Leknes
Town
View of Leknes in winter (Bulitinden and Guratinden mountains in background)
Leknes Location in Nordland
Coordinates: 68°08′51″N 13°36′41″E / 68.1475°N 13.6115°E / 68.1475; 13.6115
Country	Norway
Region	Northern Norway
County	Nordland
District	Lofoten
Municipality	Vestvågøy
Area [1]
• Total	2.52 km2 (0.97 sq mi)
Elevation [2]	10 m (30 ft)
Population  (2018)[1]
• Total	3,556
• Density	1,411/km2 (3,650/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Post Code	8370 Leknes

Leknes^ⓘ is a town in Nordland county, Norway. The town is also the administrative centre of the municipality of Vestvågøy (with 10,764 inhabitants, it is the most populous municipality in Lofoten and Vesterålen). Leknes was designated a "town" (Norwegian: by) in 2002.^[3] The 2.52-square-kilometre (620-acre) town has a population (2018) of 3,556 which gives the town a population density of 1,411 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,650/sq mi).^[1]

Main street of Leknes by night

Leknes in winter: view towards Skottinden

Gravdal, which together with Fygle have grown together with Leknes, in reality a town of 4,200 inhabitants.

The town is situated in the geographical middle of the Lofoten archipelago on the island of Vestvågøya. It is approximately 68 kilometres (42 mi) west of the town of Svolvær and 65 kilometres (40 mi) east of the village of Å in Moskenes. Leknes is one of the few towns in Lofoten that does not depend on fisheries and does not have its town centre by the sea. Because of this, and because of its rapid growth in recent years, it does not have the same traditional wooden architecture as most other towns in Lofoten, and may thus not be as picturesque as its neighbouring fishing villages. However, the natural surroundings are among the most stunning in Norway, with mountains, peaks, cliffs, and white sandy beaches.

The town's harbour Leknes Havn is one of Norway's most important and visited harbours for cruise ships. The old school in the Fygle neighborhood has been converted into a museum. Hol Church is located on the eastern edge of the town. Leknes is a "twin town" with nearby village of Gravdal, where one branch of the Nordland Hospital is located. Gravdal is located about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) southwest of Leknes. In Leknes, the sun (midnight sun) is above the horizon from May 26 to July 17, and in winter the sun does not rise from December 9 to January 4.

Transportation

Leknes is the trading and shopping centre of Lofoten, only rivaled by Svolvær. The European route E10 highway runs through the town connecting all the main islands of Lofoten to the mainland. Leknes also has an airport, Leknes Airport, for regional aircraft, with 7 daily scheduled flights to Bodø and 1 daily flight to Tromsø with the airline Widerøe. The town has a small bus terminal that is a hub with bus links to the rest of Lofoten.

Climate

The weather station is located at the small Leknes Airport. The all-time high is 29.9 °C (85.8 °F) recorded July 2018, and the all-time low is −15.8 °C (3.6 °F) from February 2019. Winters get abundant precipitation in Leknes. Summers are much drier with only 25 % of the winter precipitation. The weather station started up in 1972; records available since 2002.

Media

As of 2012, the newspaper Lofot-Tidende had been published in Leknes since 1987.^[5]

References