Dverberg is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The administrative centre was the village of Dverberg where Dverberg Church is located. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality encompassed the central areas on the island of Andøya in what is now Andøy Municipality. Starting out at about in 1838, it was reduced in size in 1924. Upon its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was only .
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 296th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Dverberg Municipality was the 500th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,681. The municipality's population density was and its population had increased by 0.4% over the previous 10-year period.
General information
The historic prestegjeld of Dverberg was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). It originally included the whole island of Andøya as well as about on the northeastern tip of the large island of Hinnøya, plus a number of very small surrounding islets.
On 1 January 1924, Dverberg Municipality was divided into three. The northern part of Dverberg became the new Andenes Municipality (population: 2,213) and the southern part of Dverberg Municipality was separated to become the new Bjørnskinn Municipality (population: 1,410). This left 1,477 residents in Dverberg Municipality which now only covered the central part of the island of Andøya.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Dverberg Municipality (population: 1,719) was merged (back) with the neighboring Bjørnskinn Municipality (population: 1,835) and Andenes Municipality (population: 3,812) to create the new Andøy Municipality
Name The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Dverberg farm () since the first Dverberg Church was built there. The first element is which means "dwarf". The last element is which means "mountain". Thus the name is referring to a mountain where dwarfs live.
Churches The Church of Norway had one parish () within Dverberg Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Dverberg prestegjeld and the Vesterålen prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Churches in Dverberg MunicipalityParish ()Church nameLocation of the churchYear builtDverbergDverberg ChurchDverberg1843
Geography The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Ressmålstinden. The municipality was located in the central part of the island of Andøya. Andenes Municipality was located to the north and Bjørnskinn Municipality was located to the south. The Andfjorden was located to the east and the Norwegian Sea was located to the west of the municipality.
Government While it existed, Dverberg Municipality was 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 was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.
Municipal council The municipal council of Dverberg Municipality was made up of 15 representatives that were elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
Mayors The mayor () of Dverberg Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who held this position:
1838–1840: August Thorvald Deinboll 1840–1844: Augustinus Johannesen Sellevold 1844–1848: Ole Anton Norman 1848–1852: Augustinus Johannesen Sellevold 1852–1854: Thorstein Hoel Jersin 1854–1856: Even Andreas Falch 1856–1860: Augustinus Johannesen Sellevold 1861–1864: Ingebrigt Olai Nielsen 1865–1865: Hans Fredrik Angell 1866–1872: Johan David Osenbroch 1873–1874: Jens Casper Mikkelborg 1875–1876: Nils Christian Hansen 1877–1888: Peder Pettersen 1889–1890: Martinus Heggelund Andreassen 1891–1892: Emil Bernhard Falch Olsen 1893–1894: Peder Pettersen 1895–1898: Wilhelm Nagel 1899–1904: Peder Pettersen 1905–1913: Benjamin Konrad Pettersen 1914–1918: Svend Christian Svendsen 1918–1923: Daniel Hveding Hægstad 1924–1925: Hans Petter Dybwik 1926–1934: Cedolf Olsen Baraa 1935–1940: Olaf H. Pettersen 1946–1949: Egil Sæbøe 1949–1963: Lindberg Nyborg
Notable people Torstein Raaby (1918–1964), a Norwegian resistance fighter and explorer
See also List of former municipalities of Norway
References