Hemnes Municipality

Other villages include Bjerka, Bleikvasslia, Finneidfjord, Hemnesberget, and Sund. • Illustration — View from Korgfjellet mountain in Hemnes (about 400 m amsl) towards Vefsn The municipality sits south of the Ranfjorden and stretches south and east toward the border with Sweden. The Nordland Line and European route E6 cross Hemnes on their way to the town of Mo i Rana about 20 km to the northeast. The E6 highway enters Hemnes from the west through the Korgfjell Tunnel from Vefsn Municipality. The 1590 km2 municipality is the 49th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. The 194th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 4,485. The municipality's population density is 2.8 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 1.5% over the previous 10-year period.

• Name — Hemnes • Native Name — Heäjmmanássja • Id Number — 1832 • County — Nordland • District — Helgeland • Capital — Korgen • Established — 1839 • Preceded — Rana Municipality • Population Demonym — Hemnesværing • Language — Neutral • Website — www.hemnes.kommune.no • Mayor — Paul Asphaug • Mayor Party — Sp • Mayor As Of — 2019 • Elevation Max M — 1915.75 • Area Rank — 49 • Area Total Km2 — 1589.50 • Area Land Km2 — 1429.98 • Area Water Km2 — 159.52 • Area Water Percent — 10 • Population As Of — 2024 • Population Rank — 194 • Population Total — 4485 • Population Density Km2 — 2.8 • Population Increase — -1.5

This municipality was established in 1839 when the large Rana Municipality was divided into Sør-Rana Municipality and Nord-Rana Municipality, shortly after the Formannskapsdistrikt law went into effect. Soon after, in 1844, Sør-Rana Municipality was renamed Hemnes Municipality. On 1 July 1918, the southern district of Hemnes Municipality (population: 1,369) was separated to become the new Korgen Municipality. This left Hemnes Municipality with 3,567 residents. A few months later on 1 January 1919, the eastern area of Bardal (population: 4) was transferred to the neighboring Nesna Municipality. Then on 1 July 1929, Hemnes was divided into three smaller municipalities: Sør-Rana Municipality, Elsfjord Municipality, and Hemnes Municipality. After this division, Hemnes Municipality only consisted of the large village of Hemnesberget and the area immediately around it (population: 1,077). During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Hemnes Municipality (population: 1,352) was merged with Korgen Municipality (population: 3,033), the extreme northern part of Hattfjelldal Municipality (population: 168), and the southern part of Sør-Rana Municipality (population: 934) to form a new, larger Hemnes Municipality.

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Hemnes farm (Heimnes, now called Hemnesberget) since the first Hemnes Church was built there. The first element is heimr which means "home" (here in the sense of being "closest to home"). The last element is which means "headland", referring to the peninsula on which the farm is located.

The coat of arms was granted on 4 April 1986. The official blazon is "Azure, boat clamps Or" (I blått en gull båtklammer). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a boat clamp. The clamp has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The blue color in the field symbolizes the importance of the ocean. The clamp was chosen because shipbuilding has long been a tradition in the municipality. To symbolize shipbuilding, it was decided to use the clamp which is used to keep the wooden flanks of the ships together. The arms were designed by Anne Lofthus Valla.

The Church of Norway has three parishes (no) within Hemnes Municipality. It is part of the Indre Helgeland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland. Churches in Hemnes Municipality • Parish (no) — Church name — Location of the church — Year built • Bleikvassli — Bleikvassli Church — Bleikvasslia — 1955 • Hemnes — Hemnes Church — Hemnesberget — 1872 • Korgen — Korgen Church — Korgen — 1863

• Illustration — Memorial for Yugoslav partisans taken as POWs.

