Rana, Norway
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or 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' ...
in
Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...
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
Helgeland Helgeland is the most southerly Districts of Norway, district in Northern Norway. Generally speaking, Helgeland refers to the part of Nordland county that is located south of the Arctic Circle. It is bordered in the north by the Saltfjellet moun ...
traditional region A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...
. 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 town of
Mo i Rana (Norwegian language, Norwegian; ) or (and unofficially , ) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city, and the administrative centre of Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the Helgeland region of Nordland, just sou ...
, which houses the
National Library of Norway The National Library of Norway () was established in 1989. Its principal task is "to preserve the past for the future". The library is located both in Oslo and in Mo i Rana. The building in Oslo was restored and reopened in 2005. Prior to the e ...
. Other population centers in Rana include Båsmoen, Dunderland, Eiteråga, Flostrand,
Hauknes Hauknes is a village in Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is a suburb of the town of Mo i Rana, which is located just a few kilometers to the northeast. The village is located on the south side of the Ranfjorden. The lake Andfi ...
, Myklebustad, Nevernes,
Røssvoll Røssvoll is a village in Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is about north-east of the town of Mo i Rana. The village is on the north side of the river Ranelva (the village of Skonseng lies on the south side of the river ...
,
Selfors Selfors is a neighborhood in the town of Mo i Rana in Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Selfors sits on the northern shore of the river Ranelva in the northeastern part of the town of Mo i Rana. The European route E06 highway passes ...
,
Sjonbotn Sjonbotn is a village in Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located along Norwegian County Road 17 at the eastern end of the Sjona fjord, about north of the villages of Utskarpen and Myklebustad. The small, rural village are ...
,
Skonseng Skonseng is a village in Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located about northeast of the town of Mo i Rana in an agricultural area with a population of about 1,000. The village is located along the south side of the r ...
,
Storforsheia Storforsheia is a village in Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located in the Dunderland Valley, along the river Ranelva, about northeast of the town of Mo i Rana. The European route E06 and the Nordland Line both pass ...
,
Utskarpen Utskarpen is a village in Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway, about west of the town of Mo i Rana. The village is located at the end of the Utskarpen fjord, an arm of the main Ranfjorden. On the western side of Utskarpen is the interse ...
, and
Ytteren Ytteren is a neighborhood within the town of Mo i Rana in Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Ytteren and the neighboring village of Båsmoen make up the northern parts of the town of Mo i Rana. They are both located on the northern ed ...
. The municipality is the 4th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway (the largest municipality outside
Troms Troms (; ; ; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. It borders Finnmark county to the northeast and Nordland county in the southwest. Norrbotten Län in Sweden is located to the south and further southeast is a shorter border with ...
and
Finnmark Finnmark (; ; ; ; ) is a counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland's Lapland (Finland), Lapland region to the south, and Russia's Murmansk Oblast to the east, and by water, the Norweg ...
counties). Rana is the 47th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 25,994. This makes it the second largest municipality in Nordland county—and the third largest in
North Norway Northern Norway (, , ; ) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the three northernmost counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in Northern Norway (from south to no ...
. 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 0.2% over the previous 10-year period. Rana was a part of the Terra Securities scandal in 2007 relating to some investments that were made by the municipality.


General information


Municipal history

The municipality of Rana was originally 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). In 1839, it was divided into Nord-Ranen Municipality and Sør-Ranen Municipality. In 1844, Nord-Ranen Municipality was renamed Mo Municipality and Sør-Ranen Municipality was renamed
Hemnes Municipality Hemnes is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Korgen ...
. On 1 January 1923, the village of Mo was separated from Mo Municipality and became a town-municipality of its own. At that time (to avoid confusion) Mo Municipality changed its name (back) to Nord-Rana Municipality and the new town was known as Mo i Rana. 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 town of Mo (population: 9,616),
Nord-Rana Municipality Nord-Rana (historically: ''Mo'') is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1839 until its dissolution in 1964. From 1839 until 1844, it was named ''Nord-Ranen Municipality'', from 1844 until 1923, it was ...
(population: 11,636), the northern part of
Sør-Rana Municipality Sør-Rana is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1929 until its dissolution in 1964. The areais now part of Hemnes Municipality. (Hemnes Municipality was also named ''Sør-Rana'' from 1838 until 1844) ...
(population: 697), and the
Sjona Sjona is a fjord in Nordland county, Norway. The fjord begins in Rana Municipality and flows to the west through Nesna Municipality and Lurøy Municipality into the sea. The islands of Handnesøya and Tomma lie at the mouth of the fjord. The ...
area of
Nesna Municipality Nesna is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Nesna (village), v ...
(population: 543) were all merged to form Rana Municipality.


Name

The municipality is named after the river
Ranelva Ranelva is a long river in Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is one of the longest rivers in Nordland county. The catchment area of the river is . Before the power stations of ''Reinforsen'' (1925) and Langvatnet (1964) were bui ...
(). The name of the river is probably derived from the word which means "quick", "fast", or "rapid". Another possibility is that the name comes from the old Sami god
Rana Niejta Rana Niejta and Rana Niejte are variant forms of the Ume Sami name of a goddess in Sami religion, Sami mythology. In Northern Sami she is called Rana Neida and Rana Neide (names in other Sami languages are Rana Nieda, Ruona Neida, Radien-neide and ...
. On 16 February 2024, the national government approved a resolution to add a co-equal, official
Sami language Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ne ...
name for the municipality: . The spelling of the Sami language name changes depending on how it is used. It is called when it is spelled alone, but it is when using the Sami language equivalent to "Rana Municipality".


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 5 March 1965. 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 bend In heraldry, a bend is a band or strap running from the upper dexter (the bearer's right side and the viewer's left) corner of the shield to the lower sinister (the bearer's left side, and the viewer's right). Authorities differ as to how m ...
sinister
vert Vert or Verts may refer to: * Vert (heraldry), the colour green in heraldry * Vert (music producer) (born 1972), pseudonym of Adam Butler, an English music producer * Vert (river), in southern France * Vert (sport), a competition in extreme versio ...
and Or"'' (). This means the arms have a
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) that is divided by a diagonal line from the lower left to the upper right. The field that is 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 Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The field that is above the line has a tincture of green. The arms symbolize the
forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
s (upper part/green) and the
mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...
s (lower part/gold), as there many minerals can be found in the area, especially
iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...
. The arms were originally granted to the municipality of Mo on 29 April 1960 until that municipality was dissolved on 1 January 1964 when it became part of the new municipality of Rana. The arms were designed by Gunnar Alm.


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 six parishes () within Rana Municipality. It is part of the
Indre Helgeland prosti Indre (); is a department in central France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are known as the ''Indriens'' (masculine; ) and ''Indriennes'' (feminine; ). Indre is part of the current administrative region of Centre ...
(
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 Sør-Hålogaland Sør-Hålogaland is a diocese in the Church of Norway. The Diocese covers the Lutheran Church of Norway churches located within Nordland county in Norway. The diocese is headquartered in the Bodø (town), town of Bodø at Bodø Cathedral, the sea ...
.


Geography

The municipality is located just south of the
Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...
, on the southern side of the
Saltfjellet Saltfjellet is a mountain area in Nordland county, Norway that separates the two regions of Helgeland and Salten. It is also a cultural border between the Southern and Central parts of Sápmi. Geography and environment The Saltfjell is one of ...
mountains with the
Svartisen Svartisen is a collective term for two glaciers located in Nordland county in northern Norway. It is part of Saltfjellet-Svartisen National Park, located in the Saltfjell mountain range. The glaciers are located in the municipalities of Beiarn ...
glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
, Norway's second largest glacier. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Snøtinden. Some of the other large mountains in Rana include Bolna and
Nasa The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
. Mo is so close to the Arctic Circle that parts of the sun is continuously over the horizon (
Midnight sun Midnight sun, also known as polar day, is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When midnight sun is see ...
) from early June to early July, and there is no darkness from mid-May to the beginning of August. But there is no true
polar night Polar night is a phenomenon that occurs in the polar regions of Earth, northernmost and southernmost regions of Earth when the Sun remains below the horizon for more than 24 hours. This only occurs inside the polar circles. The opposite phen ...
in December. The
Saltfjellet–Svartisen National Park Saltfjellet–Svartisen National Park () is a national park in Nordland county in Norway. It is located within the municipalities of Beiarn, Meløy, Rana, Rødøy, Saltdal, and Bodø. The park forms the centrepiece of a larger protected area ...
is partly located in Rana. There are many
valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...
s such as the
Dunderland Valley The Dunderland Valley (, ) is a valley in Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It reaches from just below the eastern Saltfjellet plateau about south of the Arctic Circle. The mountain Bolna is situated in the uppermost boundary of ...
and Grønnfjelldal. The majority of the population in the municipality lives in
Mo i Rana (Norwegian language, Norwegian; ) or (and unofficially , ) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city, and the administrative centre of Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the Helgeland region of Nordland, just sou ...
, where the
Ranelva Ranelva is a long river in Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is one of the longest rivers in Nordland county. The catchment area of the river is . Before the power stations of ''Reinforsen'' (1925) and Langvatnet (1964) were bui ...
(river) meets the
Ranfjorden RanfjordenIn English this means ''the Ran fjord''; the ''-en'' in the full name is a suffix meaning 'the' in Norwegian. is a fjord in the Helgeland district of Nordland county, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic ...
. North of Mo i Rana, the
European route E6 European route E6 (, , or simply E6) is the main north–south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the countr ...
highway passes through the suburb of
Selfors Selfors is a neighborhood in the town of Mo i Rana in Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Selfors sits on the northern shore of the river Ranelva in the northeastern part of the town of Mo i Rana. The European route E06 highway passes ...
. In western Rana, the population centers around the
Sjona Sjona is a fjord in Nordland county, Norway. The fjord begins in Rana Municipality and flows to the west through Nesna Municipality and Lurøy Municipality into the sea. The islands of Handnesøya and Tomma lie at the mouth of the fjord. The ...
fjord. Rana and Saltfjellet are famous for their numerous
cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...
s due to the
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
rock. Some of the caves include
Grønnligrotta Grønnligrotta is a marble karst cave in Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the valley of Røvassdalen, and was first explored in 1914. It has a total depth of and explored length of . It is probably connected to the ...
,
Setergrotta Setergrotta (or Setergrotten) is a karst cave in Røvassdalen in Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern ...
, and Pluragrotta. There are several
nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...
s in the municipality, such as Alterhaug with several warmer-climate plants grow including the
elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical- montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ...
. Engasjyen, the
estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...
of the Rana river, has a rich bird life in the spring. Blakkådalen has
old growth An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Natio ...
spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...
forests. Fisktjørna, has a largely undisturbed mixed old growth forest with unusually rich plant life due to the extremely
lime Lime most commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Bo ...
-rich soil.


Climate

Rana is situated near the innermost part of the long Ranafjord, and the winters can be cold, especially away from the fjord. There is often a lot of snow in winter. Summer days in Rana are among the warmest in North Norway.


Lakes and rivers

There are many lakes and rivers in the municipality, both in the lowlands and in the mountains.


Government

Rana 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, 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 Helgeland District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.


Municipal council

The Municipal council (Norway), municipal council () of Rana is made up of 37 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 Rana 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: *1964-1965: Per Karstensen (Labour Party (Norway), Ap) *1965-1976: Alf Andreas Øverli (Labour Party (Norway), Ap) *1976-1985: Bjørg Simonsen (Labour Party (Norway), Ap) *1986-1987: Ole Ingar Lindseth (Labour Party (Norway), Ap) *1987-2003: Svein Bogen (Labour Party (Norway), Ap) *2003-2007: Inge Myrvoll (Socialist Left Party (Norway), SV) *2007-2011: Geir Waage (Labour Party (Norway), Ap) *2011-2015: Kai Henning Henriksen (Conservative Party (Norway), H) *2015–present: Geir Waage (Labour Party (Norway), Ap)


Economy

As of 2023, FREYR has a so-called test factory for battery technology in Rana. The size of the factory is . It had 70 employees before 10 were laid off in late November 2023. As of Q4 2023, the first production line had been delayed. The company said that it would halve its cash expenses for 2024.


Transportation

Rana has an airport, Mo i Rana Airport, Røssvoll in the village of
Røssvoll Røssvoll is a village in Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is about north-east of the town of Mo i Rana. The village is on the north side of the river Ranelva (the village of Skonseng lies on the south side of the river ...
, not far from the town of
Mo i Rana (Norwegian language, Norwegian; ) or (and unofficially , ) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city, and the administrative centre of Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the Helgeland region of Nordland, just sou ...
. There are several large highways in Rana:
European route E6 European route E6 (, , or simply E6) is the main north–south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the countr ...
, Norwegian County Road 17, and Norwegian County Road 12. The Illhollia Tunnel is part of the E6 highway. The Nordland Line passes through Rana, with several stations including Mo i Rana Station, Dunderland Station, and Bolna Station.


