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48-473: The 1,543-square-kilometre (596 sq mi) municipality is the 54th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Storfjord is the 293rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,825. The municipality's population density is 1.2 inhabitants per square kilometre (3.1/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 6% over the previous 10-year period. The municipality of Storfjord

96-515: A tincture of Or which means they are commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The poppies are rotated around a meeting point which represents the meeting point ( Treriksrøysa ) of the three countries Norway, Sweden , and Finland , that lies on the edge of the municipality. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen. The Church of Norway has one parish ( sokn ) within Storfjord Municipality. It

144-646: A central emphasis on the Lutheran doctrine of justification ( forgiveness and grace ). Another core teaching concerns essential differences in lifestyle and beliefs between true believers on one hand, and false Christians and unbelievers (sometimes distinguished as of living faith versus dead faith), on the other. The leaders of the two largest Laestadian sub-groups, the Conservative Laestadians and Firstborn Laestadians , have for decades excluded each other and all other Laestadian sub-groups from

192-515: A church minister were the indifference of his Sámi parishioners, who had been forced by the Swedish government to convert from their shamanistic religion to Lutheranism, and the misery caused them by alcoholism. The spiritual understanding Laestadius acquired and shared in his new sermons "filled with vivid metaphors from the lives of the Sami that they could understand, ... about a God who cared about

240-466: A complete lack of permafrost (except in the mountains).The all-time high temperature is 32.7 °C (90.9 °F) recorded July 2014; while August 2018 recorded 32.4 °C (90.3 °F). The all-time low is −28.6 °C (−19.5 °F) recorded February 2012 (extremes since 2004). Skibotn recorded 16.4 °C (61.5 °F) 8 November 2024. Population density Population density (in agriculture : standing stock or plant density )

288-588: A little less than the land area of Puerto Rico , 8,868 square kilometres (3,424 sq mi). Although the arithmetic density is the most common way of measuring population density, several other methods have been developed to provide alternative measures of population density over a specific area. Laestadianism Bible Translators Theologians Laestadianism ( Swedish : Læstadianism ; Finnish : Lestadiolaisuus ; Meänkieli : Lestaatiolaisuus ; Northern Sami : Lestadianisma ), also known as Laestadian Lutheranism and Apostolic Lutheranism ,

336-540: A positive influence on the Samis' relationships, finances and family life. The rapid rise of Laestadianism among the Sámi was due to several factors. Laestadius proudly self-identified as Sámi through his Southern Sámi mother. He spoke and preached in two Sámi dialects. Further he chose uneducated lay preachers from the Sámi reindeer herders to travel year around with them and preach to the unrepented among them. Additionally, in

384-641: A relic of the valley's settlement from the south in the early 19th century. There were several prison camps there during World War Two. A 2014 NRK article estimated that a total of around 7000 or 8000 Soviet prisoners, were interred in these prison camps. Furthermore, the Mallnitz Camp was the worst. Storfjord Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services , senior citizen services, welfare and other social services , zoning , economic development , and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality

432-402: A strong position. Skibotn is even today a stronghold for this movement. The market of Skibotn was traditionally a meeting point between ethnic groups, where Sami, Finns, and Norwegians met to trade. This market still takes place today. The ethnic mix is interesting, with both Sami and Finnish cultures represented. In the valley of Signaldalen, a Norwegian dialect of southern origin is spoken,

480-511: Is 53/km (140/sq mi). This includes all continental and island land area, including Antarctica . However, if Antarctica is excluded, then population density rises to over 58 per square kilometre (150/sq mi). The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) has developed a suite of (open and free) data and tools named the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) to improve the science for policy support to

528-785: Is a pietistic Lutheran revival movement started in Sápmi in the middle of the 19th century. Named after Swedish Lutheran state church administrator and temperance movement leader Lars Levi Laestadius , it is the biggest pietistic revivalist movement in the Nordic countries . It has members mainly in Finland , Northern America , Norway , Russia , and Sweden . There are also smaller congregations in Africa , South America , and Central Europe . In addition Laestadian Lutherans have missionaries in 23 countries. The number of Laestadians worldwide

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576-454: Is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans , but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term. Population density is population divided by total land area , sometimes including seas and oceans, as appropriate. Low densities may cause an extinction vortex and further reduce fertility. This is called the Allee effect after

