Ballangen

Ballangen

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Ballangen

Ballangen is a municipality in the county of Nordland, Norway.

Ballangen was separated from Evenes July 1, 1925. The area of Efjorden was transferred from Lødingen to Ballangen January 1, 1962.

The municipality borders Narvik to the east and Tysfjord to the south, and has a short border with Sweden to the southeast. Ballangen is situated on the southern shore of Ofotfjorden. Ballangen also includes the long and narrow Efjorden, just south of the much larger Ofotfjord. Its immediate surroundings are dominated by fjords, mountains and forest. Ballangen relies on the neighbouring Narvik as its economic base. Ballangen has established cooporation with municipality of Tosno in Leningrad oblast.

The name
Coat-of-arms
Geography
History
Famous residents
External links

The name

The Norse form of the name was (maybe) *Bagangr. The meaning of the first element is unknown, the last element is angr m 'fjord'.

Efjord in Ballangen July 2003. The bridge is part of the E6 road.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1980). It shows a hammer (to represent mining industry).

Geography

The Efjord area is among the most scenic in North Norway, dominated by large slopes of bare rock with a narrow green area of vegetation near the fjord. The obelisk-like mountain nearby is dominated by the same, dark blue-grey rock, which contrasts with the clear water in the fjord where the sand banks can be seen just below the surface. Climbers and hikers are often tempted to test their skills on the rocky slopes.

In the east, Ballangen borders on lake Siiddasjavri (or Siidda?jávri), which it shares with Sweden. Siidda?jávri is the 14th largest lake which lies in or partially in Norway. Another lake in the municipality is Børsvatne.

History

The first person living in Ballangen we know by name is Lodve Lange (Lodve the long), who is mentioned in Heimskringla as being one of King Olav Tryggvason's most trusted warriors, and being placed near the king in the famous ship Ormen Lange (long serpent). Lodve probably participated in the Battle of Svolder in the year 1000, and might have been killed there. He lived at Saltvik, which is near the fjord, east of the centre in Ballangen today.

There is a long history of mining in Ballangen, starting from the 17th century. Over the years as many as 36 mines have been operated in Ballangen, including minerals like copper, nickel and iron, zink, manganese and lead, but the most serious mining started in 1911 with Bjørkåsen Gruver mining mostly pyrite (http://www.ofotenstidende.no/nyhet.asp?id=3909&fs=20). Mining for nickel and olivine continued until 2002. There is also a dolomite quarry in Ballangen. Ballangen is also the agricultural municipality in the Ofoten district.