Haram 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' ...

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

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

Sunnmøre Sunnmøre (, ) is the southernmost traditional district of the western Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. Its main city is Ålesund. The region comprises the municipalities () of Fjord, Giske, Hareid, Herøy, Sande, Haram, Stranda Mu ...

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 center 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 Belgiu ...

Brattvåg Brattvåg is the administrative centre of Haram Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village is located on the Norwegian mainland, along the west side of the Samfjorden. It is located about northwest of the villages of Vatne/ E ...

, the industrial center of Sunnmøre. Other important villages in the municipality include

Austnes Austnes is a village in Haram Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located on the southeast side of the island of Haramsøya, about southwest of the village of Longva via the Ullasund Bridge. The Ulla lighthouse is located abo ...

, Eidsvik, Helle,

Longva Longva is a village in Haram Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village is located on the southwest side of the island of Skuløya, along the Longvafjorden. It is about northeast of the village of Austnes on Haramsøya via th ...

, Hildrestranda, Søvik,

Tennfjord Tennfjord is a village that is located at the end of the Grytafjorden in Haram Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Pe ...

, and Vatne. The municipality is the 280th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Haram Municipality is the 120th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 9,357. 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 3% over the previous 10-year period.

Brattvåg IL Brattvåg Idrettslag is a Norwegian sports club from the village of Brattvåg in the municipality of Ålesund in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It has sections for association football and Nordic skiing. The club was established in 1940. The ...

is a sports club based in the municipality. ''Tennfjord Mannskor'' is a male

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

from the village of Tennfjord.

General information

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 ...

of ''Harham'' (later spelled ''Haram'') was established as a municipality 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 1 January 1890, Haram Municipality was divided into two: the western island district (population: 794) became the new

Roald Municipality Vigra is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1890 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Giske Municipality in the traditional district of Sunnmøre. The administrative centr ...

and the eastern district (population: 1,956) remained as Haram Municipality. 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 1965, three municipal changes involving Haram occurred, altering the size of the municipality (and ultimately creating a much larger municipality): *The part of Haram Municipality on the island of

Harøya Harøya is a swampy island in Ålesund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. At , it is the largest island in the municipality. The island is located between the islands of Finnøya (to the northeast) and Fjørtofta (to the southwest) ...

, including the Myklebust area and the smaller surrounding islands to the west of there (population: 287), was separated from Haram Municipality and merged into the neighboring

Sandøy Municipality Sandøy is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1867 until its dissolution in 2020. The area is now divided between Aukra Municipality and Ålesund Municipality on the border of the traditiona ...

to the northeast. *Most of

Vatne Municipality Vatne is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1902 until its dissolution in 1965. The municipality included land and islands surrounding the Midfjorden and Vatnefjorden in what is now part of H ...

(population: 2,260) to the southeast of Haram Municipality was merged into Haram Municipality. *The Søvik area in Borgund Municipality (population: 1,191) to the south of Haram Municipality were merged into Haram. On 1 January 2020, the Haram Municipality,

Skodje Municipality Skodje ( or ) is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1849 until its dissolution in 2020 (except for a short time from 1965-1977). The area is now part o ...

Ørskog Municipality Ørskog is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020. The area is now part of Ålesund Municipality in the traditional district of Sunnmøre. The administrative c ...

, and

Ålesund Municipality Ålesund (, sometimes spelled Aalesund in English) is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre and the centre of the Ålesund Region. The town of Ålesund is the administrative ce ...

were merged to form a new, much larger Ålesund Municipality. This occurred because in June 2017, the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...

voted to approve the merger. Soon after the merger, there was discontent among the people who had lived in the old Haram Municipality. After lots of discussions, the municipal council of the new Ålesund Municipality petitioned the government to reverse that part of the merger and to recreate Haram Municipality once again. On 3 October 2022, the Parliament of Norway approved a law to recreate Haram Municipality effective on 1 January 2024.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old ''Haram'' farm () since the first

Haram Church Haram Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Haram Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the village of Austnes on the island of Haramsøya. It is one of the churches for the ''Haram og Fjørtoft'' p ...

was built there. The first element is prefix which has an unknown meaning. The last element is which means "stone" or "steep cliff". Prior to 1889, the name was written ''Harham''.