624-507: Is around 8,000,000,000 and the Earth 's total area (including land and water) is 510,000,000 km (200,000,000 sq mi). Therefore, the worldwide human population density is approximately 8,000,000,000 ÷ 510,000,000 = 16/km (41/sq mi). However, if only the Earth's land area of 150,000,000 km (58,000,000 sq mi) is taken into account, then human population density

672-552: Is discouraged, and Laestadians frown on pre-marital sex, and on alcohol consumption except in the sacrament of holy communion. Conservative Laestadians frown upon worldly vices such as dancing, television, birth control, rhythmic music , make-up , earrings, movies, tattoos , and cursing. Some conservative elements within the church go even further in rejecting the ways of the world by, for example, refusing to buy insurance, prohibiting their children's participation in organized school sports, and removing their car radios. Simplicity in

720-539: Is due to the high mountains in the Lyngen Alps to the west, placing Skibotn valley in a rain shadow. Skibotn has fewest clouds in Norway, with on average 88 days/year with no clouds. The Norwegian Centre for Space Weather has an observatory in Skibotn. Precipitation is fairly even distributed over the year, although spring and early summer is drier than the rest of the year. The climate is classified as boreal, but with

768-772: Is estimated to be between 144,000 and 219,000. Most Laestadians in Finland are part of the national Lutheran Church of Finland (cf. Communion of Nordic Lutheran Dioceses ); but in America , where there is no official Lutheran church, they founded their own denomination, which split into three sub-groups in the mid-20th century. Subsequent splits in the American church later resulted in 19 branches, of which about 15 are active today. The three large main branches, comprising about 90 percent of Laestadians, are: The other branches are small and some of them inactive. In Finland,

816-547: Is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Nord-Troms og Senja District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal . The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Storfjord is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show

864-462: Is located near the eastern border of Storfjord. The highest point in the municipality is a 1,576-metre (5,171 ft) tall peak on the mountain Vassfjellet (which is also partially located in neighboring Balsfjord Municipality . The Skibotn valley has a microclimate with little cloud cover by Norwegian standards, and annual precipitation down to 300 to 500 millimetres (12 to 20 in). This

912-457: Is part of the Nord-Troms prosti ( deanery ) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland . The Sami culture is the original culture; however, in the 19th century, settlers came from Finland and from the valleys of Southern Norway to establish themselves. Sami culture, though, has survived in parts of Storfjord to the present. In the 19th century, Laestadianism , a puritan religious movement, obtained

960-496: Is scarcely another rite in this movement that would rival the importance of the declaration of forgiveness. This doctrine is a unique extension of the priesthood of the believer doctrine. Both in greeting one another and on parting, English-speaking Laestadians say "God's peace", while Finnish-speaking Laestadians greet one another with Jumalan terve , meaning ' God's greeting ' , and take leave of one another with Jumalan rauhaa , meaning ' God's peace ' . "Worldliness"

1008-753: The Elämän Sana ("the Word of life") group, as the most "mainline" of the different branches of Laestadianism, has been prominent within the hierarchy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland : two members have been elected bishops of Oulu , and one has served as Chaplain General (head chaplain of the Finnish Defence Forces , the equivalent of a Major General ). All branches share many essential teachings including

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1056-654: The European Commission Directorate Generals and Services and as support to the United Nations system. Several of the most densely populated territories in the world are city-states , microstates and urban dependencies . In fact, 95% of the world's population is concentrated on just 10% of the world's land. These territories have a relatively small area and a high urbanization level, with an economically specialized city population drawing also on rural resources outside

1104-599: The Storfjorden . The first element is stor which means "great" or "big". The last element is fjord which means " fjord ". Thus the name means "great fjord ". After a long debate within the municipality, in 2014 the municipality (and national government) approved co-official names of the municipality so that it can be called Omasvuotna   ( Northern Sami ) , Omasvuono   ( Kven ) , or Storfjord   ( Norwegian ) . These names are parallel, co-equal names that can be used interchangeably to refer to

1152-599: The Summer Services of Conservative Laestadians , attended by members from congregations far and wide; and for the youth, haps (gatherings of teenagers and young adults to sing from Songs and Hymns of Zion and visit), song services, bonfires, youth discussions, caretaking meetings and revival meetings . Within Firstborn Laestadianism in Scandinavia, the most important yearly events are

1200-561: The Swedish state Lutheran church in Sápmi who was also a noted botanist. Laestadius started the movement when working as a pastor for the Church of Sweden in northern Sweden in the 1840s. Laestadius met a Sami woman named Milla Clementsdotter from Föllinge in the municipality of Krokom in Jämtland during an 1844 inspection tour of Åsele . She belonged to a revival movement within the Church of Sweden led by pastor Pehr Brandell of

