Vestvågøy Municipality

Vestvågøy Municipality
Vestvågøy kommune
View of Ballstad in Vestvågøy
Nordland within Norway
Vestvågøy within Nordland
Coordinates: 68°13′17″N 13°47′04″E / 68.22139°N 13.78444°E / 68.22139; 13.78444
CountryNorway
CountyNordland
DistrictLofoten
Established1 Jan 1963
  Preceded byBorge, Buksnes, Hol, and Valberg
Administrative centreLeknes
Government
  Mayor (2023)Jonny Finstad (H)
Area
  Total
424.29 km2 (163.82 sq mi)
  Land406.99 km2 (157.14 sq mi)
  Water17.30 km2 (6.68 sq mi)  4.1%
  Rank#231 in Norway
Highest elevation
955.91 m (3,136.19 ft)
Population
 (2024)
  Total
11,619
  Rank#99 in Norway
  Density27.4/km2 (71/sq mi)
  Change (10 years)
 +5.7%
DemonymVestvågøyværing
Official language
  Norwegian formNeutral
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-1860
WebsiteOfficial website

Vestvågøy is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Lofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Leknes. Some of the villages in the municipality include Ballstad, Borg, Bøstad, Gravdal, Knutstad, Stamsund, Tangstad, and Valberg. With over 11,600 inhabitants, Vestvågøy is the most populous municipality in all of the Lofoten and Vesterålen regions in Nordland county.

The Lofotr museum in Borg shows a reconstructed Iron Age Viking chieftain's residence, with a house measuring 80 metres (262 ft), built of stone and turf.

The 424-square-kilometre (164 sq mi) municipality is the 231st largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Vestvågøy is the 99th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 11,619. The municipality's population density is 27.4 inhabitants per square kilometre (71/sq mi) and its population has increased by 5.7% over the previous 10-year period.