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Helgeland is the most southerly district in Northern Norway. Generally speaking, Helgeland refers to the part of Nordland county that is located south of the Arctic Circle. It is bordered in the north by the Saltfjellet mountains and Svartisen glacier, which form a natural border with the Salten district. In the south, Helgeland borders Trøndelag county.

The district covers an area of about 18,832 square kilometres (7,271 sq mi), with nearly 79,000 inhabitants. There are four towns in the district: from south to north these are Brønnøysund, Mosjøen, Sandnessjøen, and Mo i Rana.

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was Hálogaland (see Hålogaland).

Geography

Helgeland is commonly divided into three or four sections:

Southern Helgeland (actually southwest), which consists of the municipalities Bindal, Sømna, Brønnøy, Vega and Vevelstad.

Central Helgeland, which is sometimes further divided into the regions:

Inner Helgeland, which consists of the municipalities Grane, Hattfjelldal and Vefsn.

Outer Helgeland, which consists of the municipalities Leirfjord, Alstahaug, Herøy and Dønna.

Northern Helgeland, which consists of the municipalities Hemnes, Rana, Nesna, Lurøy, Træna and Rødøy.

Helgeland is characterized by pointed mountains and Strandflaten, a shallow lowland area, sometimes just above the sea surface, and sometimes just below the surface. People living on the coast have settled on this lowland (while inland towns, such as Mo and Mosjøen, are situated in valleys). A consequence of the Strandflaten is thousands of islands, and shallow waters going far into the sea. This has provided some shelter from stormy weather, which might occur in winter. Some islands are fairly large, often with unique mountains, such as Torghatten, De syv søstre (The Seven Sisters), Hestmannen, Rødøyløva (in Rødøy), Dønnamannen (picture), and Træna. There are several sea bird colonies, such as Lovund with thousands of puffins. The Solvær Islands (Solværøyene) in Lurøy consists of about 300 small and flat islands and has the highest densities of Eurasian eagle-owls in Europe.

The highest mountains, are located inland, where Oksskolten is the highest mountain in Northern Norway. There are many valleys inland, such as the Dunderland Valley, Vefsndalen, and Hattfjelldal. Røssvatnet is the second largest lake in Norway. There are three large national parks in Helgeland: Saltfjellet–Svartisen National Park (partly), Børgefjell National Park (partly), and Lomsdal–Visten National Park (created in May 2009).

Cultural references

Helgeland is the scene for Henrik Ibsen's 1857 historical play "The Vikings at Helgeland" (Hærmændene paa Helgeland), whose plot takes place at this region during the time of Erik Blood-axe (c. 930–934).

Helgeland Kammerkor, a mixed choir with members from all parts of Helgeland, have recorded an album of folk music from Helgeland (Folketoner fra Helgeland, 2005). The album contains 27 folk tunes from Helgeland, recorded in collaboration with folk musicians from the area. The album was recorded in Alstahaug Church, a 900-year-old stone church located near Sandnessjøen.

(Wikipedia)

Ågskardet is a village in Meløy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the southern side of the Holandsfjorden, about 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) north of the village of Tjong (in neighboring Rødøy Municipality). There were 127 inhabitants in 2008.

The village lies along Norwegian County Road 17, with a ferry connection to a port, just west of the village of Halsa. The ferry is the only connection to the rest of Meløy Municipality to the north. The village is situated just north of the border with Rødøy Municipality. The village has its own school, chapel/community centre, and some private companies.

(Wikipedia)

Helgeland (im Mittelalter Hålogaland) ist eine Landschaft im Norden Norwegens, die heute den südlichen Teil des Fylkes Nordland bis zum Saltfjellet umfasst. Die Region hat 78.400 Einwohner und eine Fläche von 17.936 km². Die Region hat ungefähr 15.000 Inseln.

Im Mittelalter bezeichnete Hålogaland das gesamte Territorium nördlich von Trøndelag und war vor der Christianisierung Norwegens ein selbständiges Königreich, das auch den größten Teil von Troms umfasste und sich zeitweilig bis in das von Samen dominierte Gebiet (Finnmark, Schwedisch-Lappland, Nord-Finnland und Nordwest-Russland) erstreckte. Hålogaland nimmt einen hervorragenden Platz in den Sagas ein. Die Göttinnen Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr und Irpa der Jómsvíkinga saga stammen wahrscheinlich aus Hálogaland und wurden wohl vor allem dort verehrt. Der vermutlich bekannteste Einwohner Hålogalands war der Seefahrer und Kaufmann Ottar, dessen Bericht über seine Heimat einen Platz in Alfreds des Großen Übersetzung der Weltgeschichte des Orosius fand.

Der Name stammt nicht von derselben Wurzel wie heilig, wie es schon Adam von Bremen behauptete, sondern von einer Volksbezeichnung háleygir. In Snorri Sturlusons Jüngerer Edda wird er von einem mythischen König Holgi abgeleitet. Holgi wiederum soll ein Nachfolger von Odins Sohn Sæming (Säming) gewesen sein.

Die jüngere Form des Namens findet sich ab 1380, die ältere besteht weiter in den Namen der Bistümer Sør-Hålogaland (Nordland) und Nord-Hålogaland (Troms und Finnmark) und im Namen des Obergerichtes (Hålogaland lagmannsrett), das für die drei nördlichen Provinzen Nordland, Troms und Finnmark sowie für Spitzbergen zuständig ist.

In Helgeland befand sich bei Bratland und der Insel Aldra ein Sender des Omega-Funknavigationssystems. In der Nähe von Bratland befindet sich auch der Marinesender JXN, der wie einst der Omegasender eine Drahtantenne verwendet, die über einen Fjord gespannt wurde.

(Wikipedia)

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