Flatanger is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It is part of the

Namdalen Namdalen () is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in the central part of Norway, consisting of the municipalities of Namsos Municipality, Namsos, Grong Municipality, Grong, Overhalla Municipality, Overhalla, Røyrvik Municipality, Røyr ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. The

administrative centre An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

of the municipality is

Lauvsnes Lauvsnes is the administrative centre of Flatanger Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located along the shore, about northeast of the village of Vik. Lauvsnes has some small industry as well as fish farming. The island of ...

. Other villages include Jøssund, Hasvåg, and

Vik Vik or VIK may refer to: Places Finland * Viikki, a neighbourhood of Helsinki, known as Vik in Swedish Iceland * Vík í Mýrdal, a village in southern Iceland Iran * Vik, Iran, a village in Zanjan Province, Iran Norway *Vik, Buskerud, a vill ...

. The municipality is the 216th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Flatanger is the 326th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,116. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

is and its population has decreased by 0.4% over the previous 10-year period. Flatanger is also known for having some of the most difficult

sport climbing Sport climbing (or bolted climbing) is a type of free climbing in the sport of rock climbing where the Lead climbing, lead climber clips their climbing rope, rope — via a quickdraw — into pre-drilled in-situ bolt (climbing), bolts for their ...

routes in the world.

General

Flatanger was established as a municipality in the old

Nord-Trøndelag Nord-Trøndelag (; "North Trøndelag") was a counties of Norway, county constituting the northern part of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. It bordered the old Sør-Trøndelag ("South Trøndelag") county as well as the county of Nordl ...

county on 1 January 1871 when it was separated from the large

Fosnes Municipality Fosnes is a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Namsos Municipality. It was part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the muni ...

. Initially, Flatanger Municipality had 1,472 residents. It is one of the few municipalities in Norway whose boundaries have not changed since it was established. In 2018, it became part of the newly created

county.

Name

The municipality is likely named after one of the local

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

s (), but it is not known exactly which one. The first element is which means "flat" or "shallow". The last element is which means "

or inlet".

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted on 12 October 1990. The official

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

is ''"

Vert Vert or Verts may refer to: * Vert (heraldry), the colour green in heraldry * Vert (music producer) (born 1972), pseudonym of Adam Butler, an English music producer * Vert (river), in southern France * Vert (sport), a competition in extreme versio ...

, three

chevronel A chevron (also spelled cheveron, especially in older documents) is a V-shaped mark or symbol, often inverted. The word is usually used in reference to a kind of fret in architecture, or to a badge or insignia used in military or police unifor ...

embowed Embowed () is a term in heraldry and architecture which means: *''curved like a bow'' (when applied to fish, animals or heraldic charges) *''bent'' (when applied to the human arm or leg), or *''having an arch or arches'' but, in the Anglophone h ...

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

"'' (). This means the arms have a green

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

(background) and the

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

is three

chevrons Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock la ...

with a slight curve to them. The charge has a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The green color was chosen to represent the

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

industry in the municipality. The design was chosen to represent the bow of a boat, seen from the front, since boats have a great historical significance in this coastal fishing community. The arms were designed by Even Jarl Skoglund.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

has one parish () within Flatanger Municipality. It is part of the

Namdal prosti This list of churches in Nidaros is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Nidaros in Norway. It includes all of the parishes in Trøndelag county. The diocese is based at the Nidaros Cathedral in the city of Trondheim (city), T ...

(

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

) in the

Diocese of Nidaros Nidaros is a diocese in the Lutheran Church of Norway. It covers Trøndelag county in Central Norway and its cathedral city is Trondheim, which houses the well-known Nidaros Cathedral. Since 10 September 2017, the Bishop of Nidaros is Herborg ...

Geography

The municipality consists mostly of mainland, but also includes almost 1,400 islands of various sizes. Some of the major islands include

Bjørøya Bjørøya is an island in the Folda sea, just south of the Namsenfjorden in Flatanger Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The island lies about east of the island of Villa and about north of the island of Lauvøya. The island has seve ...

, Lauvøya,

Villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

, Halmøya, and Kvernøya.

Ellingråsa Lighthouse Ellingråsa Lighthouse () is a lighthouse that is located on the island of Bjørøya in the Folda sea in Flatanger Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The lighthouse was completed in 1888 to replace the old Villa Lighthouse which closed i ...

is located on the island of

and

Villa Lighthouse Villa Lighthouse () is a deactivated lighthouse in Flatanger Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The lighthouse was built in 1839 and it was decommissioned in 1890. Villa Lighthouse is located on the island of Villa in the Folda sea. The ...

is on

. These islands all lie on the south side of the

Folda Folda may refer to: Places * Folda, Angus, a hamlet in Angus, Scotland * Folda, Nordland, a fjord in Nordland county, Norway * Folda (Rindal), a river in Møre og Romsdal and Trøndelag counties in Norway * Folda, Trøndelag Folda is a firth ...

firth Firth is a word in the English and Scots languages used to denote various coastal waters in the United Kingdom, predominantly within Scotland. In the Northern Isles, it more often refers to a smaller inlet. It is linguistically cognate to Scan ...