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 last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted on 7 August 1987 and it was in use until 2020 when the municipality ceased to exist. 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 ''"

Per fess In heraldry, the field (background) of a shield can be divided into more than one area, or subdivision, of different tinctures, usually following the lines of one of the ordinaries and carrying its name (e.g. a shield divided in the shape of a ch ...

engrailed of three lobes

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 ...

and

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 * ...

"'' (). This means the arms have are divided with a horizontal line that is engrailed three times. The

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) below the line 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 ...

of azure. Above the line, the field has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The design was chosen to look like three

wave In physics, mathematics, engineering, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from List of types of equilibrium, equilibrium) of one or more quantities. ''Periodic waves'' oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium ...

s, symbolizing the importance of the sea in this island municipality. The arms were designed by Eldar Tandstad. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Dialect

The

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

of the area was well known for its practice of

H-dropping ''H''-dropping or aitch-dropping is the elision, deletion of the voiceless glottal fricative or "''H''-sound", . The phenomenon is common in many dialects of English language, English, and is also found in certain other languages, either as a pu ...

and the old and traditional pronunciation of the name of the municipality was .

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 four parishes () within Haram Municipality. It is part of the Nordre Sunnmøre prosti (

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 Møre The Diocese of Møre () 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 of Molde. , the Bisho ...

Geography

The municipality of Haram includes many islands including Bjørnøya,

Fjørtofta Fjørtoft is an island in Haram Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The island is located in the northern part of the municipality, between the islands of Flemsøya, Harøya, and Midøya and Dryna (both in Molde Municipality). Fjø ...

Haramsøya Haramsøya is an island in Haram Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The island is located between the islands of Lepsøya and Flemsøya, just northwest of the mainland. The village of Austnes is located on the southeast part of t ...

, Løvsøya, Skuløya, and Terøya. The islands of Bjørnøya and Terøya are connected to the mainland via

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...

s. The islands of Haramsøya and Skuløya are connected with the

Ullasund Bridge The Ullasund Bridge () is a bridge that crosses the Ullasundet strait between the islands of Haramsøya and Flemsøya in Haram Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The original bridge was opened in 1969. The Ulla lighthouse is locate ...

. The new

Nordøyvegen Nordøyvegen () is a road network in Sunnmøre in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The bridge and tunnel network connects the islands of the former Sandøy Municipality (now part of Ålesund Municipality) and the islands of Haram Municipality to t ...

bridge and tunnel network (completed in 2022) connects all of the main islands of Haram to the mainland via the

Fjørtoftfjord Tunnel The Fjørtoftfjord Tunnel () is an undersea road tunnel in Sunnmøre, Norway. The tunnel connects the village of Myklebust on the island of Harøya (in Ålesund Municipality) to the island of Fjørtofta (in Haram Municipality). The long tunnel ...

Nogvafjord Tunnel The Nogvafjord Tunnel () is an undersea road tunnel in Haram Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The tunnel connects the island of Fjørtofta to the island of Skuløya. The long tunnel opened on 27 August 2022 and it reaches a dept ...

Haramsfjord Tunnel The Haramsfjord Tunnel () is an undersea road tunnel in Haram Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The tunnel connects the island of Haramsøya to the small island of Hestøya, just off the shore of the island of Lepsøya. The long t ...

, and Lepsøy Bridge. The Haramsfjorden, Vatnefjorden, and

Romsdal Fjord or is the ninth-longest fjord in Norway. The long fjord is located in the Romsdal district of Møre og Romsdal county. It flows through the municipalities of Molde, Haram, Vestnes, and Rauma. The deepest point in the fjord is just southwest ...

all flow through the municipality. The Ulla Lighthouse and Hellevik Lighthouse are both located in the northwestern part of the municipality. The municipality shares land borders with

Vestnes Municipality Vestnes is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Vestnes is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the ...

to the east and

to the south. The rest of the municipality is surrounded by sea. The municipality also borders (by sea) Ålesund Municipality and

Molde Municipality Molde Municipality () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal ...

to the northeast, Ålesund Municipality to the south, and

Giske Municipality Giske is an island List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality lies north-northwest of the Ålesund (town), town of Ålesund in the Districts of Norway, traditional distr ...

to the west. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Blåskjerdingen, located near the border with Vestnes Municipality.

Government

Haram Municipality is responsible for

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

(through 10th grade), outpatient

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

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

services,

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

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. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

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

economic development In economics, economic development (or 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 object ...

, and municipal

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s and utilities. The municipality is 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, borough cou ...

() of directly elected representatives. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the

Sunnmøre District Court Sunnmøre District Court () is a district court in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The court is based at two different courthouses in Ålesund and Volda. The court existed for hundreds of years until 2021, but it was re-established in 2025. Case ...

and the

Frostating Court of Appeal The Frostating Court of Appeal () is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Trondheim. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Trøndelag and Møre og Romsdal. These areas constitute the ...

Municipal council

The municipal council of Haram 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

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, 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 oft ...

Mayors

The

() of Haram 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: *1838–1841: Sjur Olsen Hatlemark *1842–1851: Carl Sjursen Haram *1852–1857: Nils Rasmussen Aakre *1858–1862: Jens Kobro Daae *1863–1867: Nils Rasmussen Aakre *1868–1878: Hans Rasmussen Vestre *1879–1900: Nils Ingebrigtsen Alvestad ( V) *1901–1911: Nils Nilsen Aakre ( V) *1911–1912: Knudt Severin Jonas Olsen Otterlei ( V) *1913–1921: Ole Rasmus Knutsen Flem ( V) *1922–1925: Knudt Severin Jonas Olsen Otterlei ( V) *1926–1928: Martinus Eriksen Otterlei *1929–1934: Karl Gunnarson Rogne ( V) *1935–1941: Ole Johanson Skjelten *1941–1945: Martinus Kjerstad ( NS) *1945–1955: Lars Larsson Fjørtoft ( V) *1984–1985: Robert Hurlen ( H) *1986–1988: Svein Ottar Sandal ( KrF) *1989–1989: Knut Wahl ( Ap) *1990–1991: Robert Hurlen ( H) *1992–1999: Margrethe Tennfjord ( KrF) *1999–2007:

Oddbjørn Vatne Oddbjørn Vatne (born 3 September 1948) is a Norwegian politician for the Centre Party. He served as a deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from Møre og Romsdal during the terms 2001–2005 and 2005–2009. In total he met ...

( Sp) *2007–2015: Bjørn Sandnes ( H) *2015–2019: Vebjørn Krogsæter ( Sp) *''(2020–2023: Haram Municipality was part of

)'' *2024–present: Vebjørn Krogsæter ( Sp)

Media gallery

Hildre kapell.jpg, Hildre Church near Brattvåg Hamnsund kirke i Søvik.jpg,

Hamnsund Church Hamnsund Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Haram Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the village of Søvik. It is the church for the Hamnsund parish which is part of the Nordre Sunnmøre prost ...

near Søvik Brattvåg.jpg, View of Brattvåg village Lepsoeya.jpg, View of Lepsøya island

References

External links

Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway (, 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 year on its web site. All rele ...

{{Authority control Municipalities of Møre og Romsdal 1838 establishments in Norway 2020 disestablishments in Norway 2024 establishments in Norway Populated places established in 1838 Populated places established in 2020 Populated places disestablished in 2024