Ballangen Municipality

Ballangen Municipality
Ballangen kommune
Flag of Ballangen Municipality
Coat of arms of Ballangen Municipality
Nordland within Norway
Nordland within Norway
Ballangen within Nordland
Ballangen within Nordland
Coordinates: 68°18′23″N 16°44′39″E / 68.30639°N 16.74417°E / 68.30639; 16.74417
CountryNorway
CountyNordland
DistrictOfoten
Established1 July 1925
 • Preceded byEvenes Municipality
Disestablished1 Jan 2020
 • Succeeded byNarvik Municipality
Administrative centreBallangen
Government
 • Mayor (2015-2020)Per Kristian Arntzen (Sp)
Area
 (upon dissolution)
 • Total
932.22 km2 (359.93 sq mi)
 • Land846.38 km2 (326.79 sq mi)
 • Water85.84 km2 (33.14 sq mi)  9.2%
 • Rank#119 in Norway
Highest elevation1,724 m (5,656 ft)
Population
 (2019)
 • Total
2,470
 • Rank#292 in Norway
 • Density2.6/km2 (7/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years)
Decrease −5.8%
DemonymBallangsværing[2][3]
Official language
 • Norwegian formBokmål
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-1854[5]

Ballangen (Northern Sami: Bálák) is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1925 until its dissolution in 2020 when it became part of Narvik Municipality. The 932-square-kilometre (360 sq mi) municipality was part of the traditional district of Ofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Ballangen. Other villages in the municipality included Bjørkåsen, Kjeldebotn, Kobbvika, and Skarstad.

Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the 932-square-kilometre (360 sq mi) municipality was the 119th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Ballangen was the 292nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,470. The municipality's population density was 2.6 inhabitants per square kilometre (6.7/sq mi) and its population had decreased by 5.8% over the previous 10-year period.[6][7]

The municipality bordered Narvik Municipality to the east and Tysfjord Municipality to the south, and had a short border with Sweden to the southeast. Ballangen was situated on the southern shore of Ofotfjorden. Ballangen also included the long and narrow Efjorden, just south of the much larger Ofotfjorden. Its immediate surroundings were dominated by fjords, mountains, and forests. Ballangen relied on the nearby town of Narvik as its economic base.

  1. ^ "Høgaste fjelltopp i kvar kommune" (in Norwegian). Kartverket. 16 January 2024. Archived from the original on 12 March 2019.
  2. ^ Andersen, Sander (9 March 2012). "Ballangsværing bak AWG-stadion". NRK (in Norwegian).
  3. ^ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
  4. ^ "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
  5. ^ Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (26 January 2023). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget.
  6. ^ Statistisk sentralbyrå. "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian).
  7. ^ Statistisk sentralbyrå. "09280: Area of land and fresh water (km²) (M)" (in Norwegian).