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Fræna is a former municipality in
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. It was part of the region of Romsdal. 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 comprises Aukra, Fræna, Midsund, Molde, Nesset, Rauma, Sandøy, and Vestnes. It is named after the v ...
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, Elne ...
, the eastern shore of the Julsundet strait, and includes most of the Hustadvika area. It also included the now-abandoned Bjørnsund islands. The main village and
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 ...
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, east of the village of Tornes, and northwest of the villag ...
with over 2,300 inhabitants.
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 fac ...
, Hustad Marmor, and Tine Meierier are all factories located in Elnesvågen. Other villages in Fræna included Hustad, Bud,
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 about west of the municipal center of Elnesvågen and about south of the ...
, Sylte,
Malme Malme or Malmefjorden 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 south ...
, and Aureosen. The area is nice for hiking, including the mountains are Heiane/
Lågheiane Lågheiane or Lågheia is a mountain ridge in Hustadvika Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The ridge sits at an elevation of above sea level and it is part of the larger mountain Høgheitinden. From the top of the ridge, there is ...
and Jendemsfjellet. At the time if its dissolution in 2020, the municipality is the 250th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Fræna is the 115th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 9,775. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 6.4% over the last decade.


General information

The municipality of Fræna was established in 1840 when it was separated from the municipality of Akerø. The original municipality was named ''Vaagø'' and it surrounded 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, Elne ...
. Later the name was changed to ''Fræna''. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964,
Bud Municipality Bud is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964 when it was merged into Fræna Municipality (now part of the present-day Hustadvika Municipality). The municipalit ...
(population: 1,610),
Hustad Municipality Hustad is a village in Hustadvika Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It lies along the Hustadvika coastal area. The village of Hustad is located in the Nerland urban area which covers about and has a population (2013) of 249. Hust ...
(population: 2,196), and Fræna Municipality (population: 3,430) were merged to form a new, larger municipality of Fræna. On 1 January 2020, the neighboring municipalities of Eide and Fræna merged into the new Hustadvika Municipality.


Name

The municipality was named after 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, Elne ...
( non, Fræni). The meaning of the name is unknown, but it might be derived from ''frænn'' which means "bright" or "shiny". Before 1865, the parish and municipality were named ''Vaagø'' (and the main church was
Vågøy Church Vågøy Church ( no, Vågøy kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Hustadvika Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located on the small island of Vågøya at the entrance to the Frænfjorden. It is one of the two ...
, which also was historically spelled Vaagø). From 1865 to 1918, the name was written ''Frænen'', and since 1918 it has had its current spelling, ''Fræna''.


Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 15 May 1995. The arms show three blue waves on a gold background. The arms were chosen to symbolize the municipality's connection to the sea.


Churches

The
Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...
had four parishes () within the municipality of Fræna. It is part of the
Molde domprosti Molde () is a town and 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. The administrative centre of t ...
(arch-
deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman 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 residenc ...
) in the
Diocese of Møre The Diocese of Møre ( no, Møre bispedømme) is a diocese in the Church of Norway which geographically consists of Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Its bishop is seated at the Molde Cathedral which is located in the county administrative center ...
.


Geography

The municipality of Fræna sits 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 comprises Aukra, Fræna, Midsund, Molde, Nesset, Rauma, Sandøy, and Vestnes. It is named after the v ...
. The Norwegian Sea lies to the north, the Harøyfjorden, Julsundet strait, and
Aukra Municipality Aukra is municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the region of Romsdalen. The administrative centre is the village of Falkhytta, which is part of the Aukrasanden urban area. The municipality is made up of the island o ...
lie to the west,
Molde Municipality Molde () is a town and 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. The administrative centre of the m ...
lies 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 Parallel ATA (PATA), originally , also known as IDE, is a standard interface designed for IBM PC-compatible computers. It was first developed by Western Digital and Compaq in 1986 for compatible hard drives and CD or DVD drives. The connection ...
lie to the east. 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, Elne ...
cuts into the middle of the municipality. The coastal areas are low and marshy while the interior of the municipality is mountainous. Two of the more notable mountains are Jendemsfjellet and Heiane. The Bjørnsund islands lie off the northwestern coast of Fræna. They are now uninhabited, but the
Bjørnsund Lighthouse Bjørnsund Lighthouse ( no, Bjørnsund fyr) is a coastal lighthouse in Hustadvika Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The lighthouse is located on the small island of Moøya in the Bjørnsund islands, about west of the village of Bud ...
is still in operation.


Government

The municipal council () of Fræna was made up of 31 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown for the final municipal council was as follows:


See also

*
List of former municipalities of Norway This is a list of former municipalities of Norway, i.e. municipalities that no longer exist. When the local council system was introduced in Norway in 1837-38, the country had 392 municipalities. In 1958 the number had grown to a total of 744 rur ...


References


External links


Municipal fact sheet
from
Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, 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 yea ...
*http://www.frena.net - Homepage edited by a local enthusiast
Romsdals Budstikke
newspaper {{DEFAULTSORT:Fraena Hustadvika (municipality) Former municipalities of Norway 1840 establishments in Norway 2020 disestablishments in Norway Populated places disestablished in 2020