Øverbygd

Øverbygd herred
Former Municipality

Øvre Dividal park
Coordinates: 69°01′27″N 19°17′45″E / 69.02417°N 19.29583°E / 69.02417; 19.29583Coordinates: 69°01′27″N 19°17′45″E / 69.02417°N 19.29583°E / 69.02417; 19.29583
Country Norway
County Troms
District Nord-Norge
Municipality ID NO-1923
Adm. Center Skjold
Area[1]
 • Total 2,132 km2 (823 sq mi)
Created from Målselv in 1925
Merged into Målselv in 1964

Øverbygd is a former municipality in Troms county in Norway. It is located within the present-day municipality of Målselv from the Lille Rostavatn lake along the Målselva river through the Målselvdalen valley. The village of Skjold is home to a large garrison for the Norwegian Army. The Øvre Dividal National Park is also located here. Øverbygd Church was the main church for the municipality.

History

Øverbygd
Øverbygd, Norway

On 1 July 1925, the eastern district of the municipality of Målselv was separated to form the new municipality of Øverbygd. Initially, Øverbygd had a population of 566 inhabitants. On 1 January 1964, Øverbygd was merged back into a newly enlarged Målselv municipality. Prior to the merger, Øverbygd had a population of 1,232.[1][2]

World War II

During World War II, the German army created a military base at Øverbygd. The base was initially a supply point for the German forces attack on Murmansk. German soldiers on retreat at the end of the war came through Øverbygd. Maukstadmoen and Holmen were undeveloped pine forests,but virtually all of the commercial forest was cut down to provide German troops land and building materials.

Large barracks for the officer's quarters were established on Maukstadmoen. They also built large stock barracks, a cold storage plant, and a German military hospital. A Prisoner-of-war camp for Russian prisoners of war and medical camp was built near Holmen.

References

  1. 1 2 "Øverbygd – kommune" (in Norwegian). Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  2. ↑ Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå.
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