Vega Municipality

The municipality of Vega was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1965, the Skogsholmen area (population: 196) was transferred from Tjøtta Municipality to Vega Municipality. Then on 1 January 1971, the Skålvær islands (population: 32) in the northeastern part of Vega Municipality was transferred to the neighboring Alstahaug Municipality.^[8]

Early settlements on the main island date back 10,000 years, making it one of the oldest places of inhabitance in Northern Norway. Agriculture and fishing are at present as they were in the past, key fields of labour. Today's inhabitants are concentrated in Holand, Valla, Igerøy, Ylvingen, and Gladstad, the latter being the location of the municipal council and most of the island's commerce.

In 2004, the archipelago's cultural landscape was inscribed by UNESCO on the World Heritage Site list as representative of "the way generations of fishermen/farmers have, over the past 1,500 years, maintained a sustainable living in an inhospitable seascape near the Arctic Circle, based on the now unique practice of eider down harvesting." The oceanic climate and limestone bedrock has allowed 10 different species of orchids to grow in Vega, and 210 species of birds have been recorded at the archipelago.

The highest point in the municipality is the 800.56-metre (2,626.5 ft) tall mountain Trolltinden on the southwestern coast of the island of Vega.^[1]

Eidemsliene nature reserve has many warmth-loving species of plants and the most oceanic pine forest in North Norway.^[13] Holandsosen nature reserve is an important wetland area with a shallow lake and soil rich in lime; 149 species of birds have been observed in this reserve which has a rich bird life all year (many birds use this as their winter quarter). Lånan nature reserve preserves many types of coastal nature and is a very important area for many species of birds; eider down harvesting is still practiced here.^[14]

Vega has a temperate oceanic climate, also known as marine west coast climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb). The all-time high of 31.7 °C (89.1 °F) was recorded July 27, 2019, and the all-time low −16.5 °C (2.3 °F) was recorded February 2010 (extremes database from 2003). The average date for the last overnight freeze (low below 0 °C (32.0 °F)) in spring is 29 April^[15] and average date for first freeze in autumn is 17 October^[16] giving a frost-free season of 170 days (1981-2010 average).

Vega 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 is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.^[19] The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Helgeland District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

• Haakon Olsen Wika (1899 in Vega – 1981), a Norwegian politician who was Mayor of Vega for many years

• 
  The Vega islands
• 
  Søla island
• 
  A summer day