As part of their drive on Northern Norway, a detachment of three hundred German soldiers landed at Hemnes from the captured Norwegian coastal steamer SS Nordnorge on 10 May 1940 and captured the municipality from a platoon of British soldiers from No. 1 Independent Company, despite a spirited defence in the streets of Hemnesberget. A Royal Navy task force consisting of the anti-aircraft cruiser Calcutta and destroyer Zulu sank the former Norwegian steamer and shelled the German forces in the town, but were unable to dislodge the German landing force. A Norwegian Army detachment attempted a counterattack against the German's positions, but was driven back. The town was again bombarded on 12 May by a passing Royal Navy force without significant effect, leaving Hemnes in German control for the rest of the war.

In 2023, a window manufacturing company, Natre Vinduer, announced that after 99 years operating in Hemnesberget, it was closing its factory and relocating it to Gjøvik. This would transfer about 100 employees out of the municipality to the new factory.

Hemnes 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 Helgeland District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Hemnes Municipality is made up of 23 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 Hemnes 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: • 1839–1844: N. Myhre • 1844–1847: Ole Eliassen • 1848–1849: A.C. Wetlesen • 1850–1851: Ole Eliassen • 1852–1857: A.C. Wetlesen • 1858–1861: O. Fredereksen • 1862–1869: Ivar Rievertz Johansen • 1870–1879: Arent C. Seljelid • 1880–1885: Kristoffer Andersen • 1886–1891: Georg Rathje Bardal • 1892–1893: J. Berger • 1894–1897: Odin Olsen Ramseng • 1898–1898: Ole Johnsen Holmslet • 1899–1901: Odin Olsen Ramseng • 1902–1904: Rev. C.C. Dons • 1905–1910: Saras Nielsen • 1911–1914: J.O. Rydsaa • 1914–1916: Wilhelm Theting • 1917–1919: N. Boldermo • 1919–1922: Per Drevvatne • 1922–1926: Johan L. Finneide • 1926–1928: Hans Jakobsen Drevvatne • 1928–1929: M. Michaelsen (Ap) • 1929–1931: K. Mollestad • 1931–1940: Jens Jensen • 1941–1941: Fr. Præstang • 1941–1943: Johan Selseth • 1943–1944: Trygve Langseth • 1945–1945: Jens Jensen • 1946–1951: Bjarne Paulsen (Ap) • 1952–1959: Øystein Jenssen (V) • 1959–1967: Kristen Pettersen Øverleir (Ap) • 1968–1975: Ole Brygfjeld (Ap) • 1976–1979: Harald Gullesen (Ap) • 1980–1983: Nils Nermark (H) • 1984–1995: Ørnulf Skjæran (Ap) • 1996–1999: Nils Valla (Sp) • 1999–2003: Per Jomar Hoel (Sp) • 2003–2011: Kjell-Idar Juvik (Ap) • 2011–2015: Kjell Joar Petersen-Øverleir (H) • 2015–2019: Christine Trones (H) • 2019–present: Paul Asphaug (Sp)

• Illustration — Okstindan range with Oksskolten, 1916 m, the highest mountain in North Norway. The lake Røsvatnet (Reevhtse) is a lake and reservoir lying partially in the southern part of Hemnes. It has been the site of human occupation since the Stone Age. Its area of 219 km2 makes it the second largest lake in Norway by surface area. Other lakes include Bleikvatnet, Grasvatnet, Stormålvatnet, and Stormyrbassenget. The Okstindan mountain range is located in Hemnes, including the highest point in the municipality: the 1915.75 m tall Oksskolten. The large Okstindbreen glacier sits atop the mountain range.

Each map has a maximum number of listings it can display, so the map has been divided into parts consistent with the enumeration districts (tellingskrets) in the 1920 census. This map will include one farm name per farm number; other farm names or subdivision numbers may exist. Note that tellingskrets 2, Brennberget - Straumgrenda, and 3, Utskarpen, are now in Rana municipality. Tellingskrets 5, Elsfjorden; 6, Drevvatne skolekreds and 7, Luktvatne, are now in Vefsn Municipality.