. The

Namsenfjorden Namsenfjorden is a fjord in Trøndelag county, Norway. The long fjord flows along the border between Namsos Municipality and Flatanger Municipality. It runs southeast from the Folda firth, between the mainland in the south and the island of Ot ...

forms part of the northern boundary of the municipality. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Beingårdsheia in the southeastern part of the municipality near the border with

Namsos Municipality (Norwegian language, Norwegian) or is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is t ...

Government

Flatanger Municipality is responsible for

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

services,

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

zoning In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for ...

economic development In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...

, and municipal

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s and utilities. The municipality is governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

of directly elected representatives. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the

Trøndelag District Court Trøndelag District Court () is a district court located in Trøndelag county, Norway. This court is based at four different courthouses which are located in Brekstad, Namsos, Steinkjer, and Trondheim. The court is subordinate to the Frostating C ...

and the

Frostating Court of Appeal The Frostating Court of Appeal () is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Trondheim. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Trøndelag and Møre og Romsdal. These areas constitute the ...

Politics

In the 2007 municipal elections, Flatanger Municipality had the highest vote for the Venstre party in all of Norway, at 42.9 per cent.

Municipal council

The

() of Flatanger is made up of 15 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

Mayors

The

() of Flatanger is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position: *1871–1877: Olaus Vedege *1878–1879: Andreas Saxegård *1880–1883: Bernt H. Solem *1884–1885: Peder Musum *1886–1887: Ole Martin Løfsnes *1888–1893: Albert Opland ( V) *1894–1898: Odin Aune ( V) *1899–1901: Albert Opland ( V) *1902–1916: Odin Aune ( V) *1917–1928: Carl Sitter ( V) *1929–1934: Anton Høstland ( Bp) *1935–1937: Sigurd Halmøy ( KrF) *1938–1940: Øistein Aarseth ( V) *1941–1945: Lauritz Sved *1945–1947: Øistein Aarseth ( V) *1948–1951: Anton Høstland ( Bp) *1952–1953: Sverre Hustad ( Ap) *1954–1955: Ingolf Lindseth *1956–1961: Carl Gulbrandsen ( LL) *1962–1967: Birger Skotnes ( LL) *1968–1969: Aage Aagård ( Sp) *1970–1973: Otmar Lauvsnes ( Sp) *1973–1979: Aage Aagård ( Sp) *1980–1987: Øyvind Mårvik ( LL) *1988–1995: Ronald Geving ( Sp) *1995–1999: Per Bårdsen ( Ap) *1999–2003: Trond Strøm ( Sp) *2003–2011: Reidar Lindseth ( V) *2011–present: Olav Jørgen Bjørkås ( Sp)

Attractions

Rock climbing

Flatanger is home to some of the world's hardest sport climbs that are located in the nearby Hanshelleren Cave. In 2012,

Adam Ondra Adam Ondra (; born February 5, 1993) is a Czech professional rock climber, specializing in lead climbing, bouldering, and competition climbing. In 2013, ''Rock & Ice'' described Ondra as a prodigy and the leading climber of his generation. Ondr ...

completed the redpoint of ', which became the first-ever rock climbing route in history to be graded at . In 2017, Ondra completed the redpoint of ''

Silence Silence is the absence of ambient hearing, audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low sound intensity, intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be exten ...

'', which then became the first-ever to be graded at . The cave has attracted many of the world's strongest sport climbers. Hanshelleren.JPG,

Hanshelleren Cave Flatanger is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is Lauvsnes. Other villages incl ...

, home to the world's hardest sport climbs Adam Ondra climbing Silence, 9c by PAVEL BLAZEK 1-cropped.jpg,

on ''Silence'' Moritz Welt Flatanger Hanshelleren 5.png , Moritz Welt on ''Odin's Eye'' Daniel Woods Hanshelleren 01.jpg, Daniel Woods on ''Thor's Hammer''

Notable people

* Ole Konrad Ribsskog (1865 in Flatanger – 1941), a teacher and politician who was Mayor of Trondheim *

Toralf Sandø Toralf Sandø (April 6, 1899 in Flatanger – March 4, 1970) was a Norwegian film director and actor. He also read Olav Duun books for NRK Radio. Selected filmography * 1936: '' Vi bygger landet'' * 1937: ''By og land hand i hand ''By og lan ...

(1899 in Flatanger – 1970), a film director and actor. Retrieved 08 October 2020. *

Julie Dahle Aagård Julie Dahle Aagård (born 30 December 1978) is a Norwegian Jazz musician (vocals). She is the sister of Tora Dahle Aagård. Career Aagård is a graduate singing teacher from the Jazz program at Trondheim Musikkonsevatorium (1997–2002) ...

(born 1978 in Flatanger), a jazz singer and sister of Tora Dahle Aagård * Tora Dahle Aagård (born 1994 in Flatanger), a guitarist, singer, songwriter, and sister of Julie Dahle Aagård * Brede Moe (born 1991 in Flatanger), a footballer with 180 club caps

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every year on its web site. All rele ...

{{authority control Municipalities of Trøndelag 1871 establishments in Norway Populated places established in 1871 Climbing areas of Norway