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 isla ...
in
Kristiansund 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 t ...
county,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, 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 ...
. 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 region of the county. The main villages on the island include
Rensvik in the north,
Kvalvåg in the east, and
Nedre Frei in the south. The island was part of the old
Frei Municipality from 1838 until 2008 when the island was merged into
Kristiansund Municipality.
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, between
Haakon I of Norway 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
Nedre Frei 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 lies to the east and south, the
Kvernesfjorden
Kvernesfjorden or Kvernesfjord is a fjord between the municipalities of Gjemnes, Kristiansund, Averøy, and Hustadvika in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The fjord is about long.
The fjord begins at the end of the Kornstadfjorden near the vi ...
and
Bremsnesfjorden lie to the west, and the
Bolgsvaet bay and Omsundet strait lie to the north. The islands of
Nordlandet,
Kirkelandet, 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). ...
lie north of Frei; the island of
Averøya lies to the west; the islands of
Bergsøya and
Aspøya lie to the southeast; and the island of
Tustna 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.
Th ...
which is part of the
Krifast network of roads, bridges, and tunnels that connect 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 ...
to the mainland. The
Freifjord Tunnel connects Frei to the island of
Bergsøya (to the south) and the
Omsund Bridge connects Frei to the island of
Nordlandet (to the north).
See also
*
List of islands of Norway
References
{{authority control
Islands of Møre og Romsdal
Kristiansund
Nordmøre