Hemnes ( Heäjmmanássja) 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 Korgen. Other villages include Bjerka, Bleikvasslia, Finneidfjord, Hemnesberget, and Sund.

thumb|left|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 to the northeast. The E6 highway enters Hemnes from the west through the Korgfjell Tunnel from Vefsn Municipality.

The municipality is the 49th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Hemnes Municipality is the 194th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 4,485. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 1.5% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

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.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Hemnes farm (, now called Hemnesberget) since the first Hemnes Church was built there. The first element is 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.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 4 April 1986. The official blazon is "Azure, boat clamps Or" (). 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.

Churches

The Church of Norway has three parishes () within Hemnes Municipality. It is part of the Indre Helgeland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+ style="font-size:medium"|Churches in Hemnes Municipality

!Parish ()!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built

|-

|Bleikvassli||Bleikvassli Church||Bleikvasslia||1955

|-

|Hemnes||Hemnes Church||Hemnesberget||1872

|-

|Korgen||Korgen Church||Korgen||1863

|}

History

thumb|left|Memorial for Yugoslav partisans taken as [[POWs.]]

Second World War

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.

Economy

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.

Government

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.

Municipal council

The municipal council () 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.

Mayors

The mayor () 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)

Geography

thumb|right|Okstindan range with [[Oksskolten, 1916 m, the highest mountain in North Norway.]]

The lake Røsvatnet () 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 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 tall Oksskolten.

  • 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

References

  • Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway