| Drevja | |
| Herred: | yes |
| Former: | yes |
| Idnumber: | 1823 |
| County: | Nordland |
| District: | Helgeland |
| Established: | 1 July 1927 |
| Preceded: | Vefsn Municipality |
| Disestablished: | 1 Jan 1962 |
| Succeeded: | Vefsn Municipality |
| Population As Of: | 1962 |
| Population Total: | 1,001 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Coordinates: | 65.9825°N 13.265°W |
Drevja is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1927 until its dissolution in 1962. It was located in the Drevja valley, north of the Vefsnfjorden in the northern part of the present-day Vefsn Municipality. Drevja Church was the main church for the municipality.[1]
The municipality was named after the river Drevja which flows from the lake Drevvatnet to the Vefsnfjorden. The name of the river is derived from the word Norwegian: drav which means "rubbish" or "waste". Thus the meaning of the name is something like "the river with unclean water".[2]
The municipality of Drevja was established on 1 July 1927 when the large Vefsn Municipality was divided into three municipalities: Drevja (population: 964) in the north, Grane (population: 1,746) in the south, and Vefsn (population: 3,119) in the center. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1962, the municipality of Drevja (population: 1,001) was merged with the neighboring municipalities of Elsfjord (population: 920) and Vefsn (population: 5,358) and with the town of Mosjøen) to form a new, larger Vefsn Municipality.[3]
During the German occupation of Norway (World War II), the occupiers operated a subcamp of the Stalag 380 prisoner-of-war camp in Drevja.[4]
During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elected a mayor.[5]
The municipal council Norwegian: (Herredsstyre) of Drevja was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:
The mayors of Drevja:[6]