Åfjord is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...

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 ...

. It is part of the

Fosen Fosen is a traditional district in coastal Trøndelag county, Norway. The district consists of the municipalities Osen, Åfjord, Ørland, Indre Fosen, Orkland, Heim, Hitra, and Frøya. In colloquial speech, Fosen also refers to the Fosen ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. The

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 ...

of the municipality is the village of

Årnes Årnes is a village in Nes, Akershus, Nes municipality in Akershus, Akershus County, Norway. The village is located along the eastern riverbank of the Glomma, Glomma River, roughly 3 kilometers downriver from its confluence with the Vorma, Vorm ...

. Other villages in the municipality include Revsnes, Roan, Bessaker,

Harsvika Harsvika is a village in Åfjord Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located on the south side of the island of Stokkøya Stokkøya is an island in Åfjord Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The island is located in the n ...

, and By. Åfjord is located on the northwestern side of the

Fosen peninsula Fosen is a traditional district in coastal Trøndelag county, Norway. The district consists of the municipalities Osen, Åfjord, Ørland, Indre Fosen, Orkland, Heim, Hitra, and Frøya. In colloquial speech, Fosen also refers to the Fosen pen ...

, northwest of the city of

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

. The municipality is the 74th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Åfjord is the 197th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 4,339. 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 ...

is and its population has increased by 2.6% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of ''Aafjord'' was established on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...

law). On 26 March 1870, a royal resolution moved a small, unpopulated part to Aafjord Municipality to the neighboring

Bjugn Municipality Bjugn is a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1853 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Ørland Municipality. It was part of the Fosen region. The village of Botngård was the admini ...

. On 1 January 1896, the southwestern coastal area of Aafjord Municipality (population: 1,529) was separated to form the new Jøssund Municipality. This left Aafjord Municipality with 2,419 residents. On the same date, the name of ''Aafjord Municipality'' was changed to just ''Aa Municipality''. The spelling was later changed to ''Å Municipality''. On 13 July 1934, the name of the municipality was changed from "Å" to "Åfjord Municipality". After that, the

in the municipality was referred to as " Å" or "Å i Åfjord". 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, the neighboring

Stoksund Municipality Stoksund is a former municipality in the old Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1892 until its dissolution in 1964. The municipality was located in what is now Åfjord Municipality in Trøndelag county. The municipali ...

(population: 2,643) and Åfjord Municipality (population: 1,515) were merged to form a new, larger Åfjord Municipality. On 1 November 1980, the postal service changed the name of the municipal center from ''"Å i Åfjord"'' to ''"Årnes"''. On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old

Sør-Trøndelag Sør-Trøndelag (; ) was a Counties of Norway, county comprising the southern portion of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. It bordered the old Nord-Trøndelag () county as well as the counties of Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, and Hedmark. ...

county to the new

county. On 1 January 2020, the neighboring

Roan Municipality Roan is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1892 until its dissolution in 2020 when it joined Åfjord Municipality. It was part of the Fos ...

was merged into Åfjord Municipality. The new municipality adopted 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 ...

of the old Roan Municipality.

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 ...

) is named after the old '' Aa'' farm () since the first

Åfjord Church Åfjord Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Åfjord Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Årnes, just east of the Åfjorden and west of the lake Stordalsvatnet. It is one of two churche ...

was built there. The local

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

(

Åfjorden The Åfjorden is a fjord in Åfjord Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic isl ...

) is also named after this farm. The first element of the current name is the

plural In many languages, a plural (sometimes list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated as pl., pl, , or ), is one of the values of the grammatical number, grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than ...

form of which means "

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

", probably since there are two rivers, the Norddalselva and Stordalselva, that run together just south of the farm. The last element of the current name is which means "

". The spelling of the name has varied over the years. Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled ''Aafjorden''. On 23 March 1895, a royal resolution approved the division of the municipality effective 1 January 1896. On that date, the southwestern part became the new Jøssund Municipality and the remaining portion of Aafjorden Municipality would be renamed ''Aa'' (leaving off the "fjord" part of the old name). On 21 December 1917, a royal resolution enacted the 1917 Norwegian language reforms. Prior to this change, the name was spelled ''Aa'' with the

digraph Digraph, often misspelled as diagraph, may refer to: * Digraph (orthography), a pair of characters used together to represent a single sound, such as "nq" in Hmong RPA * Ligature (writing), the joining of two letters as a single glyph, such as " ...