The farms in Hemnes Municipality as they are listed in O. Rygh's series Norske_Gaardnavne (Norwegian farm names), the Nordland volume of which was published in 1905. • See also: Digital version of Norske Gaardnavne - Nordland The farm numbers are used in some census records, and numbers that are near each other indicate that those farms are geographically proximate. Handwritten Norwegian sources, particularly those prior to 1800, may use variants on these names. For recorded variants before 1723, see the digital version of O. Rygh. Note that this list of farms does not adhere to the modern boundaries of Hemnes, but instead reflects the boundaries as O. Rygh knew them. Refer to their location on the map to determine which municipality they belong in now. Farm names were often used as part of Norwegian names, in addition to the person's given name and patronymic or inherited surname. Some families retained the farm name, or toponymic, as a surname when they emigrated, so in those cases tracing a surname may tell you specifically where in Norway the family was from. This tradition began to change in the mid to late 19th century, and inherited surnames were codified into law in 1923. If you can't find an entry when you are searching for a word that starts with AE, Ae, O, A or Aa, it may have been transcribed from one of those letters not used in English. Try looking for it under the Norwegian letter; Æ, Ø, and Å appear at the end of the Norwegian alphabet • Farm Name — Farm Number • Sandnes indre — 1 • Sandviken — 1, 5 • Osmo — 2 • Hestnesosen — 3 • Hestneset — 4 • Berntviken — 4, 2 • Brennesvik — 5 • Stomviken — 5, 2 • Blaabærviken — 5, 3 • Mastervik — 6 • Leirvik — 7 • Brattaamoen — 7, 3 • Vedaaen — 8 • Næverli — 9 • Høineset — 10 • Varpen — 10, 2 • Espervik — 11 • Fuglstrand — 12 • Skravlaa — 13 • Elsfjorden — 14 • Flotmoen — 15 • Svartkjønli — 16 • Vesterbækmo — 17 • Dyrhaug — 18 • Lillejorden — 18, 3 • Drevasbotnet — 19 • Bjørnstadmoen — 19, 2 • Leirfaldmoen — 19, 4 • Drevatnet — 20 • Sagbakken — 20, 6 • Rørenget — 20, 7 • Granneset — 20, 9 • Luktvasli, 1 — 21 • Luktvasli, 2 — 22 • Luktvasli, 3 — 23 • Rundsvold — 24 • Skogsmo — 25 • Hjartli — 26 • Langmoen — 26, 3 • Luktvashoved — 27 • Bjerknes — 28 • Kjerringhalsen — 29 • Svartvatnet — 30 • Luktvatnet lille — 31 • Luktvasmo — 32 • Elsfjordosen — 33 • Tronmoen — 34 • Nymoen — 34, 2 • Forsmoen — 35 • Stormoen — 36 • Sagmoen — 36, 2 • Storvoldmoen — 36, 4 • Kobhaugen — 37 • Bakken — 37, 2 • Elsfjordstranden — 38 • Seljeli — 39 • Myrvik — 40 • Myrbækmoen — 40, 2 • Furuhatten — 41 • Mula — 42 • Vægthaugkraaen — 43 • Øninglien — 44 • Maalvatnet, 1 — 45 • Maalvatnet, 2 — 46 • Bjurbækdalen — 47 • Forsbakken — 48 • Bjerkadalen — 49 • Stien — 49, 1 • Bjerkadalen — 50 • Bjerka store — 51 • Breiviken — 52 • Langklevenget — 52, 3 • Finneid — 53 • Katstranden — 54 • Urland — 55 • Urlandaaen — 56 • Holmen — 57 • Svalingen — 58 • Inderviken — 58, 4 • Sæteren — 59 • Grønvikmoen — 60 • Grindviken — 60, 2 • Grønvik — 61 • Oterbranden — 62 • Lakshusneset — 62, 3 • Sund — 63 • Gløsen — 63, 1 • Staulen — 63, 2 • Sjøgaarden — 63, 4 • Sjøbakken — 63, 6 • Ekren — 63, 8 • Moan — 63, 9 • Ekreneset — 63, 10 • Præstenget — 64 • Hundnesdalen — 64, 2 • Hemnes — 65 • Gjeitvik — 66 • Høineset — 66, 2 • Buvik — 67 • Dilkestad, 1 — 68 • Purkneset — 68, 1 • Aaenget — 68, 2 • Aspbakken — 68, 5 • Purkneshaugen — 68, 6 • Dilkestad, 2 — 69 • Dalosen — 70 • Sletten — 70, 3 • Brubakken — 70, 7 • Ravnseng — 70, 9 • Faldhaala — 70, 10 • Steinhaugen — 71 • Utskarpen — 72 • Storholmen — 73 • Gjesbakken — 74 • Rørlien — 75 • Fuglmyrhaug — 76 • Storstranden — 77 • Landenget — 77, 5 • Bratland — 78 • Lilleberget — 78, 4 • Aaneset — 78, 5 • Kvitneset — 79 • Brennberget øvre — 80 • Brennberget nedre — 81 • Høikleppen — 82 • Brennbergfjeld — 83 • Brennberget indre — 84 • Laukhellen — 84, 4 • Seljehammeren — 85 • Strømsnes — 86 • Tybækken — 87 • Utland — 88 • Strømbotn — 89 • Medstrøm — 90 • Tverbæklien — 91 • Strømfors — 92 • Strømdalen — 93 • Nordenglien — 94 • Jamtjorden — 95 • Bjerklien — 96 • Strømbugten — 97 • Strømmen — 98 • __ — __ • Røssagauren — 100 • Røssaaen — 101 • Mellingsjorden — 102 • Traangmoen — 102, 3 • Solhaug — 104 • Engesmoen — 104, 2 • Samuelmoen — 105 • Valaamoen — 106 • Seljebakneset — 106, 4 • Korgen — 107 • Vildmoen — 108 • Bjurselvmoen — 109 • Kjukkelmoen — 110 • Tømmermoen — 111 • Fagervoldli — 112 • Langmoen — 113 • Groftremmen — 114 • Flatmoen — 114, 2 • Forsmoen — 115 • Bygdaasen — 116 • Svartvasmoen — 117 • Kongsdalen — 118 • Bleikvasforsen — 119 • Oksfjeldelven — 120 • Lenningsvik — 121 • Rapliaasen — 122 • Smalsundmoen — 123 • Bleikvaslien — 124 • Krokselvmoen — 125 • Stabbforsen — 126 • Brygfjelddalen — 127 • Ytterlien — 128 • Jordaabakken — 128, 2 • Brygfjeld lille — 129 • Bollermoen — 130 • Aaenget — 131 • Holmsletten — 132 • Brygfjeld store — 133 • Skresletten — 134 • Tveraaen — 135 • Fjelddal — 136 • Trætbakken — 137 • Finbakken — 138 • Skjeftmoen — 139 • Leirskaret — 140 • Meland — 141 • Leiren øvre — 142 • Leiren ytre — 143 • Jerpbakken — 144 • Olderneset — 145 • Troneset — 146 • Leiren nedre — 147 • Valla — 148 • Svebakken — 148, 5 • Libakken — 148, 7 • Bjerka lille — 149

• Illustration — Laila Stien,2007 • Kristen Rivertz, (Norwegian Wiki) (1862–1937), an architect • Johan Albrigt Rivertz (1874 in Korgen – 1942), a judge on the Supreme Court of Norway • Erling Falk (1887 in Hemnesberget - 1940), a Norwegian politician, ideologist, and writer • Christen Finbak, (Norwegian Wiki) (1904–1954), a chemist and physicist • Egil Kraggerud (born 1939 in Hemnes), a philologist • Laila Stien (born 1946 in Hemnes), a novelist, poet, and author of children's literature • Gerd-Liv Valla (born 1948), a former trade union leader who grew up near Bjerka • Reidar Sørensen (born 1956 in Hemnesberget), a Norwegian stage and film actor • Kjell-Idar Juvik (born 1966 in Hemnesberget), a politician who was Mayor of Hemnes from 2003–2011 • Børge Petersen-Øverleir (born 1967 in Hemnesberget), a guitarist