Mosjøen

Mosjøen

*Mussere* (Southern Sami)
Mosjøen Mussere (Southern Sami)
Town
	View of southern parts of Mosjøen
	Mosjøen Location of the town Mosjøen Mosjøen (Norway)
	Coordinates: 65.8370°N 13.1913°E
Country	Norway
Region	Northern Norway
County	Nordland
District	Helgeland
Municipality	Vefsn Municipality
Established as
Ladested	1875-1962
Town (By)	1998
Area
• Total	6.36 km2 (2.46 sq mi)
Elevation	5 m (16 ft)
Population (2018)
• Total	9,843
• Density	1,528/km2 (3,960/sq mi)
Demonym	Mosjøværing
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Post Code	8651–8665 Mosjøen
Former municipality
	Mosjøen ladested
	Nordland within Norway
Country	Norway
County	Nordland
District	Helgeland
Established	1 Jan 1876
• Preceded by	Vefsn Municipality
Disestablished	1 Jan 1962
• Succeeded by	Vefsn Municipality
Administrative centre	Mosjøen
ISO 3166 code	NO-1802
	Data from Statistics Norway

Mosjøen (Norwegian: [ˈmùːʂøːn] ^ⓘ; Southern Sami: Mussere) is a town in Vefsn Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Mosjøen is the oldest town in the Helgeland region, with only the town of Bodø being older within Nordland county. The town is also the administrative centre of Vefsn Municipality. The old village of Mosjøen was declared a ladested in 1875. It was also a town municipality (bykommune) from 1875 until 1961 when it was merged into Vefsn, losing its status as a town (ladested). It is also a former garrison town and customs place.^[5] In 1998, the urban area of Mosjøen was declared to be a town once again. People from Mosjøen are referred to using the demonym "mosjøværing". The 6.36-square-kilometre (1,570-acre) town has a population (2018) of 9,834 and a population density of 1,528 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,960/sq mi).^[2]

Quick Facts Mussere (Southern Sami), Country ...

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Together with the other regional towns of Mo i Rana and Narvik, Mosjøen is one of the industrial towns in Nordland county. Owned by Alcoa, Mosjøen Aluminum Plant is among the biggest in Europe, and is traditionally the town's cornerstone. Additionally, the town's business sector includes trade, crafts, banking, transportation, and tourism. The town attracts customers from the entire region.

Mosjøen is a transport hub in Helgeland. From Mosjøen, it is 71 kilometres (44 miles) to the town of Sandnessjøen in the west, 87 kilometres (54 miles) to the town of Mo i Rana in the north, and 160 kilometres (99 miles) to the town of Brønnøysund in the south. Furthermore, the road distance is 318 km (198 miles) to the town of Bodø and 393 km (244 miles) to the city of Trondheim. The European route E6 highway runs through the town. There are daily departures from Mosjøen Bus Central, from Mosjøen Railway Station on the Nordland Line, and from Mosjøen Airport south of the town. There are both public and private quays in Mosjøen. The town's harbour is among the largest in Northern Norway.^[6]

In the aspect of secondary and adult education, Mosjøen exercises both local and regional functions. Offering general (including music), vocational, and agricultural lines, Mosjøen High School also receives students from rural municipalities surrounding the town and from other regions of Nordland. Vefsn Folk High School lies in Mosjøen, while Sandvik Folk High School is located north of it. The town has got a department of the Open University. Many bigger events for children and youths take place in Mosjøen, among others Toppen International Summer Music School and The Kippermoen Cup.

Mosjøen is known for Sjøgata: Northern Norway's longest cluster of 19th-century wooden houses and piers. Other tourist attractions include Dolstad Church from 1735, the award-winning Town Park from 1905, and the aluminum plant.

The town is named after the old Mo farm (Old Norse: Móar) the town was built up on the outskirts of the large farm. The first element is derived from the word móar which is the plural form of mór which means "moorland". The last element is sjøen (Old Norse: sjór which means "sea" or "seaside". Mosjøen, therefor means "the sea(side) belonging to Mo". In other words, it was a place where the farmers of Mo had their boats and boatsheds. Earlier spellings are Moesøen in the 18th century and Mosøen in the 19th century.^[7]

Mentioned in Aslak Bolt's cadastre of the 15th century, Mo is a medieval farm with a history at least dating to the Viking Age. Mosjøen's own history starts in the early modern period. Mosjøen was populated by 1600.^[8] The earliest inhabitant known by name is Svein Beachdweller, who lived there together with his wife and daughters in 1660.^[8] In the 17th and early 18th century, especially following the 1645 Treaty of Brömsebro, several inhabitants of Jemtland escaped to Trøndelag and to Nordland. Many of them came to Vefsn, including Mosjøen. In the 18th century, Mosjøen as a settlement for nonagrarian occupations started to materialise. For example, the regional executioner resided there temporarily. As did a handful of craftsmen and public officials.

From the late 16th century until the 1820s, Mo was possessed by the Mo family: wealthy farmers as well as skippers and merchants who contributed to Mosjøen's gradual expansion. In 1794, a member of the family received royal privilege to establish a trading post in Mosjøen.

In the 1860s, a group of Englishmen—the 'salmon lords'—established The North of Europe Land & Mining Company, introducing the first industrial period in Mosjøen. Sawmill industry created 'Klondike conditions': People came from everywhere in order to get a job, to trade, and so on, and salaries were relatively high.

On 4 April 1874, King Oscar II decided to grant ladested (town) status to Mosjøen effective on 1 January 1875. As a ladested, Mosjøen now had the privilege to export goods directly to foreign countries. As a new town, it had the right to self-government, so it was separated from Vefsn Municipality to become a separate municipality on 1 January 1876. Initially, the new town had 379 residents. In 1939, a small adjoining area of Vefsn was transferred into the town of Mosjøen.^[9]^[5]^[6] The Cinema Museum in London holds excellent film of the area in 1931 in its collection (ref HMO321) ^[10]

As the biggest and most important, central town in the Helgeland region, Mosjøen became northern headquarters of the Nazi German occupiers between 1940 and 1945. After the war in 1945, Mosjøen entered its second industrial period. Among several industrial establishments was Mosjøen Aluminum Plant.

Mosjøen's coat of arms was granted by King Olav V on 25 March 1960. Composed by sculptor Arthur Gustavsson, it is blazoned Sable, a cock Argent. The cock is traditionally equipped with red beak, wattles, comb, and claws: the so-called colour of armament. The cock represents watchfulness and fighting spirit. After the merger with Vefsn in 1962, the coat of arms has been used by Vefsn Municipality.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, a major municipal merger took place. The town of Mosjøen (population: 4,628) was merged with the municipalities of Vefsn (population: 5,358), Drevja (population: 1,001), and Elsfjord (population: 920), creating a new municipality called Vefsn.^[9]^[5] Upon merging, Mosjøen lost its status as a town.

In 1998, the municipal council of Vefsn declared Mosjøen to have the formal status as a town.

Municipal self-government (1875–1962)

Mosjøen was a self-governing municipality from 1875 until 1962. During that time, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elected a mayor.^[11]

Municipal council

The municipal council (Bystyre) of Mosjøen was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows: