Fræna is a former municipality in

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in the northernmost part of Western Norway, Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the Molde (town), town of M ...

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 ...

. The municipality existed from 1840 until its dissolution in 2020. The area is now part of

Hustadvika Municipality Hustadvika is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional districts of Nordmøre and Romsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality ...

in the traditional district of

Romsdal Romsdal is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in the Norwegian county Møre og Romsdal, located between Nordmøre and Sunnmøre. The district of Romsdal traditional comprises the areas that are part of Aukra Municipality, Molde Municipal ...

. The municipality was located on the

Romsdal peninsula Romsdal is a traditional district in the Norwegian county Møre og Romsdal, located between Nordmøre and Sunnmøre. The district of Romsdal traditional comprises the areas that are part of Aukra Municipality, Molde Municipality, Rauma Municipal ...

surrounding the

Frænfjorden Frænfjorden is a fjord in Hustadvika Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The approximately long fjord flows from the village of Malme in the east to the Julsundet strait near the island of Gossa. The villages of Malme, Sylte, E ...

, the eastern shore of the

Julsundet Julsundet is a long strait connecting the Norwegian Sea to the Romsdalsfjorden. The strait is located about west of the town of Molde in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The strait runs through Aukra Municipality, Hustadvika Municipality, and ...

strait, and it included most of the

Hustadvika Hustadvika is a shipping channel along a long section of coastline in Hustadvika Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is the main shipping route between the towns of Molde and Kristiansund which goes around the Romsdal Peninsula. ...

area. It also included the now-abandoned Bjørnsund islands. The main village and

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 ...

in Fræna was

Elnesvågen Elnesvågen is the administrative centre of Hustadvika Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village is located along the Frænafjorden about north of the town of Molde (town), Molde, east of the village of Tornes, and northwest ...

. Other villages in Fræna included Hustad,

Bud In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or Plant embryogenesis, embryonic Shoot (botany), shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a Plant stem, stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormancy, dormant conditi ...

Tornes Tornes is a village in Hustadvika Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village is located along the Julsundet strait at the mouth of the Frænfjorden. It is located about west of the municipal center of Elnesvågen and about sou ...

, Sylte,

Malme Malmefjorden or Malme is a village at the end of the Malmefjorden (an arm of the Frænfjorden) in Hustadvika Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village is located southeast of the municipal center of Elnesvågen and about sout ...

, and Aureosen.

Moxy Engineering Moxy Engineering is a Norwegian manufacturer of articulated haulers (dump trucks) for off-road use in the earth moving and construction industries. Moxy was founded by the industrialist Birger Hatlebakk, who had previously founded the Glamox f ...

, Hustad Marmor, and Tine Meierier are all factories located in Elnesvågen. Prior to its dissolution in 2020, the municipality was the 250th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Fræna Municipality was the 115th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 9,800. 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 ...

was and its population had increased by 5.9% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Fræna was established in 1840 when it was separated from Akerø Municipality. Originally, it was named ''Vaagø Municipality'' and it surrounded the

. Later the name was changed to ''Fræna Municipality''. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the

Schei Committee The Schei Committee () was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a ...

. On 1 January 1964, Bud Municipality (population: 1,610), Hustad Municipality (population: 2,196), and Fræna Municipality (population: 3,430) were merged to form a new, larger Fræna Municipality. On 1 January 2020, Eide Municipality and Fræna Municipality were merged to form the new

Name

The municipality (originally the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

) was first named , after the old ''Vaagøen'' farm () since the first Vågøy Church was built there. The first element is which means "bay" or "sea". The last element is which means "

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

". The municipality had this name from 1840 until 1865. In 1865, the municipal name was changed to , after the

(). The meaning of the fjord name is unknown, but it may have been derived from the word which means "bright" or "shiny". Another option was that it comes from the word which means "foam" or "howl", referring to the local fjord in high winds. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality from ''Frænen'' to ''Fræna''.

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 15 May 1995 and it was in use until 2020 when the municipality ceased to exist. 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 ''" Or, three bars wavy

azure Azure may refer to: Color * Azure (color), a hue of blue ** Azure (heraldry) ** Shades of azure, shades and variations Arts and media * ''Azure'' (Art Farmer and Fritz Pauer album), 1987 * Azure (Gary Peacock and Marilyn Crispell album), 2013 * ...

crested to the

dexter Dexter may refer to: People * Dexter (given name) * Dexter (surname) * Dexter (singer), Brazilian rapper Marcos Fernandes de Omena (born 1973) * Famous Dex, also known as Dexter, American rapper Dexter Tiewon Gore Jr. (born 1993) Places United ...

on the upper edge"'' (). This means the arms have a

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) 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 ...

of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. 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 horizontal bars designed too look like

ocean surface waves In fluid dynamics, a wind wave, or wind-generated water wave, is a surface wave that occurs on the free surface of bodies of water as a result of the wind blowing over the water's surface. The contact distance in the direction of the wind is k ...

. The arms were chosen to symbolize the municipality's connection to the sea. There are three bars to represent the three former municipalities which were merged to form Fræna Municipality in 1964: Fræna,

, and Hustad. The arms were designed by Jarle Skuseth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

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 ...

had four parishes () within Fræna Municipality. It is part of the

Molde domprosti Molde () is a town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord. Molde has a mar ...

(arch-

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 Møre.

Geography

The municipality of Fræna was located on the northwestern end of the

Romsdal Peninsula Romsdal is a traditional district in the Norwegian county Møre og Romsdal, located between Nordmøre and Sunnmøre. The district of Romsdal traditional comprises the areas that are part of Aukra Municipality, Molde Municipality, Rauma Municipal ...

. The

Norwegian Sea The Norwegian Sea (; ; ) is a marginal sea, grouped with either the Atlantic Ocean or the Arctic Ocean, northwest of Norway between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea, adjoining the Barents Sea to the northeast. In the southwest, it is separate ...

was to the north; the Harøyfjorden,

strait, and

Aukra Municipality Aukra is List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, region of Romsdalen. The administrative centre is the village of Aukrasanden, Falkhytta, which ...

were to the west;

Molde Municipality Molde Municipality () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal ...

was to the south; and

Gjemnes Municipality Gjemnes is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway on the Romsdal peninsula. It is part of the Nordmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Batnfjordsøra, which lies along the Batnfjorden and it is a former steamship ...

and Eide Municipality were to the east. The

cut into the middle of the municipality. The coastal areas were low and marshy while the interior of the municipality was mountainous. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Kvannfjellet. Other notable mountains in Fræna were Jendemsfjellet, Høgheitinden, and Lågheiane. The Bjørnsund islands were located off the northwestern coast of Fræna. They are now uninhabited, but the Bjørnsund Lighthouse is still in operation.

Government

While it existed, Fræna Municipality was 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 was 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 ...

was

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 was under the jurisdiction of 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 ...

Municipal council

The

() of Fræna was made up of 31 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the 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 Fræna was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position (incomplete list): *1840–1845: Knut Pedersen Haukaas *1859–1860: Christen T. Sommernæs *1869–1875: Arne Stavik *1876–1876: Ingebrigt Rødseth *1877–1877: K. Julset *1878–1878: Ingebrigt Rødseth *1879–1881: O. Julset *1882–1883: O. Sande *1884–1893: Ole Brogstad *1893–1910: Peder Jonsen Malmedal *1910–1922: Mathias Hoemsnes *1922–1928: Knut A. Ødegaard *1928–1934: Iver Olsen Kjørsvik *1934–1937: Hans Haukås ( NS) *1937–1940: Iver Olsen Kjørsvik *1945–1945: Iver Olsen Kjørsvik *1945–1946: Ole Valle *1947–1963: Harald J. Stavik ( Ap) *1963–1975: Sverre Moen ( KrF) *1975–1979: Hans Kvadsheim ( Sp) *1979–1987: Knut Nilsen Sæbø ( KrF) *1987–1999: Lindy Eidem ( Sp) *1999–2003: Ragnar Valle ( Sp) *2003–2007: Arve Hans Otterlei ( FrP) *2007–2011: Kjell Lode ( KrF) *2011–2015: Nils Johan Gjendem ( FrP) *2015–2019: Tove Henøen ( Sp)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraena Hustadvika (municipality) Former municipalities of Norway 1840 establishments in Norway 2020 disestablishments in Norway Populated places established in 1840 Populated places disestablished in 2020