" Aa", and after this reform, the name was spelled ''Å'', simply using the letter Å instead. On 13 July 1934, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to ''Åfjord''.

Coat of arms

The current

was approved for use starting on 1 January 2020 after a municipal merger with Åfjord Municipality and

. These arms had previously been used by Roan from 1987 until 2020. 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 ''"

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 * ...

, three terns

volant Volant may refer to: * Volant (heraldry), an attitude of heraldry, a position of a bird emblazoned as a charge, supporter or crest *Flying and gliding animals A number of animals are capable of aerial locomotion, either by powered flight or b ...

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

"'' (). This means the arms have a blue

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) and 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 a group of three flying

tern Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae, subfamily Sterninae, that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated in eleven genera in a subgroup of the family Laridae, which also ...

s. The bird design 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 ...

which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. Terns, a very watchful and energetic

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

, are intended to symbolize the local inhabitants and the coast with the vast bird life in the area. The arms were initially designed by Solfrid Krogfjord with the final design by Einar H. Skjervold. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms. The previous

was granted on 18 April 1997 until 1 January 2020 when the municipality was enlarged and the arms were changed. The official

is ''"

, two boats

issuant from

sinister Sinister commonly refers to: * Evil * Ominous Sinister may also refer to: Left side * Sinister, Latin for the direction "left" * Sinister, in heraldry, is the bearer's true left side (viewers' right side) of an escutcheon or coat of arms; see dex ...

"'' (). This means the arms have a blue

(background) and the

is two boats coming out of the right side of the shield. The boats have a

which means they are commonly colored white, but if the arms are made out of metal, then silver is used. The arms show two

stem Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

s of a boat to represent the special boats that are built in the municipality. These boats had a long, shallow

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

and straight masts. The arms were designed by Einar H. Skjervold. The municipal flag had 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 ...

has three parishes () within Åfjord Municipality. It is part of the

Fosen prosti This list of churches in Nidaros is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Nidaros in Norway. It includes all of the parishes in Trøndelag county. The diocese is based at the Nidaros Cathedral in the city of Trondheim (city), T ...

(

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 Nidaros Nidaros is a diocese in the Lutheran Church of Norway. It covers Trøndelag county in Central Norway and its cathedral city is Trondheim, which houses the well-known Nidaros Cathedral. Since 10 September 2017, the Bishop of Nidaros is Herborg ...

History

There are archeological findings on many sites across the municipality. At Dragseid. archaeologists have located

grave mound A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. ...

s. It is said that the wooden boats were dragged over the thin Dragseid

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

to shorten the journey and to avoid risking them in bad weather. Up to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

the

was included as a part of the district of

Nordmøre Nordmøre () is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in the Norway, Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. The area comprises the northern third of the county including the List of municipalities of Norway, municipalities of Kristiansund Mu ...

, immediately to the south. Prior to 1950, there were no roads leading into and out of the municipality. In 1950, the road to the neighboring

to the south was finally finished. In 1955, the road to

in the northern part of the municipality was finished. An old type of wooden boat, the Åfjord boat, comes from this area. The boat is a direct descendant form the old Norse

Viking Vikings were 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 settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

boats. It is still being produced, although in very small numbers. The boat is rounded at both ends. It is known to be a good coastal sailer. Different sizes exist. From the small "faering" to the largest of them all, the "fembøring".

Government

Åfjord Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient Health care, health services, old age, senior citizen services, welfare spending, welfare and other Social work, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a Municipal council (Norway), municipal council of Direct election, directly elected representatives. The mayor is Indirect election, indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The Municipal council (Norway), municipal council () of Åfjord is made up of 27 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political Political party, party.

Mayors

The Mayor#Scandinavia, mayor () of Åfjord is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position: *1838–1839: Thore Petter Berg *1840–1847: Hans Günther Magelsen *1848–1851: Thore Petter Berg *1852–1853: Christopher Andreas Lassen *1854–1857: Thore Petter Berg *1858–1859: Christopher Andreas Lassen *1860–1867: Ole Berg *1868–1871: Bernt Graning *1872–1877: Ole Berg *1878–1879: Hans P. Dahl (Liberal Party (Norway), V) *1880–1885: Nils Berg *1886–1890: Karl Seip (Liberal Party (Norway), V) *1890–1898: Hans P. Dahl (Liberal Party (Norway), V) *1899–1907: Ove Selnes (Liberal Party (Norway), V) *1908–1919: Ole Berdahl (Liberal Party (Norway), V) *1920–1928: Kristian Karlsaune (Liberal Party (Norway), V) *1929–1931: Johannes Bye (Conservative Party (Norway), H) *1932–1937: Ole O. Stjern (Centre Party (Norway), Bp) *1938–1942: Einar Nordtømme (Centre Party (Norway), Bp) *1942–1945: Magne Nilsen (Nasjonal Samling, NS) *1945–1946: Einar Nordtømme (Centre Party (Norway), Bp) *1947–1955: Petter M. Stavrum (Centre Party (Norway), Bp) *1955-1955: Toralf Gilde (Centre Party (Norway), Sp) *1956–1965: Einar Hole Moxnes (Centre Party (Norway), Sp) *1966–1967: Erling Stjern (Christian Democratic Party (Norway), KrF) *1968–1971: John Skaseth (Centre Party (Norway), Sp) *1972–1975: Erling Stjern (Christian Democratic Party (Norway), KrF) *1976–1989: Einar Aune (Centre Party (Norway), Sp) *1990–1995: Michael Momyr (Conservative Party (Norway), H) *1995–1998: Kristian Flenstad (Centre Party (Norway), Sp) *1998–1999: Vidar Daltveit (Christian Democratic Party (Norway), KrF) *1999–2007: Oddbjørn Rømma (Centre Party (Norway), Sp) *2007–2023: Vibeke Stjern (Labour Party (Norway), Ap) *2023-present: Erling Iversen (Centre Party (Norway), Sp)

Economy

The people of Åfjord make their living from agriculture, forestry, fishing, transport (sea and land), aquaculture (fish and shellfish), construction, and services. The largest employer in the area is Stjern (forestry, sawmill, entrepreneur). The contractor, building, sector now employs about 19% of the working force, and is now larger than the agricultural sector.

Geography

Åfjord Municipality is located next to Osen Municipality to the north, Namsos Municipality to the northeast, Steinkjer Municipality to the east, Indre Fosen Municipality to the south, and Ørland Municipality to the southwest. The major centre of the municipality is ''

'' (also called "''Å in Åfjord''"). All major services of the municipality are located there. Other populated areas are ''Monstad/ Å'', a couple of minutes by car from Årnes, and ''Stoksund/ Revsnes''. Åfjord covers an area of approximately , with about 4300 residents— about one third of which live in the

urban area. Åfjord consists of many small settlements—from the islands in the west to the highlands in the east. Traditionally, Åfjord has been an agricultural society, while Revsnes, Trøndelag, Stoksund in the west has had a more of a fishing-based economy. There is an increasing amount of weekend houses and recreational cabins in the area. Åfjord has two big islands; Stokkøya (380 inhabitants) and Linesøya (80 inhabitants). Stokkøya is connected with the mainland through a bridge Stokkøy Bridge. The Linesøy Bridge connects the islands of Stokkøya and Linesøya. The other main island is Lauvøya, Åfjord, Lauvøya near the south at the end of the

. The highest point in Åfjord Municipality is the tall Finnvollheia. There are over 1,000 lakes with fish. Åfjord also has two major salmon rivers—the Nordalselva and Stordalselva, which flow into

. English Lords used to fish here in the late 19th century. The lake Stordalsvatnet lies just east of

. The lake Selavatnet lies in the east, along the border with Steinkjer Municipality.

Notable people

* Johan Strand Johansen (1903 in Åfjord - 1970 in Moscow), a politician who had a role in the Johan Strand Johansen#The Furubotn purge, Furubotn purge * Einar Hole Moxnes (1921–2006), a Norwegian politician and Mayor of Åfjord from 1955 to 1966 * Hans B. Skaset (born 1935), a Norwegian civil servant and sports official * Michael Momyr (born 1956), a Norwegian politician and Mayor of Åfjord from 1990 to 1995 * Alexander Lund Hansen (born 1982 in Åfjord), a Norwegian former football goalkeeper

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway
Abstract:The biological diversity of Åfjord
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aafjord Åfjord, Municipalities of Trøndelag 1838 establishments in Norway Populated places established in 1838