During the 12th century a church was built in the bay south of Malangen, and in the Icelandic “Rimbegla” it says that the church of Lenvik was the northernmost in the world. Perhaps it was meant to mark the northern boundary of that time for Norwegian jurisdiction and church law.
When the municipal laws were instituted in 1837, municipal boundaries were the same as between the churches, so that each parish constituted one municipality. Lenvik had been a parish from 1759, and the name was transferred to the municipality.
The municipality covers an area of about 890 square kilometres. Half of it is on the inner and north eastern side of the island of Senja and the rest on the mainland. It has more than 11000 inhabitants, and is the third biggest municipality in Troms.
Lenvik has three oars in its municipal shield. These symbolis that the sea was the arena for communication which tied the people on the farms together into one unit.
Going into the new millennium, the centre of Finnsnes became a city. Finnsnes is an important centre of communication both on land and sea.
The coastal steamer has daily calls both northbound and southbound, and Tromsø and Harstad can be reached within a little more than an hour by speedboat. On the way you can enjoy the most spectacular landscape. Finnsnes also hosts the main office of one of the biggest transportation companies in Norway, and the local bus company on Senja takes you to and from all parts of Senja. Besides it’s a short way to Bardufoss Airport providing connection to the rest of the country.
The municipality is well provided with kindergartens and a decentralized school system on both primary and secondary level. There are also three schools on upper secondary/high school level and a centre for decentralized studies on university level.
Lenvik has much to offer in the field of sports and culture. There are several indoor halls for sports and facilities for both alpine and cross-country skiing. There is also a variety of cultural activities. The Finnsnes House of Culture, which opened in 1995, is the cultural centre of the region. It contains a 400 seats hall for theatre and concerts, and provides a varied menu of local, national and international performers and stars. The public library of Lenvik is also situated in this building.
“Midt-Tromshallen” is an indoor football centre for the region, and at the same time a hall made for a variety of activities. There are also two major outdoor football stadiums at Finnsnes and Silsand.
There is a great variety of voluntary cultural activities all the year round, with both a winter and a summer festival mobilizing people in a joint effort to create activities and provide grand experiences.
The local museum at Bjorelvnes (15 km north of Finnsnes) is definitely worth a visit, especially in the summertime. Here you can camp in modern cabins and rent a traditional North-Norwegian boat to go fishing or just enjoy the freedom of the sea. If you prefer to learn about local history and culture, you can have an exciting visit inside the museum.
Lenvik and the surrounding region has gone through a positive development, having had the largest growth in trade and industry in the county of Troms if you relate it to the size of the population. The municipality is making efforts to provide facilities for companies that plan to establish activity in the region.
The millennium city of Finnsnes is also the regional centre in midle part of Troms, and a centre of trade and service for about 35.000 people. Every summer the city prepares for the one-week summer festival, aiming to put Finnsnes on the map. Finnsnes has two hotels. Good communication makes Finnsnes an attractive place for conferences.
Trade and service provides employment for many people, but Lenvik also has major companies for fish processing and fishing tackle, and a melting work.
Fishing and agriculture is still very important, and fish farming is of increasing importance for the employment of people. Prospects of education are good in the municipality.
Lenvik also consists of parts of the second biggest island in Norway, Senja; land of contrasts. Senja is also called the island of adventure, and is a Norway in miniature with mountains and fjords, small communities, nature, culture and people, hospitality and go-ahead spirit, and all kinds of weather.
See the brochure "Hikes in Senja" (PDF) German version (PDF)
Densely populated areas in Lenvik:
Finnsnes – municipal and the regional centre
Silsand – communication centre right across the Gisund strait
Gibostad – centre on Senja about 25 km north of Finnsnes
Botnhamn – fishing centre on the north of Senja
Fjordgård – fishing centre on the north of Senja
Husøy – spectacular fishing centre on the north of Senja
Rossfjordstraumen – centre on the mainland, about 25 km from Finnsnes
Contact information:
Write to us:
Lenvik kommune, Pb 602, N-9306 Finnsnes
Visit us:
Rådhusveien 8, Finnsnes
Call us:
(+47) 77 87 10 00
E-mail us:
postmottak@lenvik.kommune.no