1248-810: The Christmas services in Gällivare and the Midsummer services in Lahti , where thousands of Firstborn Laestadians from different countries gather each year. Different branches publish their newspapers and magazines. In Finland, the Bible version primarily used by Laestadians is the Finnish Bible of 1776 which, unlike newer translations, is based on the Textus Receptus . The Central Association of

1296-540: The Federation and other Laestadian denominations. The church teaches that every believer has the authority to testify that others' sins are forgiven, sometimes referred to as the audible declaration of the forgiveness of sins. Laestadians usually proclaim the forgiveness of sins "in Jesus' name and blood". Laestadianism holds that when a Christian has committed a sin, whether in thought or deed, she or he should confess

1344-629: The Finnish Associations of Peace (SRK) publishes a triple Finnish translation (1776, 1933/1938, and 1992) that is used as both a study and a service Bible by Conservative Laestadian preachers. American and Canadian Laestadianism uses the King James Version , based as well on the Textus Receptus. The name of the movement stems from Lars Levi Laestadius (1800–1861), a Swedish Sámi preacher and administrator for

1392-482: The Kven language equivalent to "Storfjord municipality". The coat of arms was granted on 9 February 1990. The official blazon is " Gules , three poppies Or in pall " ( Norwegian : I rødt tre gull valmuer stilt i trepass ). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is three poppies of the very rare species Papaver laestadianum (a subspecies of Papaver radicatum ). The poppies have

1440-516: The Nordnes area of Lyngen Municipality was transferred to Storfjord. On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed Troms og Finnmark county. Previously, it had been part of the old Troms county. On 1 January 2024, the Troms og Finnmark county was divided and the municipality once again became part of Troms county. The municipality (originally the parish ) is named after

1488-615: The Sámi. Whole communities that had been wrecked by alcoholism went sober virtually overnight. This had the added positive effect of improving the Sámis' social standing with the outside world. Finally, Laestadianism was a faith that the Sámi could identify as originating from within inasmuch as Laestadius himself professed to have come to know the true living faith only upon his encounter with the poor abused Sámi woman, Milla Clementsdotter. A faction within Laestadianism has believed that

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1536-998: The area, illustrating the difference between high population density and overpopulation . Deserts have very limited potential for growing crops as there is not enough rain to support them. Thus, their population density is generally low. However, some cities in the Middle East, such as Dubai , have been increasing in population and infrastructure growth at a fast pace. Cities with high population densities are, by some, considered to be overpopulated, though this will depend on factors like quality of housing and infrastructure and access to resources. Very densely populated cities are mostly in Asia (particularly Southeast Asia ); Africa's Lagos , Kinshasa , and Cairo ; South America's Bogotá , Lima , and São Paulo ; and Mexico City and Saint Petersburg also fall into this category. City population and especially area are, however, heavily dependent on

1584-465: The current and historical composition of the council by political party . The mayor ( Norwegian : ordfører ) of Storfjord is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position: The municipality is situated around the inner parts of the Lyngen fjord. Storfjord borders both Finland and Sweden, and the borders of

1632-547: The definition of "urban area" used: densities are almost invariably higher for the center only than when suburban settlements and intervening rural areas are included, as in the agglomeration or metropolitan area (the latter sometimes including neighboring cities). In comparison, based on a world population of 8 billion, the world's inhabitants, if conceptualized as a loose crowd occupying just under 1 m (10 sq ft) per person (cf. Jacobs Method ), would occupy an area of 8,000 square kilometres (3,100 sq mi)

1680-431: The early days of the movement, Laestadius, in order to find common ground with his parishioners, borrowed the Sámis' own familiar pagan deities and concepts and adapted them to Christianity. Another factor in the rise of Laestadianism among the Sámi was that the state-mandated boarding schools soon came to be populated by Laestadian personnel. Next, the strict moral code including strict temperance of Laestadianism appealed to

1728-528: The home, including the prohibition of curtains and flowers, is also a common claim especially among Firstborn Laestadians , but is not a church doctrine. Especially large numbers of Firstborn Apostolic Lutherans and many members of the most conservative congregations within the Word of Peace group do not use birth control because they believe that a child is a gift from God; therefore, many Laestadian families are large. The central activities of Laestadians are annual or more frequent church conventions, including

