 is under the jurisdiction of the Salten og Lofoten District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Flakstad Municipality is made up of 11 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party. |name = Flakstad |start = 2023 |end = 2027 |reference = |Total = 11 |Arbeiderpartiet = 2 |Senterpartiet = 4 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 1 |otherparty = Flakstad District List |otherparty_no = Flakstad distriktsliste |otherparty_number = 4 |}} |name = Flakstad |start = 2019 |end = 2023 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 11 |Arbeiderpartiet = 3 |Senterpartiet = 5 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 1 |otherparty = Flakstad District List |otherparty_no = Flakstad distriktsliste |otherparty_number = 1 |otherparty1 = Lofoten List (yes to municipal mergers) |otherparty_no1 = Lofotlista (ja til kommunesammenslåing) |otherparty_number1 = 1 |}} |name = Flakstad |start = 2015 |end = 2019 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 11 |Arbeiderpartiet = 2 |Senterpartiet = 5 |Grønne = 1 |otherparty = Flakstad District List |otherparty_no = Flakstad distriktsliste |otherparty_number = 3 |}} |name = Flakstad |start = 2011 |end = 2015 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 17 |Arbeiderpartiet = 2 |Fremskrittspartiet = 1 |Grønne = 1 |Senterpartiet = 4 |otherparty = Flakstad District List |otherparty_no = Flakstad distriktsliste |otherparty_number = 6 |otherparty1 = Fredvang, Krystad and Skjelfjord municipal list |otherparty_no1 = Fredvang, Krystad og Skjelfjord bygdeliste |otherparty_number1 = 3 |}} |name = Flakstad |start = 2007 |end = 2011 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 17 |Arbeiderpartiet = 4 |Senterpartiet = 2 |otherparty = Flakstad district list |otherparty_no = Flakstad Distriktsliste |otherparty_number = 8 |otherparty1 = Fredvang and Krystad local list |otherparty_no1 = Fredvang og Krystad bygdeliste |otherparty_number1 = 3 |}} |name = Flakstad |start = 2003 |end = 2007 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 17 |Arbeiderpartiet = 2 |Senterpartiet = 6 |otherparty = Flakstad district list |otherparty_no = Flakstad Distriktsliste |otherparty_number = 7 |otherparty1 = Fredvang and Krystad local list |otherparty_no1 = Fredvang og Krystad bygdeliste |otherparty_number1 = 2 |}} |name = Flakstad |start = 1999 |end = 2003 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 17 |Arbeiderpartiet = 3 |Senterpartiet = 2 |otherparty = Flakstad district list |otherparty_no = Flakstad Distriktsliste |otherparty_number = 9 |otherparty1 = Fredvang and Krystad local list |otherparty_no1 = Fredvang og Krystad bygdeliste |otherparty_number1 = 3 |}} |name = Flakstad |start = 1995 |end = 1999 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 17 |Arbeiderpartiet = 2 |Senterpartiet = 3 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 1 |otherparty = Flakstad district list |otherparty_no = Flakstad Distriktsliste |otherparty_number = 8 |otherparty1 = Fredvang and Krystad local list |otherparty_no1 = Fredvang og Krystad bygdeliste |otherparty_number1 = 3 |}} |name = Flakstad |start = 1991 |end = 1995 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 17 |Arbeiderpartiet = 6 |Sosialistisk_Venstreparti = 1 |otherparty = Flakstad district list |otherparty_no = Flakstad Distriktsliste |otherparty_number = 6 |otherparty1 = Fredvang and Krystad local list |otherparty_no1 = Fredvang og Krystad bygdeliste |otherparty_number1 = 4 |}} |name = Flakstad |start = 1987 |end = 1991 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 17 |Arbeiderpartiet = 6 |Høyre = 3 |otherparty = Flakstad district list |otherparty_no = Flakstad Distriktsliste |otherparty_number = 5 |otherparty1 = Fredvang and Krystad local list |otherparty_no1 = Fredvang og Krystad bygdeliste |otherparty_number1 = 3 |}} |name = Flakstad |start = 1983 |end = 1987 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 17 |Arbeiderpartiet = 6 |Høyre = 2 |otherparty = Flakstad district list |otherparty_no = Flakstad Distriktsliste |otherparty_number = 6 |otherparty1 = Non-party common list for Fredvang-Krystad |otherparty_no1 = Upolitisk fellesliste for Fredvang-Krystad |otherparty_number1 = 3 |}} |name = Flakstad |start = 1979 |end = 1983 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 17 |Arbeiderpartiet = 4 |otherparty = Flakstad district list |otherparty_no = Flakstad Distriktsliste |otherparty_number = 10 |otherparty1 = Non-party common list for Fredvang-Krystad area |otherparty_no1 = Upolitisk fellesliste for Fredvang, Krystad og omegn |otherparty_number1 = 3 |}} |name = Flakstad |start = 1976 |end = 1979 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 17 |otherparty = Flakstad Common List |otherparty_no = Flakstad Samlingsliste |otherparty_number = 13 |otherparty1 = Non-party Common List Fredvang-Krystad |otherparty_no1 = Upolitisk Fellesliste Fredvang-Krystad |otherparty_number1 = 4 |note = On 1 January 1976, Flakstad Municipality was separated from Moskenes Municipality. |}} |name = Flakstad |herad = yes |start = 1959 |end = 1963 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 13 |AFS = 2 |Local_Lists = 11 |note = On 1 January 1964, Flakstad Municipality became part of Moskenes Municipality. |}} |name = Flakstad |herad = yes |start = 1955 |end = 1959 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 13 |Arbeiderpartiet = 2 |AFS = 11 |}} |name = Flakstad |herad = yes |start = 1951 |end = 1955 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 12 |Arbeiderpartiet = 1 |AFS = 11 |}} |name = Flakstad |herad = yes |start = 1947 |end = 1951 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 12 |Arbeiderpartiet = 2 |Borgerlige_Felleslister = 2 |Local_Lists = 8 |}} |name = Flakstad |herad = yes |start = 1945 |end = 1947 |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 12 |AFS = 6 |Local_Lists = 6 |}} |name = Flakstad |herad = yes |start = 1937 |end = 1941* |reference = |collapsed = yes |Total = 12 |Borgerlige_Felleslister = 8 |Arbeiderpartiet = 1 |AFS = 3 |}}

