Gildeskål Municipality

Other villages include Forstranda, Lekanger, Mevik, Mårnes, Nygårdsjøen, Saura, Storvik, Sør-Arnøy, Sørfinnset, and Våg. The 665 km2 municipality is the 170th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. The 285th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,958. The municipality's population density is 2.9 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 3.2% over the previous 10-year period.

• Name — Gildeskål • Former Name — Gildeskaal herred • Id Number — 1838 • County — Nordland • District — Salten • Capital — Inndyr • Established — 1 Jan 1838 • Preceded — none • Population Demonym — Gildeskålfjerding Gildeskålværing • Language — Neutral • Website — www.gildeskal.kommune.no • Mayor — Bjørn Magne Pedersen • Mayor Party — H • Mayor As Of — 2019 • Elevation Max M — 1331.83 • Area Rank — 170 • Area Total Km2 — 664.70 • Area Land Km2 — 622.27 • Area Water Km2 — 42.43 • Area Water Percent — 6.4 • Population As Of — 2024 • Population Rank — 285 • Population Total — 1958 • Population Density Km2 — 2.9 • Population Increase — -3.2

• Illustration — Fugløya ('Bird Island') • Illustration — The 900-year-old Old Gildeskål Church The municipality of Gildeskaal (later spelled Gildeskål) was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1853, the eastern (inland) district of Gildeskaal Municipality (population: about 1,150) was separated to become the new Beiarn Municipality. This left Gildeskaal Municipality with about 2,400 residents. The municipal boundaries have not changed since.

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Gildeskaal farm (Gildaskáli) since the first Gildeskål Church was built there. The first element is the plural genitive case of gildi which means "feast" or "banquet". The last element is which means "hall". On 21 December 1917, a royal resolution enacted the 1917 Norwegian language reforms. Prior to this change, the name was spelled Gildeskaal with the digraph "aa", and after this reform, the name was spelled Gildeskål, using the letter å instead.

The coat of arms was granted on 12 February 1988. The official blazon is "Azure, a chalice argent" (I blått en sølv kalk). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a chalice. The chalice 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 arms are canting since the meaning of the municipal name Gildeskål refers to a banquet hall (or guildhall) which, of course, is a place where one might drink from a chalice. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen.

The Church of Norway has one parish (no) within Gildeskål Municipality. It is part of the Bodø domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland. Churches in Gildeskål Municipality • Parish (no) — Church name — Location of the church — Year built • Gildeskål — Gildeskål Church — Inndyr — 1881 • Old Gildeskål Church — Inndyr — 12th century • Saura Church — Saura — 1884 • Mevik Chapel — Mevik — 1910 • Nordstranda Chapel — Lekanger — 1963 • Sørfjorden Chapel — Sørfinnset — 1957

Gildeskål is a coastal municipality that encompasses part of the mainland as well as many islands. Major islands include Fleina, Fugløya, Nord-Arnøya, Sør-Arnøya, and Sandhornøya. The southern part of the municipality includes part of the Saltfjellet mountains and the northern part of the municipality borders the Saltfjorden and the Vestfjorden. There are many lakes in the municipality including: Fellvatnet, Langvatnet, Litle Sokumvatnet, and Sokumvatnet. The highest point in the municipality is the 1331.83 m tall mountain Memaurtinden.

Gildeskål 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.

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Gildeskål Municipality is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

The mayor (ordfører) of Gildeskål 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: • 1838–1847: Stein Eilert Berner • 1848–1849: Ole Helgesen • 1850–1851: Peder H. Berg • 1852–1860: Edvard Pedersen • 1860–1862: Hans Henrik Holck Daae • 1863–1866: Jørgen Blix • 1867–1868: Hans Henrik Holck Daae • 1869–1870: Hans Olsen • 1871–1872: Eilert Nicolai Friis • 1873–1876: Hans Hansen • 1877–1878: Abel Ellingsen • 1879–1882: Hans Hansen • 1883–1884: Christoffer Arntzen • 1885–1888: Hans Hansen • 1889–1894: Håkon Hansen • 1895–1910: O. Laugsand • 1911–1913: Paulius Danielsen • 1914–1919: Jens Johansen • 1920–1922: Daniel Johan Eilertsen • 1923–1925: Johan Nilsen-Nygaard • 1926–1926: Daniel Johan Eilertsen • 1927–1928: Øyvind Heen • 1929–1940: Peder Johnsen • 1941–1941: Øyvind Heen • 1941–1945: Lars Norum • 1945–1945: Peder Johnsen • 1946–1947: Astrup Johansen • 1948–1958: Reidar Juliussen Myrhaug • 1958–1961: Magnus Sundsfjord • 1962–1963: Øivind Kaspersen • 1964–1969: Meyer Madsen • 1970–1971: Rolf Fagermo • 1972–1972: Meyer Madsen • 1972–1975: Andreas Opsahl • 1976–1979: Håkon Willumsen • 1980–1981: Harald Joakimsen • 1982–1983: Svein Christensen • 1984–1995: Roger Granberg (Ap) • 1995–1999: Jon Gisle Karlsen • 1999–2003: Gunnar T. Skjellvik (Ap) • 2003–2011: Walter Pedersen (H) • 2011–2019: Petter Jørgen Pedersen (Ap) • 2019–present: Bjørn Magne Pedersen (H)

• Illustration — View from Sandhornøya, in Gildeskål Sandhornøy Bridge connects the island of Sandhornøya to the mainland. The Kjellingstraumen Bridge crosses the outer end of the Beiar Fjord. There is a VLF-transmitter in Gildeskål that is used for sending messages to submerged submarines (call sign: JXN, frequency: 16.4 kHz). It uses as antenna multiple wires spun between two mountains (photo). The transmitter building is located at.

• Elias Blix (1836–1902), a professor, theologian, hymn writer, and politician • Harald Sund (1876–1940), an architect, artist, and illustrator • Håvard Lund (born 1970), a jazz musician (clarinet and saxophone) and composer