Bjerkvik

Village in Northern Norway, Norway

Bjerkvik Ráhka
Village
View of Bjerkvik
68°32′57″N 17°33′26″E / 68.5492°N 17.5571°E / 68.5492; 17.5571
Country	Norway
Region	Northern Norway
County	Nordland
District	Ofoten
Municipality	Narvik
Area ^[1]
• Total	1.34 km² (0.52 sq mi)
Elevation ^[2]	6 m (20 ft)
Population (2018)^[1]
• Total	1,159
• Density	865/km² (2,240/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Post Code	8530 Bjerkvik

Bjerkvik (Northern Sami: Ráhka) is a village in Narvik Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located at the end of Herjangsfjorden, an arm of Ofotfjorden. Bjerkvik sits less than 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of the border of Troms county and about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) across the fjord from the town of Narvik. The 1.34-square-kilometre (330-acre) village has a population (2018) of 1,159 which gives the village a population density of 865 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,240/sq mi).^[1]

The European route E6 and European route E10 highways meet in Bjerkvik, a central location on the roads connecting Harstad, Narvik, and Tromsø. Elvegårdsmoen military camp lies on the eastern edge of the village near the lake Hartvikvatnet.^[3]

Bjerkvik School is a children's and secondary school in Bjerkvik in Narvik municipality in Nordland. The school has about 200 pupils. The village also has two gas stations and three grocery stores. Bjerkvik Church was built here in 1955 to serve the northern part of the municipality.

History

During World War II, Bjerkvik was almost destroyed by the bombardment of gunfire from allied warships that caused significant civilian casualties.^[4] A landing was also conducted in the area by a Franco-British forces, pushing the german forces several miles away.

The worst avalanche disaster in modern Norwegian history took place in Vassdalen near Bjerkvik in March 1986 when 16 Norwegian soldiers on exercise were killed.

Media gallery

The European route E6 and E10 roads meet in Bjerkvik
Bjerkvik
Bjerkvik Church
View at low tide

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bjerkvik.

^ ^a ^b ^c Statistisk sentralbyrå (1 January 2018). "Urban settlements. Population and area, by municipality".
^ "Bjerkvik, Narvik (Nordland)". yr.no. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
^ Store norske leksikon. "Bjerkvik" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2012-05-29.
^ "Bombardementet av Bjerkvik" (in Norwegian). Bjerkvik skole i Narvik kommune. Archived from the original on 2012-02-09. Retrieved 2012-05-29.