Ofoten is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The 2,998.3-square-kilometre (1,157.7 sq mi) municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1884. The municipality included the areas on both sides of the inner part of the Ofotfjorden mostly in what is now the municipalities of Narvik, Ballangen, and Evenes. The administrative centre of Ofoten was the village of Narvik (which later became a town in 1902). After the municipality was dissolved in 1884, the name Ofoten has been used to refer to the region that once was this municipality.[1]

Ofoten herred
Former municipality
Nordland within Norway
Ofoten within Nordland
Coordinates: 68.4363°N 17.3983°E / 68.4363; 17.3983
Country	Norway
County	Nordland
District	Ofoten
Established	1 Jan 1838
• Created as	Formannskapsdistrikt
Disestablished	1 Jan 1884
• Succeeded by	Ankenes and Evenes
Administrative centre	Narvik
Area  (upon dissolution)
• Total	2,998.3 km2 (1,157.7 sq mi)
Population  (1884)
• Total	4,131
• Density	1.4/km2 (3.6/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-1853
Data from Statistics Norway

History

The municipality of Ofoten was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1884, the municipality ceased to exist when it was split into two municipalities: Ankenes (population: 1,734) in the east and Evindnæs (population: 2,397) in the west.[2]

Name

The municipality was named after the local Ofotfjorden (Old Norse: Ófóti). The meaning of the first element is unknown and the last element is derived from the Old Norse word fótr which means "foot". The oldest form of the name could have been Úffóti. In this case, the first element is úfr which means "Eurasian eagle-owl". The three inner branches of the Ofotfjord might have been compared with the three claws of an owl.[1]

See also

• List of former municipalities of Norway
• Ofoten - a geographical area within Nordland county

References