Media gallery

File:Ranamuseum02.JPG, Rana museum, department for cultural history File:Moholmen 20070406 08.jpg, Moholmen in
Mo i Rana (Norwegian language, Norwegian; ) or (and unofficially , ) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city, and the administrative centre of Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the Helgeland region of Nordland, just sou ...
, 16 April 2007 File:Grønligr inng.jpg, Entrance of the Grønligrotta cave


Culture

* ''Havmannen'', a sculpture made by Antony Gormley (1995), part of Artscape Nordland * Havmanndagene, an annual multi-cultural festival held the first weekend of May * Nordland Teater, a regional drama theatre for
Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...
County * Vikafestivalen, an annual pop and rock music festival *
Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...
County library *
National Library of Norway The National Library of Norway () was established in 1989. Its principal task is "to preserve the past for the future". The library is located both in Oslo and in Mo i Rana. The building in Oslo was restored and reopened in 2005. Prior to the e ...


Notable people

* Ole Tobias Olsen (1830 in the Dunderland Valley – 1924), teacher and minister and ''father'' of the Nordland Line between Trondheim (city), Trondheim and Bodø (town), Bodø * Nils Hansteen (1855 in Mo i Rana – 1912), painter of landscapes and marine art * Per Karstensen (1915–2010), educator and politician who was Mayor of Nord-Rana & Rana 1963-1965 * Sverre Bratland (1917 in Utskarpen – 2002), Norwegian military leader * Egil Øyjord (born 1928 in Mo i Rana), academic and founder of the International Association on Mechanization of Field Experiments (IAMFE) * Bjørn Alterhaug (born 1945 in Mo i Rana), jazz bassist, composer and professor of music * Inge Myrvoll (born 1948 in Rana), politician and mayor of Rana & deputy since 2003 * Laila Stien (born 1946), novelist, poet, and author of children's literature who grew up in Rana * Guttorm Guttormsen (born 1950 in Mo i Rana), jazz musician, arranger, and composer * Anne Grete Hollup (born 1957 in Mo i Rana), novelist, playwright, and children's writer * Geir Bjørklund (born 1969 in Mo i Rana), researcher and medical science writer, and editor * Hans Olav Lahlum (born 1973 in Mo i Rana), historian, crime author, chess player, and politician


Sport

* Tom Sandberg (born 1955 in Mo i Rana), former Nordic combined skier, gold medallist at the 1984 Winter Olympics * Trond Sollied (born 1959 in Mo i Rana), football manager and former player with 262 club caps and 15 for Norway national football team, Norway * Elin Nilsen (born 1968 in Mo i Rana), former cross-country skier who was a three time team silver medallist at the 1992 Winter Olympics, 1992, 1994 Winter Olympics, 1994 and 1998 Winter Olympics * Kenneth Braaten (born 1974), Nordic combined skier and team gold medallist at the 1998 Winter Olympics * Jan Egil Andresen (born 1978 in Mo i Rana), cross-country skier who competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics * Marius Erlandsen (born 1979 in Mo i Rana), auto racing driver * Kristin Størmer Steira (born 1981 in Mo i Rana), retired cross-country skier * Karianne Bjellånes (born 1986 in Mo i Rana), cross-country skier * Joar Leifseth Ulsom (born 1987 in Mo i Rana), Mushing, dog musher * Martin Bjørnbak (born 1992 in Mo i Rana), footballer with over 250 club caps * Lisa-Marie Karlseng Utland (born 1992 in Mo i Rana), footballer with over 200 club caps and 51 for Norway women's national football team, Norway * Emilie Kalkenberg (born 1997 in Mo i Rana), biathlete


International relations


Twin towns—sister cities

The sister cities of Rana are: * Løgstør, North Denmark Region, Nordjylland, Denmark * Raahe, Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland * Skellefteå Municipality, Skellefteå, Västerbotten County, Västerbotten, Sweden


References


External links


Municipal fact sheet
from Statistics Norway
Official tourist information about the Arctic Circle areaDNT Rana

Rana municipality

moirana.com - Local portal for Mo i Rana
{{authority control Rana, Norway, Municipalities of Nordland 1838 establishments in Norway 1839 disestablishments in Norway 1964 establishments in Norway Populated places established in 1838 Populated places disestablished in 1839 Populated places established in 1964