Beiarn


Beiarn is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Salten. Beiarn is also a part of the Bodø Region, a statistical metropolitan region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Moldjord. Other villages in Beiarn are Høyforsmoen, Trones, and Tverrvika.
The municipality is the 88th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Beiarn is the 333rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,017. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 8.7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Beiarn was established in 1853 when it was separated from the large municipality of Gildeskål. Initially, Beiarn had 1,164 residents. The municipal boundaries have not changed since that time.

Name

The municipality is named after Beiar Fjord. The meaning of the name is not definitively known, but it may be related to the English word bed in the sense of a "river bed". The name was historically spelled Beieren.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted in 1988. The arms show a gold-colored pine tree on a green background. This was chosen because of the mighty pine forests for which Beiarn has historically been well-known.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish within the municipality of Beiarn. It is part of the Salten prosti in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Parish Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
BeiarnBeiarn ChurchMoldjord1873
BeiarnHøyforsmoen ChapelHøyforsmoen1957

A privately owned stave church was built in 2006 at Savjord, about east of Moldjord. The Savjord Stave Church was modeled after the Gol Stave Church.

Geography

The municipality of Beiarn is located just north of the Arctic Circle, along the Beiar River including the Beiar Valley and some surrounding areas in the Saltfjellet mountains. The river is one of the best salmon rivers in Northern Norway. There are several large lakes in Beiarn including Arstaddalsdammen, Litle Sokumvatnet, and Ramsgjelvatnet.
The Saltfjellet–Svartisen National Park is partially located in Beiarn. The world's most northern naturally occurring elm forest grows in the Arstadlia nature reserve, where the rich vegetation also includes orchids.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Beiarn, are responsible for primary education, 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 Salten District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Beiarn is made up of 15 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Attractions

The area offers many outdoor activities to visitors, including fishing, caving, and mountain walking. The Beiarn farm museum includes an overview of Beiarn's cultural history, from the Viking Age through to the middle of the 20th century.