Mosjøen

Sister cities

• Volkhov
• Lycksele Municipality
• Gornji Milanovac
• Sinop

History

Mentioned in Aslak Bolt's cadastre of the 15th century, Mo is a medieval farm with a history at least dating to the Viking Age. Mosjøen's own history starts in the early modern period. Mosjøen was populated by 1600. The earliest inhabitant known by name is Svein Beachdweller, who lived there together with his wife and daughters in 1660. As the biggest and most important, central town in the Helgeland region, Mosjøen became northern headquarters of the Nazi German occupiers between 1940 and 1945. After the war in 1945, Mosjøen entered its second industrial period. Among several industrial establishments was Mosjøen Aluminum Plant. Mosjøen's coat of arms was granted by King Olav V on 25 March 1960. Composed by sculptor Arthur Gustavsson, it is blazoned Sable, a cock Argent. The cock is traditionally equipped with red beak, wattles, comb, and claws: the so-called colour of armament. The cock represents watchfulness and fighting spirit. After the merger with Vefsn Municipality in 1962, the same coat of arms was adopted for the newly enlarged Vefsn Municipality. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, a major municipal merger took place. The town of Mosjøen (population: 4,628) was merged with Vefsn Municipality (population: 5,358), Drevja Municipality (population: 1,001), and Elsfjord Municipality (population: 920), creating a new municipality called Vefsn. The municipal council of Mosjøen Municipality was made up of 29 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party. The mayor () of Mosjøen Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the…

Geography

Mosjøen is situated in the lower part of the Vefsn Valley, where the Vefsna and Skjerva rivers flow into the Vefsnfjord. Downtown Mosjøen lies on a flat moorland between these two rivers. Moreover, the town is surrounded by mountains and hills, which are mainly vegetated. Standing immediately west of the town, the tall mountain Øyfjellet dominates the town's landscape. Mosjøen is located about south of the Arctic Circle, and the town has an untypical wet and mild boreal climate (Köppen: Dfc), with winter as the wettest season. The town has mild summers and moderately cold winters, but is mild compared to other places on similar latitudes due to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. Situated at the head of a relatively narrow fjord, Mosjøen is not as mild in winter as places on the outer seaboard, but has slightly warmer summers. On 27 July 2019, Mosjøen recorded a high of , which is the warmest temperature officially recorded in Nordland and Northern Norway. Mosjøen receives a large amount of precipitation, particularly in autumn and early winter, and usually has substantial amounts of snow on the ground from late November or early December until mid-April. Its temperatures are fairly similar to that of Anchorage, Alaska. The weather station is located at the airport, about further inland from Mosjøen. The town itself, located at the shores of the fjord, will typically have slightly warmer lows than the airport. The record low is from January 2010. Despite being south of the Arctic Circle, Mosjøen experiences midnight sun from 16 June to 26 June due to atmospheric refraction, but has no polar night: on the December solstice, Mosjøen has just under three hours of daylight.