Herøy, Nordland


Herøy is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Silvalen. The municipality is located about west of the town of Sandnessjøen.
The municipality is the 343rd largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Herøy is the 294th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,777. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 9.8% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Herøy was established in 1864 when it was separated from Alstahaug Municipality. Initially the population of Herøy was 2,438. On 1 July 1917, the northern district of Herøy was separated from Herøy to become the new municipality of Nordvik. This left Herøy with 2,555 residents.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962 the part of Herøy on the island of Dønna was transferred to the new municipality of Dønna. On 1 January 1965 the Husvær/Sandværet island groups were transferred from Alstahaug to Herøy.

Name

The municipality is named after the islands of Søndre Herøya and Nordre Herøya. The first element is herr which means "army" and the last element is the definite form of øy which means "island". The sound between the islands was probably a meeting place for the Leidang fleet of the district. Historically, the name was spelled Herø.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 3 July 1987. The arms show three gold-colored oars on a blue background. They symbolize the history of boating in the island municipality, and it also a canting of the name of the municipality which means a place where a fleet gathers.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish within the municipality of Herøy. It is part of the Nord-Helgeland prosti in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Parish Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
HerøyHerøy ChurchSilvalen12th century
HerøyGåsvær ChapelGåsvær1951
HerøyHusvær ChapelHusvær1936
HerøySandvær ChapelSandværet1947

Geography

The municipality of Herøy consists of about 1,700 little islands and islets. The main islands are Nord-Herøy, Sør-Herøy, Tenna, Ytre Øksningan, Indre Øksningan, Seløya, and Staulen— all of which are connected by bridges including Åkviksundet Bridge, Hoholmen Bridge, Kalvøyrevet Bridge. Most islands are low and close to the sea surface.
There are also several smaller outlying island groups such as Gåsvær, Husvær, and Sandværet. Ytterholmen Lighthouse is located in the far western part of the municipality.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Herøy, 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 Alstahaug District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Herøy is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Herøy :
The main industries in the municipality is fishing, fish farming and processing activities associated with this. Other important industries are agriculture, transportation, service industries, and tourism.