Mayors

The mayor () of Flakstad Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:

(1964–1975: None - merged with Moskenes Municipality)
1975–1983: Gunnar Rørtveit (LL/Ap))
1983–1986: Carl Leon Johnsen (LL)
1986–1987: Alf Ivar Samuelsen (Ap)
1987–1991: Jan Rigan (Ap)
1991–1999: Willy Arntzen (LL)
1999–2003: Erling Sigurd Sandnes (LL)
2003–2005: Alf Ivar Samuelsen (Ap)
2005–2007: Ann-Helen Fjeldstad Jusnes (Ap)
2007–2015: Stein Iversen (Sp)
2015–2019: Hans Fredrik Sørdal (Ap)
2019–2023: Trond Kroken (Sp)
2023–present: Einar Benjaminsen (LL)

Geography

Located near the southern end of the Lofoten archipelago, Flakstad comprises all of the island of Flakstadøya and the northern part of the island of Moskenesøya. The islands are connected by the Fredvang Bridges and the Kåkern Bridge. The large lake Solbjørnvatnet lies on the northern part of Moskenesøya in Flakstad. The highest point in the municipality is the 938.71 m tall mountain Stjerntinden.

Vestvågøy Municipality lies to the northeast on the island of Vestvågøya, the Vestfjorden lies to the southeast, the Moskenes Municipality lies to the southwest on the island of Moskenesøya, and the Norwegian Sea lies to the northwest.

Climate

Notable people

Fredrik Arentz Krog (1844 in Flakstad – 1923), a Norwegian barrister
Gina Krog (1847 in Flakstad – 1916), a Norwegian suffragist, teacher, liberal politician, and editor
Birger Eriksen (1875 in Flakstad – 1958), a Norwegian officer and commander of Oscarsborg Fortress in WWII
Sigurd Lund Hamran (1902 in Flakstad – 1977), a Norwegian politician, Mayor, and deputy Mayor of Moskenes Municipality between 1937 & 1961
Alf Ivar Samuelsen (1942 in Flakstad – 2014), a Norwegian politician and Mayor of Flakstad Municipality

References

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Statistisk sentralbyrå. "09280: Area of land and fresh water (km²) (M)".
Jukvam, Dag. (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen". [[Statistics Norway.
Rygh, Oluf. (1905). "Norske gaardnavne: Nordlands amt". W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri.
Store norske leksikon. "Flakstad".
"Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World.
"Flakstad, Nordland".
(1989-09-09). "Godkjenning av våpen og flagg". Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet.
{{Cite SNL. kommunestyre. kommunestyre. 2024-12-31. Hansen. Tore. 2024-11-25
"Kommunestyrevalg 2023 - Nordland". Valg Direktoratet.
"Tall for Norge: Kommunestyrevalg 2019 - Nordland". Valg Direktoratet.
"Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)". Statistics Norway.
"Tall for Norge: Kommunestyrevalg 2011 - Nordland". Valg Direktoratet.
(1996). "Kommunestyrevalget 1995". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
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(1988). "Kommunestyrevalget 1987". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1984). "Kommunestyrevalget 1983". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1979). "Kommunestyrevalget 1979". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1977). "Kommunevalgene 1975". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1960). "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1959". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1957). "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1952). "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1948). "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1947). "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(1938). "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937". Statistisk sentralbyrå.
(2024). "Local Candidate Dataset".
"eKlima Web Portal". Norwegian Meteorological Institute.

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