Vefsn () is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Mosjøen (population: 9,843). Some of the notable villages in Vefsn include Drevvassbygda, Elsfjord, and Husvik.
The municipality is the 41st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Vefsn is the 92nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 13,233. The municipality's population density is and its population has decreased by 0.2% over the previous 10-year period.
History
The municipality of Vefsn was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1862, the vast eastern district of Vefsn (population: 921) was separated from Vefsn to become the new municipality of Hattfjelldal. This left Vefsn with 5,051 residents. In 1876, the town of Mosjøen (population: 379) was separated from Vefsn to become a separate municipality. This left Vefsn with 4,672 residents.
In 1927, Vefsn municipality was split into three: the small northern district (population: 964) became the new municipality of Drevja and the large southern district (population: 1,746) became the new municipality of Grane. After the split, Vefsn had 3,119 residents remaining. In 1939, a small area of Vefsn (population: 45) was transferred to neighboring town of Mosjøen.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, the municipality of Vefsn (population: 5,358) was merged with the neighboring town of Mosjøen (population: 4,628) and the neighboring municipalities of Drevja (population: 1,001) and Elsfjord (population: 920) to form a new, larger municipality of Vefsn. On 1 January 1995, the mainland areas of the neighboring Alstahaug Municipality (population: 70) were transferred to Vefsn.
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the river Vefsna () which flows through the municipality into the Vefsnfjorden (). The meaning of the river name is unknown, but it possibly comes from the old word which means "to wrap" or "to wind around". Historically, the spelling has varied from Vefsen to Væffsn.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 13 September 1974. The official blazon is "Sable, a rooster argent armed gules" (). This means the arms have a black field (background) and the charge is a rooster. The rooster has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The rooster is also armed which means its claws, beak, and comb are colored red. The rooster is a symbol for watchfulness and alertness. The arms were designed by Arthur Gustavsson.
The coat of arms was originally adopted by the municipality of Mosjøen on 25 March 1960. In 1962, Mosjøen was merged with Vefsn, Drevja, and Elsfjord to form a new, larger Vefsn municipality. After the merger, the old arms of Mosjøen were chosen for the new municipality. Since the arms officially became obsolete after the merger, they were re-granted in 1974.
Churches
The Church of Norway has three parishes () within the municipality of Vefsn. It is part of the Indre Helgeland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Geography
The administrative centre of Vefsn is the town of Mosjøen which is situated along the innermost part of the Vefsnfjorden. Outside Mosjøen, the large municipality of Vefsn is dominated by spruce forests, mountains, lakes, agriculture, and the Vefsna river. The municipality is served by Mosjøen Airport, Kjærstad.
The mountain Lukttinden is located in the northern part of the municipality. There are many large lakes in Vefsn including Drevvatnet, Finnknevatnet, Fustvatnet, Hundålvatnet, Luktvatnet, Mjåvatnet, and Ømmervatnet. The Lomsdal–Visten National Park is partially located in Vefsn.
Birdlife
The bird watcher that visits Vefsn soon realizes that it will take more than a day to cover all the interesting habitats and birding areas. Here you will find areas of virtually untouched coniferous woodlands, both inland and along the coast. The Skjørlegda nature reserve is a good example of woodland protection. Here you will find a virtually untouched coniferous forest covering the Eiterå valley. The valley stretches inland to a higher mountainous habitat that is also worth checking.