Skjervøy Municipality Skjervøy kommune Skiervvá suohkan (Northern Sami) Kieruan komuuni (Kven)
Municipality
Skjervø herred  (historic name)
View of the village of Årviksand
Flag Coat of arms
Troms within Norway
Skjervøy within Troms
Coordinates: 70°05′07″N 20°39′34″E / 70.08528°N 20.65944°E / 70.08528; 20.65944
Country	Norway
County	Troms
District	Nord-Troms
Established	1 Jan 1838
• Created as	Formannskapsdistrikt
Administrative centre	Skjervøy
Government
• Mayor (2015)	Ørjan Albrigtsen (KrF/Kp)
Area
• Total	473.94 km2 (182.99 sq mi)
• Land	465.33 km2 (179.66 sq mi)
• Water	8.67 km2 (3.35 sq mi)  1.8%
• Rank	#212 in Norway
Population  (2023)
• Total	2,790
• Rank	#239 in Norway
• Density	6/km2 (20/sq mi)
• Change (10 years)	−4%
Demonym	Skjervøyværing[1]
Official language [2]
• Norwegian form	Bokmål
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-5542[3]
Website	Official website
Data from Statistics Norway

Skjervøy kommune (Northern Sami: Skiervvá suohkan; Kven: Kieruan komuuni) is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Skjervøy on the island of Skjervøya, where most of the inhabitants live. The main industries are fishing and shipbuilding.

The 474-square-kilometre (183 sq mi) municipality is the 212th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Skjervøy is the 239th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,790. The municipality's population density is 6 inhabitants per square kilometre (16/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 4% over the previous 10-year period.^[4][5]

General information

The municipality of Skjervøe (later spelled Skjervøy) was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1863, the southeastern (inland) part of the municipality (population: 1,677) was separated to form the new Kvænangen Municipality. This left 2,785 people in Skjervøy. Then on 1 January 1886 the southern part of the municipality (population: 1,057) was separated from Skjervøy to form the new Nordreisa Municipality. This left 2,096 inhabitants in Skjervøy.

On 1 January 1890, the Trætten and Loppevolden farms (population: 32) were transferred from Skjervøy to Nordreisa. On 1 January 1965, the Meilands area (population: 12) was transferred to Kvænangen. On 1 January 1972, the parts of Skjervøy lying on the mainland (population: 1,556) were transferred from Skjervøy to Nordreisa, and the uninhabited Mannskarvik farm was transferred to Kvænangen. Then on 1 January 1982 the southern part of the island of Uløya (population: 128) was transferred from Skjervøy to Nordreisa.^[6]

On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed Troms og Finnmark county. Previously, it had been part of the old Troms county.^[7] On 1 January 2024, the Troms og Finnmark county was divided and the municipality once again became part of Troms county.^[8]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the small island of Skjervøya (Old Norse: Skerføy) since the first Skjervøy Church was built there. The first element is skerf which means "rocky ground". The last element is øy which means "island".^[9] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Skjervøe or Skjervø. On 6 January 1908, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Skjervøy.^[10]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 27 March 1987. The official blazon is "Argent, a cormorant head erased sable" (Norwegian: I sølv et svart skarvehode). This means the arms have a field (background) with a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The charge is the head of a cormorant which has a tincture of sable. The arms are partly canting since the Norwegian word skarf means cormorant and that word is similar to the name Skjervøy. The cormorant also symbolizes the coastal municipality, which (like the bird) is dependent on fishing for its living. The cormorant is also a common bird in the area. The arms were designed by Kåre Bondesen and Jan Roald Andreassen.^[11][12][13]

Churches

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

History

Skjervøy Church dates back to 1728 and it is the oldest wooden church in Troms county. The village of Maursund is an old trading post with well-preserved 19th-century houses.

Government

All municipalities in Norway are 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.^[14] The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Nord-Troms og Senja District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Skjervøy is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayors of Skjervøy:^[34]

Geography

The island municipality is surrounded by the Norwegian Sea to the north, Ullsfjorden to the west, Lyngenfjorden to the southwest, Reisafjorden to the southeast, and Kvænangen fjord to the east. The municipality consists of several islands, the major one being Arnøya, with the villages of Årviksand, Akkarvik, and Arnøyhamn. Most people, however, live on the relatively small island of Skjervøya, where more than 2,316 people live in the central village of Skjervøy with its sheltered harbour.^[35] The other islands include Haukøya, Kågen, Laukøya, Vorterøya, and the northern half of Uløya. Kågen and Skjervøya are connected by the Skjervøy Bridge. Kågen is connected to the mainland by the Maursund Tunnel.

Climate

Skjervøy has continental subarctic climate. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Dfc". The Norwegian Meteorological Institute has been operating a weather station in Skjervøy since 1936.^[36][37]