Andenes
Encyclopedia
is a town and former municipality in Vesterålen
Vesterålen
Vesterålen is a district and archipelago in Nordland, Norway, just north of Lofoten.-The name:The Norse forms of the name were Vestráll and Vestrálar . The first element is vestr n west, the last element is áll m ' sound, strait'...

 district in Nordland
Nordland
is a county in Norway in the North Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Nord-Trøndelag in the south, Norrbottens län in Sweden to the east, Västerbottens län to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The county was formerly known as Nordlandene amt. The county administration is...

 county, Norway.

Andenes was separated from Dverberg
Dverberg
Dverberg is a small village in Andøya municipality in Nordland county, Norway.Dverberg was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 . Andenes and Bjørnskinn were separated from Dverberg January 1, 1924...

 January 1, 1924. It was merged with Dverberg and Bjørnskinn
Bjørnskinn
Bjørnskinn is a former municipality in the Andøy municipality of Nordland county, Norway.-History:Bjørnskinn is located on Andøya, a few km northwest of the village of Risøyhamn. Andenes and Bjørnskinn were separated from Dverberg on January 1, 1924. At that point Bjørnskinn had a population of...

 to create the new municipality of Andøy
Andøy
Andøy is the northernmost municipality in Nordland county, Norway, and it belongs to the Vesterålen archipelago. The largest island in the municipality is Andøya. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Andenes....

 January 1, 1964.

Andenes is the northernmost settlement of the island Andøya
Andøya
Andøya is the northernmost island in the archipelago of Vesterålen. Andøya is located in the Andøy municipality in Nordland county, Norway.The island has an area of 489 km², making it the tenth largest island in Norway. The island is connected to the neighboring island of Hinnøya using the...

 and Nordland county. To the east is the island Senja
Senja
Senja is the second largest island in Norway . It is located along the Troms county coastline with Finnsnes as the closest town. Senja is connected to the mainland by the Gisund Bridge. The municipalities located on Senja are Lenvik , Berg, Torsken, and Tranøy...

, and to the west the endless horizon of the North Atlantic. Andøy municipality calls itself Nordlyskommunen (municipality of the Aurora Borealis). However, the literal translation of Andøy is "Duck Island."

The name

The Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 form of the name was Andarnes (from originally *Amdarnes). The first element is the genitive case of Ömd (the old name of the island Andøya
Andøya
Andøya is the northernmost island in the archipelago of Vesterålen. Andøya is located in the Andøy municipality in Nordland county, Norway.The island has an area of 489 km², making it the tenth largest island in Norway. The island is connected to the neighboring island of Hinnøya using the...

), the last element is nes n 'headland'.

History

Andenes was already an important fishing village during the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...

. By the early 1900s it had become one of the largest fishing ports in Norway.

Andenes was a separate municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 from 1924 to 1964, when Andenes, Dverberg and Bjørnskinn were joined to form Andøy municipality. Andenes seats the mayor of Andøy and acts as the municipal centre. In the early 1980s the population was 3,770, which made it the largest town in Vesterålen
Vesterålen
Vesterålen is a district and archipelago in Nordland, Norway, just north of Lofoten.-The name:The Norse forms of the name were Vestráll and Vestrálar . The first element is vestr n west, the last element is áll m ' sound, strait'...

. The downsizing of the Air Station and general population centralization in Norway has led to a dramatic decline in inhabitants over the last 20 years.

Air Station

The construction of Andøya Air Station was commissioned in 1952 and funded in large part by NATO. It was to be situated between Haugnes and Andenes. A DC-3 Dakota of the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) undertook the first landing on September 17, 1954. The air station however was not fully operative until September 15, 1957.

In 1961 the 333 Squadron was moved from Sola Air Station to Andøya with their Grumman HU-16 Albatross. These were in 1969 replaced by the Lockheed P-3 Orion. In 1989 the Lockheed P-3C Orion replaced the aging P-3Bs. However, two of the newest P-3Bs were converted to P-3Ns and fly missions for the Norwegian Coast Guard. Besides fisheries, Andøya Air Station has been the largest workplace in Andøy since the 1970s.

Geography

The city lies 300 km north of the Arctic Circle
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....

 and the midnight sun
Midnight sun
The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon occurring in summer months at latitudes north and nearby to the south of the Arctic Circle, and south and nearby to the north of the Antarctic Circle where the sun remains visible at the local midnight. Given fair weather, the sun is visible for a continuous...

 is visible from May 19 to July 25. The sun is below the horizon from November 25 to January 28.

Media, culture and entertainment

The local newspaper is named "Andøyposten".

Andenes hosts the annual "Rock mot Rus" (Rock against drugs) festival, where young people perform their own rock music as well as more known headliner such as Dead by April
Dead by April
Dead by April is a Swedish metal band from Gothenburg, formed in February 2007. The band consists of Jimmie Strimell, Zandro Santiago, Marcus Wesslén and Alex Svenningsson. They released their self-titled debut album in May 2009. In 2010 the two guitarists, Pontus Hjelm and Johan Olsson, left the...

, Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir is a Norwegian black metal band from Oslo, Norway, formed in 1993. Dimmu borgir means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, Faroese and Old Norse. The name is derived from a volcanic formation in Iceland, Dimmuborgir...

, Kvelertak
Kvelertak
Kvelertak is a six-piece rock & roll band from Stavanger, Norway. All lyrics are written in Norwegian, the band's native language, and concerning Norse mythology/Viking folklore...

, Turdus Musicus
Turdus musicus
Turdus Musicus is a Norwegian band started in 1998 by Carl Christian Lein Størmer and brothers Juhani and Timo Silvola. The name "Turdus musicus" is the former scientific name of the redwing...

 and Torch
Torch (band)
-Music:The band have self-described their sound a mix between Rock and Metal. Although sources have described their sound as everything from Hardcore Punk to Metalcore, Emo and nu metal.-History:...

.

Well-known people

  • Tom Stenvoll
    Tom Stenvoll
    Tom Stenvoll is a former Norwegian footballer, who now is assistant coach for the women's team, Stabæk.-References:...

    , footballer for Stabæk
  • David Pedersen
    David Pedersen
    David Pedersen is a Norwegian singer and came in 3rd place on Idol in 2003. The next year David was asked to join the band Carnival...

    , singer known from the TV-show Idol
    Idol series
    The British talent search television series Pop Idol has spawned spin-offs in 42 territories, in what is now referred to as the "Idols" format, as described by FremantleMedia...

  • Kristian & Roger Adolfsen, owners of Norlandia Hotels & Resorts and Norlandia Omsorg. Read more about them at http://www.adolfsen.com

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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