Fauske

Fauske is a municipality and town located in the county of Nordland, Norway. Township was declared in 1998. The town is located on the northern shore of Skjerstadfjorden. The municipality borders Sweden in the east.

1 The name
2 Coat-of-arms
3 Economy
4 Communication
5 Famous residents
6 Nature

[edit] The name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old farm Fauske (Norse Fauskar), since the first church was built there (in 1866). The name is the plural form of fauskr m 'old and rotten tree'.

[edit] Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1988). It shows a reef knot (to represent Fauske as a center of commerce and communication).

May 1 1908 in the Sulitjelma mining town

[edit] Economy

Several marble quarries are located in the municipality. The marble is exported to many countries, where it can be observed in many monumental buildings, among them the United Nations headquarters in New York City. There are also dolostone quarries in Fauske, as well as some agriculture.

[edit] Communication

The Nordlandsbanen railroad passes through the municipality, reaching Bodø west of Fauske. Travellers going further north usually leave the train in Fauske, and travel by express bus to Narvik or further, using the E6 which goes through the center of Fauske. The E6 from Fauske to Narvik goes through very rugged terrain and is among the most scenic drives in Norway. The Rv 80 road to Bodø, 62 km to the west, departs from E6 in the centre of Fauske.

Railway station in Fauske; an important junction for many travellers. Fauske and Bodø are the most northerly stations on the main railway network in Norway. Photo: Lars Røed Hansen

[edit] Famous residents

The authors Dag Ove Johansen, Trine Angelsen and Karin Risvoll live in the municipality.

The singers "Fattern" and Christel Alsos both grew up and lived in Fauske before they left for higher education and to pursue solo-careers.

[edit] Nature

There are two large glaciers in Fauske; Blåmannsisen and Sulitjelmaisen; covering about 14% of the municipality. The highest mountain is Suliskongen 1,907 meters (6,000 ft) above sea level. There are many lakes in the municipality, such as Langvatnet, Låmivatnet and Nedrevatnet. Sulitjelma, located 44 km by road east of Fauske, is a good starting point for hiking in the mountains and hikes to the glaciers. There are several DNT lodges in this area. There are many nature reserves in the municipality, such as Veten nature reserve with calcareous pine forest and a rich understory ([1]) and Fauskeeidet wetland area with rich bird life and observation tower ([2]).