Tromøy (historic: ''Tromø'') is a former municipality in the old

Aust-Agder Aust-Agder (, en, "East Agder") was a county (''fylke'') in Norway until 1 January 2020, when it was merged with Vest-Agder to form Agder county. In 2002, there were 102,945 inhabitants, which was 2.2% of Norway's population. Its area was . The ...

county in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The municipality existed from 1878 until its dissolution in 1992. The municipal area is now part of the municipality of

Arendal Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...

in Agder county. The

administrative centre An administrative center 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 administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

was the village of Brekka, where the historic

Tromøy Church Tromøy Church ( no, Tromøy kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Arendal Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the village of Brekka on the east coast of the island of Tromøy. It is one of the churches for the Tr ...

is located. The municipality encompassed all of the island of Tromøya as well as many smaller surrounding islands such as

Merdø Merdø is an island in Arendal municipality in Agder county, Norway. The island lies along the Skagerrak coast, near the entrance to the Galtesundet, the main shipping channel leading to the town of Arendal on the mainland. The islands of Tro ...

, Gjesøya, Skilsøy, and Tromlingene. The municipality had two churches: the centuries-old

and the relatively new

Færvik Church Færvik Church ( no, Færvik kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Arendal Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the village of Færvik on the island of Tromøy (island), Tromøy. It is one of the churches for the T ...

. Some of the main villages in Tromøy were

Færvik Færvik is a village in Arendal municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located on the southwestern part of the island of Tromøy (island), Tromøy. It sits east of Pusnes, Arendal, Pusnes and Brattekleiv and north of Revesand. Færvi ...

, Brekka,

Brattekleiv Brattekleiv is a village in Arendal municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located along the Galtesundet strait on the southwestern shore of the island of Tromøy. The village lies about southwest of the town of Arendal which is l ...

, Sandnes,

Revesand Revesand is a village in Arendal municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located at the southern coast of the island of Tromøy, about north of the island outport of Merdø Merdø is an island in Arendal municipality in Agder co ...

, and Pusnes. The municipality was connected to the mainland by the

Tromøy Bridge The Tromøy Bridge ( no, Tromøybrua) is a suspension bridge that crosses the Tromøysundet strait in the municipality of Arendal in Agder county, Norway. It connects the island of Tromøya with the mainland, about northeast of the town of Aren ...

, the only road connection to Tromøya. The other islands of Tromøy were only accessible by boat.

History

The municipality of Tromøy was established on 1 May 1878 when the municipality of Østre Moland was divided into three municipalities: Tromøy (population: 2,320), Barbu (population: 4,874), and Østre Moland (population: 2,524). On 1 January 1992 there was a major municipal merger where the following municipalities were merged into the municipality of

: Tromøy (population: 4,711),

Moland Moland is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1962 until 1992 when it was merged into the present-day municipality of Arendal which is located in what is now Agder county. The administr ...

(population: 8,148),

Øyestad Øyestad is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until 1992 when it was merged into the present-day municipality of Arendal which is now located in Agder county. At the time of its di ...

(population: 8,679),

Hisøy Hisøy (historically: ''Hisø'') is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1881 until 1992 when it was merged into the municipality of Arendal in what is now Agder county. At the time of its ...

(population: 4,026), and the town of Arendal (population: 12,478).

Name

The municipality (originally the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

) was named after its island Tromøya. Historically it was spelled ''Tromø'', but more recently it has been spelled ''Tromøy''. The name comes from the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

, which means "rim", "edge", or "border". The suffix ''-ø'' or ''øy'' means "island".

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 latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

was granted on 23 August 1985 and in use until the municipal merger on 1 January 1992. The blue and white arms represent the sea and the coastline near the village of Brekka, which is characterised by large rounded boulders protruding out into the sea. This landscape dates back to the

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

and was used to model the division line in the coat of arms.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Tromøy, are responsible for

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

(through 10th grade), outpatient

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

, senior citizen services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), w ...

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. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

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

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, 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 o ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

s. 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, rural counci ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elected a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a 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 responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Municipal council

The

of Tromøy was made up of 21 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a 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 often feature f ...

breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:

Media gallery

Tromøy komm.svg, Coat-of-arms of Tromøy municipality Arendal Tromøy Spornes b.JPG, Spornes headland on Tromøya Arendal Færvik kirke.JPG,

Arendal_Galtesund_z.JPG, Lighthouse Hoveskogen.JPG, Hove Forest Tromøybro1.jpg, Tromøy bridge

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tromoy Arendal Populated places established in 1878 Populated places disestablished in 1992 Former municipalities of Norway 1878 establishments in Norway 1992 disestablishments in Norway