Polmak Municipality

Polmak is a former municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The 2,257.5-square-kilometre (871.6 sq mi) municipality existed from 1903 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Tana Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Polmak where Polmak Church is located.^[6]

Polmak Municipality Polmak herred Buolbmát (Northern Sami)
Former municipality
Finnmark within Norway
Polmak within Finnmark
Coordinates: 70°04′11″N 28°00′40″E
Country	Norway
County	Finnmark
District	Øst-Finnmark
Established	1 Jan 1903
• Preceded by	Nesseby Municipality
Disestablished	1 Jan 1964
• Succeeded by	Tana Municipality
Administrative centre	Polmak
Government
• Mayor (1962-1963)	Reidar Dybvik
Area  (upon dissolution)
• Total	2,257.5 km2 (871.6 sq mi)
• Rank	#16 in Norway
Highest elevation [1]	1,067 m (3,501 ft)
Population  (1963)
• Total	1,040
• Rank	#605 in Norway
• Density	0.5/km2 (1/sq mi)
Demonym	Polmak-folk[2]
Official language [3]
• Norwegian form	Bokmål[4]
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	NO-2026[5]
Data from Statistics Norway

Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the 2,257.5-square-kilometre (871.6 sq mi) municipality was the 16th largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Polmak Municipality was the 605th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,040 (in 1963). The municipality's population density was 0.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (1.3/sq mi).^[7][8]

History

The municipality of Polmak was established on 1 January 1903 when the large Nesseby Municipality was divided in two: Polmak (population: 450) in the west and Nesseby (population: 1,058) in the east. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the neighboring municipalities of Polmak (population: 1,072) and Tana (population: 2,237) were merged to form a new, larger Tana Municipality.^[9]

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named "Polmak". It is possibly a Norwegianization of the Northern Sámi name for the area, Buolbmát. The meaning of the name is uncertain.^[10][6]

Historic photo of Polmak Church and parishioners

Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Polmak. It was part of the Nesseby prestegjeld and the Varanger prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.

Churches in Polmak

Parish (sokn)	Church name	Location of the church	Year built
Polmak	Polmak Church	Polmak	1853

Geography

The municipality of Polmak stretched along the northern shore of the Tana River (which also forms the border with Finland) from the little village of Leavvajohka in the west to the village of Polmak in the east and then it continues on both sides of the Tana River northwards to the Tana Bridge. The municipality included the upper Tana River valley, along the border with Finland.^[6] The highest point in the municipality was the 1,067-metre (3,501 ft) tall mountain Rásttigáisá, on the border with neighboring Lebesby Municipality.^[1]

Government

While it existed, Polmak 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 directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.^[11] The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Mayors

The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Polmak:^[12]

• 1846-1847: Jørris Schielderup Hansen
• 1848-1849: Johan Christien Astrup
• 1851-1855: Søren Christian Sommerfelt
• 1854-1854: Carl Johan Schancke
• 1856-1857: Christian Andreasen
• 1857-1858: Carl Johan Schancke
• 1859-1862: Andreas Georg Nordvi
• 1863-1863: Hieronimus Heyerdahl
• 1865-1876: Otto Andreas Pleym Sr.
• 1877-1879: Olaf Larsen
• 1880-1880: Otto Andreas Pleym Sr.
• 1881-1898: Bjørvik Johan Jacobsen
• 1899-1904: Otto Andreas Pleym Jr.
• 1903-1913: Aamund Nodland
• 1914-1916: Gustav Adolf Lilleng
• 1917-1931: Ole Erik Tapio
• 1923-1934: Jens Eriksen
• 1935-1944: Jacob Tapio
• 1944-1945: Ole Torberg Nodland
• 1945-1945: Jens Eriksen
• 1946-1948: Johannes Ballovara
• 1948-1951: John Solbakk
• 1951-1952: Birger Pedersen
• 1952-1959: Arne Isaksen
• 1959-1959: John Solbakk
• 1960-1961: Jann Olsen
• 1962-1963: Reidar Dybvik

Municipal council

The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Polmak was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.

Polmak herredsstyre 1960–1963 ^[13]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	5
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	5
	Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti)	1
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	4
Total number of members:		15
Note: On 1 January 1964, Polmak Municipality became part of Tana Municipality.

Polmak herredsstyre 1956–1959 ^[14]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	9
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	4
	Communist Party (Kommunistiske Parti)	1
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	1
Total number of members:		15

Polmak herredsstyre 1952–1955 ^[15]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	5
	Conservative Party (Høyre)	4
	List of workers, fishermen, and small farmholders (Arbeidere, fiskere, småbrukere liste)	2
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	1
Total number of members:		12

Polmak herredsstyre 1948–1951 ^[16]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	3
	List of workers, fishermen, and small farmholders (Arbeidere, fiskere, småbrukere liste)	1
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	8
Total number of members:		12

Polmak herredsstyre 1945–1947 ^[17]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	4
	List of workers, fishermen, and small farmholders (Arbeidere, fiskere, småbrukere liste)	4
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	4
Total number of members:		12

Polmak herredsstyre 1938–1941* ^[18]  

Party name (in Norwegian)		Number of representatives
	Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet)	3
	Local List(s) (Lokale lister)	9
Total number of members:		12
Note: Due to the German occupation of Norway during World War II, no elections were held for new municipal councils until after the war ended in 1945.

See also

• List of former municipalities of Norway

References

1. "Høgaste fjelltopp i kvar kommune" (in Norwegian). Kartverket. 16 January 2024.
2. "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet.
3. "Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar" (in Norwegian). Lovdata.no.
4. "Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. 1932. Samling af Love, Resolutioner m.m". Norsk Lovtidend (in Norwegian). Oslo, Norway: Grøndahl og Søns Boktrykkeri: 453–471. 1932.
5. Bolstad, Erik; Thorsnæs, Geir, eds. (9 January 2024). "Kommunenummer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon.
6. Askheim, Svein, ed. (9 December 2015). "Polmak". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
7. Statistisk sentralbyrå. "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian).
8. Statistisk sentralbyrå (1 January 1951). Norges Sivile, Geistlige, Rettslige og Militære Inndeling 1. Januar 1951 (PDF). Norges Offisielle Statistikk (in Norwegian). Oslo, Norge: H. Aschehoug & Co.
9. Jukvam, Dag (1999). Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
10. Rygh, Oluf (1924). Norske gaardnavne: Finmarkens amt (in Norwegian) (18 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 266.
11. Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
12. "Oversikt over tidligere ordførere". Deanu gielda (in Norwegian). 12 November 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
13. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1959" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1960. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
14. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
15. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
16. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
17. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
18. "Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938. Retrieved 16 March 2020.