Balsfjord is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county in Norway. Its administrative centre is the village of Storsteinnes and it has a population of 5,576, with a population density of 3.9 inhabitants per square kilometre. The municipality covers an area of and is the 58th largest municipality in Norway. The area is known for its two fjords, Malangen and Balsfjorden, and is surrounded by fertile farmland and many peaks, including the southern end of the Lyngen Alps. The municipality was separated from the Tromsøe landdistrikt municipality in 1860 and has undergone several changes over the years, including a merger with neighboring Malangen municipality in 1964. The municipality's coat of arms features a red field with a plough, symbolizing the importance of agriculture to the area. The local inhabitants are descendants of a mixture of Norwegian, Sámi, and Kven people, with a history of trappers, people who hunt and trap wild animals for their fur, meat, or other parts, from Balsfjord being active in the Arctic from the 18th to the 20th century. Balsfjord also played a role in the mid-19th century mindekirken movement in the Troms region, which split from the state church parish in Tromsø.
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Balsfjord
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