Saltdal () is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rognan. Other villages in Saltdal include Røkland, Lønsdal, Langset, and Saksenvika.

The municipality is the 26th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Saltdal Municipality is the 186th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 4,880. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 4.1% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Saltdal was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1949, a small area of Skjerstad Municipality (population: 10) was transferred to Saltdal Municipality. Other than that one change, the borders have never changed.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Saltdalen valley (). The river Saltdalselva runs through the Saltdalen valley. The first element of the name is the old name of the river, . The river name is which means "strong stream". The last element is which means "valley" or "dale". Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Saltdalen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Saltdal, removing the definite form ending -en.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 28 October 1988. The official blazon is "Gules, a rowan twig Or" (). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is two rowan twigs. The rowan twig has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. This design was chosen to represent nature and the prevalence of rowan forests in the municipality. They are also canting arms because the Norwegian word for rowan is rogn and the municipal centre is the village of Rognan. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen.

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes () within Saltdal Municipality. It is part of the Salten prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

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

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

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

|-

|Saltdal||Saltdal Church||Rognan||1862

|-

|Øvre Saltdal||Øvre Saltdal Church||Røkland||1938

|}

History

thumb|left|Memorial for the [[Blood Road]]

During World War II, the Germans decided to lengthen the Nordland Line from Lønsdal in Saltfjellet going northwards. Over a period of three years, the original plan was to first have both the road and the railroad all the way to Narvik and then on to Kirkenes, but they only managed to build the railroad to Bodø.

The Germans continued to lengthen the road to Kirkenes, and it came to be known as Blodvegen ("the Blood Road") by locals. This project involved prisoners of war, mostly from Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, in building this road under extremely harsh conditions. The workers lived in prison camps where they did not receive enough food for their hard work building the road. This caused many of the workers to collapse and die. A famous sign of this road is the blood cross one of the prisoners drew on the mountainside with his recently killed friend's blood. It has become a tradition to repaint this cross with red paint, so people who pass this will never forget what happened. It's still possible to walk this road, which stretches from Saltnes to Soksenvika. At Saltnes, you will find the Blood Road museum.

Saltdal was known for having some of the most horrifying prisoner-of-war camps in Norway during World War II. A grand total of 15-18 camps with 9,500 Russian, Polish, and Yugoslavian prisoners were located in the valley.

Government

Saltdal 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.

Municipal council

The municipal council () of Saltdal Municipality is made up of 21 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 Saltdal 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:

  • 1838–1840: Petter Ellingsen Saltnæs, Sr.
  • 1840–1842: Rev. Jacob Preus Breder
  • 1842–1844: Petter Ellingsen Saltnæs, Sr.
  • 1844–1848: Rev. Anders Otterbech
  • 1848–1850: Jens Erik Angell Schjelderup
  • 1850–1856: Rev. Christian Wilhelm Koren
  • 1857–1859: Georg Wasmuth Sejersted
  • 1859–1861: Carl Olsen
  • 1871–1873: Carl Olsen
  • 1895–1897: Ole Martinus Benjaminsen (H)
  • 1897–1910: Peder Carl Olsen Vik (H)
  • 1923–1934: Arnt Ove Krane (H)
  • 1935–1938: Oskar Theodor Støre (V)
  • 1938–1941: Kristen J. Næstby (Ap)
  • 1941–1942: Johan Kristoffersen (NS)
  • 1942–1943: Samuel Giæver (NS)
  • 1943–1945: Julius B. Wilson (NS)
  • 1945–1946: Kristen J. Næstby (Ap)
  • 1946–1975: Hilmar Konrad Hansen (Ap) During the July 2019 European heat wave the temperature reached at Nordnes, the highest temperature ever measured north of the Arctic Circle in Norway.

Similarly, winter temperatures can be quite cold, often dropping below on a clear day. The all-time low was recorded January 2010 at Borkamo.

Transportation

The European route E6 highway passes through the entire length of Saltdal, with the Nordland Line running alongside it. A road running east through the Junkerdalen valley (National Road 77) leads to Sweden. The nearest main airport is in Bodø, about 90 minutes from Rognan by road. There is a general aviation airport—Rognan Airport.

Economy

One of the largest employers in Saltdal Municipality is Nexans. The company's Rognan factory specializes in telecommunications, fibre optics and copper cables. There is also some agriculture in Saltdal, and many people work within public services.

In September 2023, a local manufacturer of cabins laid off many workers during a time where demand was slowing.

Saltdal has a history in boat building out of local timber. Especially before World War II, the boatbuilding industry employed a large percentage of Saltdal's population.

Notable people

125px|thumb|Ludvig Kristensen Daa, 1877

  • Ludvig Kristensen Daa (1809 in Saltdal – 1877), a historian, ethnologist, auditor, editor of magazines and newspapers, educator and politician
  • Arne Hjersing (1860 in Saltdal – 1926), a painter
  • Bernhoff Hansen (1877 in Rognan – 1950), a wrestler, gold medallist in the 1904 Summer Olympics
  • Erling Engan (1910 in Saltdal – 1982), a Norwegian politician
  • Trygve Henrik Hoff (1938 in Rognan – 1987), a singer, composer, songwriter and writer
  • Hans-Erik Husby (1972 – 2021), a rock singer (Turbonegro); lived about five years in Rognan in his childhood and early teens
  • Ragnhild Furebotten (born 1979 in Saltdal), a fiddler, folk musician and composer
  • Lena Kristin Ellingsen (born 1980 in Saltdal), an actress

See also

  • Blodveien ["The blood road"]

References

  • Municipal fact sheet from Statistics Norway
  • Junkerdal National Park
  • Polarcircle center