Frei is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

Kristiansund Municipality Kristiansund (, ; historically spelled Christianssund and earlier named Fosna) is a municipality on the western coast of Norway in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal county. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of ...

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

county,

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 island lies south of the town of

Kristiansund Kristiansund (, ; historically spelled Christianssund and earlier named Fosna) is a municipality on the western coast of Norway in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal county. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of ...

in the

Nordmøre Nordmøre (English: North- Møre) is a traditional district in the Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. The area comprises the northern third of the county including the municipalities of Kristiansund, Averøy, Tingvoll, Surnadal, Aure, Halsa, ...

region of the county. The main villages on the island include

Rensvik Rensvik is a village in Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village is located on the northern part of the island of Frei, just west of the Omsund Bridge which connects to the island of Nordlandet to the north. The ...

in the north,

Kvalvåg Kvalvåg is a village in Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village lies on the southeast side of the island of Frei, along the Freifjorden, about southeast of the town of Kristiansund. Some neighboring villages ...

in the east, and

Nedre Frei Nedre Frei is a village in Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway. The village is located along the Freifjorden on the southern part of the island of Frei. The village sits about south of the village of Rensvik and abo ...

in the south. The island was part of the old

Frei Municipality Frei is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2008 when it was incorporated into Kristiansund Municipality. It was located between the Kvernesfjorden and Freifj ...

from 1838 until 2008 when the island was merged into

. The

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

-era

Battle of Rastarkalv The Battle of Rastarkalv ( no, Slaget på Rastarkalv) took place in 955 on the southern part of the island of Frei in the present-day Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. This was one of several battles between the force ...

, between

Haakon I of Norway Haakon Haraldsson (c. 920–961), also Haakon the Good (Old Norse: ''Hákon góði'', Norwegian: ''Håkon den gode'') and Haakon Adalsteinfostre (Old Norse: ''Hákon Aðalsteinsfóstri'', Norwegian: ''Håkon Adalsteinsfostre''), was the king of ...

and the sons of

Eric I of Norway Eric Haraldsson ( non, Eiríkr Haraldsson , no, Eirik Haraldsson; died 954), nicknamed Bloodaxe ( non, blóðøx , no, Blodøks) and Brother-Slayer ( la, fratrum interfector), was a 10th-century Norwegian king. He ruled as King of Norway from ...

, took place near the village of

in 955 AD.

Geography

The highest point on the island is the mountain Freikollen. The island is covered with mountains, pine forests, marshes, and sparse other vegetation. The

Freifjorden Freifjorden is a fjord in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The long fjord flows through the municipalities of Kristiansund, Tingvoll, and Gjemnes. The fjord begins near the island of Tustna and flows southwest between the islands of Nordland ...

lies to the east and south, the Kvernesfjorden and Bremsnesfjorden lie to the west, and the Bolgsvaet bay and Omsundet strait lie to the north. The islands of

Nordlandet Nordlandet is an island in Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The island is located just east of the city center of Kristiansund, and is one of the boroughs of the city. The island is home to Kristiansund Airport, Kv ...

Kirkelandet Kirkelandet is an island in Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The island is split in two by the ''Vågen'' inlet, with the western half called ''Kirkelandet'' and the eastern half called ''Gomalandet''. The name of t ...

, and

Innlandet Innlandet is a county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (the municipalities of Jevnaker and Lunner were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken on the same date). The ...

lie north of Frei; the island of

Averøya Averøya is an island in the municipality of Averøy in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located north of the Romsdal peninsula surrounded by the Kornstadfjord on the west and the Kvernesfjord on the south and east. The main villages on ...

lies to the west; the islands of Bergsøya and

Aspøya Aspøya is an artificial island in Tingvoll Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located between the Freifjorden and the Tingvollfjorden. The European route E39 highway crosses Aspøya and connects it to the nearby island of ...

lie to the southeast; and the island of

Tustna Tustna is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The administrative centre was the village of Gullstein. The municipality is located in the present-day Aure Municipality. The municipality included the main islands of Tus ...

lies to the northeast.

Name

The meaning of the name "Frei" ( non, Freiðr) is unknown, but is may be derived from ''fríðr'' which means "good" or "beautiful". Until 1889, the name was written ''Fredø''. The island is also referred to as ''Freiøya'', which means the "island of Frei". That name was often used to distinguish the island from the municipality of Frei.

Transportation

The island is crossed by the

Norwegian National Road 70 National Road 70 ( no, Riksvei 70) is a long national highway that runs from the town of Kristiansund in Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county and the village of Oppdal in Oppdal Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The ro ...

which is part of the

Krifast The Kristiansund Mainland Connection ( or abbreviated ''Krifast'') is a road system consisting of the European route E39 highway and Norwegian National Road 70 that connects Kristiansund Municipality to the neighboring islands of Frei, Bergs ...

network of roads, bridges, and tunnels that connect the town of

to the mainland. The

Freifjord Tunnel The Freifjord Tunnel ( no, Freifjordtunnelen) is a long undersea tunnel under the Freifjorden in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The tunnel is part of the Norwegian National Road 70. The tunnel begins on the island of Frei in Kristiansund ...

connects Frei to the island of Bergsøya (to the south) and the

Omsund Bridge The Omsund Bridge ( no, Omsundbrua) is a bridge that crosses the strait Omsundet between the islands of Frei and Nordlandet in Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The link is actually made up of two bridges: The main b ...

connects Frei to the island of

(to the north).

References

{{authority control Islands of Møre og Romsdal Kristiansund Nordmøre

Geography

Name

Transportation

See also

References