1776-466: The kingdom of Heaven even though the denominations' core doctrines are nearly indistinguishable. The leadership of the smaller third main sub-group, the Federation , has continued to regard the other sub-groups as of living faith, after having unsuccessfully sought to preserve unity within Laestadianism when its larger counterparts' leaders in the 1930s called for, and later required, dissociation from

1824-407: The lives of the people" had a profound positive effect on both problems. An account from the Sámi cultural perspective recalls a new desire among the Sámi to learn to read and a bustle and energy in the church, with people confessing their sins, crying and praying for forgiveness—within Laestadianism this was known as liikutukset , a kind of ecstasy . Drunkenness and cattle theft diminished, which had

1872-667: The movement is a contemporary descendant of an unbroken line of living Christianity via Luther , the Bohemian Brethren , the Lollards , and the Waldensians all the way back to the primitive Church . Martin Luther , Jan Hus , John Wycliffe , and Peter Waldo are seen as spiritual ancestors of Laestadianism. Members tend to have large families by Western standards. In Finland , their demographic advantage has grown as

1920-410: The municipality in the three different languages. The spelling of the Sami and Kven language names change depending on how they are used. In Sami, it is called Omasvuotna when it is spelled alone, but it is Omasvuona suohkan when using the Sami language equivalent to "Storfjord municipality". In Kven, it is called Omasvuono when it is spelled alone, but it is Omasvuonon kunta when using

1968-800: The national fertility rate has fallen: in the 1940s their fertility rate was twice the national average, while in the 1980s it was four times the average. "By 1985–7, the Laestadian and Finnish TFRs stood at 5.47 and 1.45 respectively. Even within the Laestadian TFR of 5.47, there is diversity, with a 'moderate' group preferring to stop at four [children] and practise birth control while a conservative cluster engages in unrestrained reproduction. No research has been done on Laestadians' level of endogamy and membership retention [as of 2010]. However, they are residentially and occupationally integrated, so lose more members to assimilation. For example, in

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2016-464: The parish of Nora in the municipality of Kramfors in Ångermanland and characterized by pietistic and Moravian influences. She told Laestadius about her spiritual experiences on her journey to a truly living Christianity, and after the meeting Laestadius felt he had come to understand the secret of living faith. He had had a deep experience of having entered a state of grace, of having received God's forgiveness for his sins and of at last truly seeing

2064-477: The path that leads to eternal life. His sermons acquired, in his own words, "a new kind of colour" to which people began to respond. The movement began to spread from Sweden to Finland and Norway , particularly among the Sámi and the Kvens . He preferred his followers to be known simply as "Christians", but others started to call them "Laestadians." Two great challenges Laestadius had faced since his early days as

2112-480: The request for forgiveness need not be, and most often is not, to the minister; the confession is often made openly; confession is not by appointment but rather readily available to any believer from any other believer at any time; and the specific wording of the declaration states that the means of atonement is Christ's shed blood . Because a Laestadian takes very seriously the proposition that grace exists only for one whose sins have been specifically forgiven, there

2160-443: The scientist who identified it. Examples of the causes of reduced fertility in low population densities are: Population density is the number of people per unit of area, usually transcribed as "per square kilometer" or square mile, and which may include or exclude, for example, areas of water or glaciers. Commonly this is calculated for a county , city , country , another territory or the entire world . The world's population

2208-530: The sin to another believer. Thus it is a common practice among Laestadians in or out of church at any time, but especially during the church service prior to the rite of holy communion, to be confessing their sins to one another or, occasionally, to one of the church ministers performing the sacrament. A common declaration is, "Believe your sin(s) forgiven in Jesus' name and (shed) blood." This procedure, ingrained in Laestadianism, differs from absolution in mainstream Lutheran churches in several aspects, including that

2256-491: The three countries meet at the beacon of Treriksröset , the northernmost point of Sweden. Treriksrøysa is a popular hiking destination; there are no fences, so at this location one step forward is all that is needed to get from one country to another. Pine and birch forests are common in the valleys in Storfjord, and the more rare calcareous pine forests, with several orchids , are also present. The lake Rihpojávri

2304-503: Was established by a royal resolution that was approved on 21 June 1929 when the large Lyngen Municipality was divided into three: Lyngen Municipality in the northwest, Kåfjord Municipality in the northeast, and Storfjord Municipality in the south. The initial population of Storfjord was 1,499. On 1 January 1964, the Elvebakken farm of Balsfjord Municipality was transferred to Storfjord. Then on 1 January 1992, one uninhabited farm in

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