Åfjord

Åfjord is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Fosen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Årnes. Other villages in the municipality include Revsnes, Roan, Bessaker, Harsvika, and By. Åfjord is located on the northwestern side of the Fosen peninsula, northwest of the city of Trondheim. It is located between the municipalities of Ørland and Osen and to the west of Steinkjer, with Indre Fosen to the south.

The 1329 km2 municipality is the 74th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Åfjord is the 196th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 4,252. The municipality's population density is 3.4 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 0.4% over the previous 10-year period.

General information
The municipality of Aafjord was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 26 March 1870, a royal resolution moved a small, unpopulated part to Aafjord to the neighboring municipality of Bjugn. On 1 January 1896, the southwestern coastal area of Aafjord (population: 1,529) was separated to form the new municipality of Jøssund. This left Aafjord with 2,419 residents. On the same date, the name of Aafjord municipality was changed to just Aa. The spelling was later changed to Å. On 13 July 1934, the name of the municipality was changed from "Å" to "Åfjord". After that, the administrative centre 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. On 1 January 1964, the neighboring municipalities of Stoksund (population: 2,643) and Åfjord (population: 1,515) to form the new, larger municipality of Åfjord. 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 county to the new Trøndelag county.

On 1 January 2020, the neighboring municipalities of Roan and Åfjord merged into one large municipality called Åfjord. The new municipality uses the coat of arms of the old Roan municipality.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Aa farm (Ár) since the first Åfjord Church was built there. The local fjord (Åfjorden) is also named after this farm. The first element of the current name is the plural form of which means "river", 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 "fjord".

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 municipality of Jøssund 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 "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 coat of arms was approved for use starting on 1 January 2020 after a municipal merger with Åfjord and Roan municipalities. These arms had previously been used by Roan from 1987 until 2020. The official blazon is "Azure, three terns volant argent" (I blått tre oppflyvende sølv terner, 2-1). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a group of three flying terns. The bird design has a tincture of argent 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, 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 coat of arms was granted on 18 April 1997 until 1 January 2020 when the municipality was enlarged and the arms were changed. The official blazon is "Azure, two boats argent issuant from sinister" (I blått to fremvoksende sølv båter). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is two boats coming out of the right side of the shield. The boats have a tincture of argent which means they are commonly colored white, but if the arms are made out of metal, then silver is used. The arms show two stems of a boat to represent the special boats Åfjordbåt that are built in the municipality. These boats had a long, shallow keel 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 has three parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Åfjord. It is part of the Fosen prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

History
There are archeological findings on many sites across the municipality. On Dragseid archaeologists have located grave mounds. On Dragseid it is said that the wooden boats were dragged over this thin peninsula to shorten the journey and to avoid risking them in bad weather. Up to the Middle Ages the Fosen peninsula was included as a part of the district of Nordmøre, 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 municipality of Bjugn to the south was finally finished. In 1955, the road to Stokksund 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 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 services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is 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 (Kommunestyre) 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 party.

Mayors
The mayors (ordfører) of Åfjord:


 * 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 (V)
 * 1880–1885: Nils Berg
 * 1886–1890: Karl Seip (V)
 * 1890–1898: Hans P. Dahl (V)
 * 1899–1907: Ove Selnes (V)
 * 1908–1919: Ole Berdahl (V)
 * 1920–1928: Kristian Karlsaune (V)
 * 1929–1931: Johannes Bye (H)
 * 1932–1937: Ole O. Stjern (Bp)
 * 1938–1942: Einar Nordtømme (Bp)
 * 1942–1945: Magne Nilsen (NS)
 * 1945–1946: Einar Nordtømme (Bp)
 * 1947–1955: Petter M. Stavrum (Bp)
 * 1955-1955: Toralf Gilde (Sp)
 * 1956–1965: Einar Hole Moxnes (Sp)
 * 1966–1967: Erling Stjern (KrF)
 * 1968–1971: John Skaseth (Sp)
 * 1972–1975: Erling Stjern (KrF)
 * 1976–1989: Einar Aune (Sp)
 * 1990–1995: Michael Momyr (H)
 * 1995–1998: Kristian Flenstad (Sp)
 * 1998–1999: Vidar Daltveit (KrF)
 * 1999–2007: Oddbjørn Rømma (Sp)
 * 2007–2023: Vibeke Stjern (Ap)
 * 2023-present: Erling Iversen (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
The major centre of the municipality is Årnes (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 1000 km2, with about 3200 residents&mdash; about one third of which live in the Årnes urban area. During the last decades there has been a decrease of 100-150 people yearly. Many young people leave the municipality for school, university or work.

Åfjord consists of many small settlements&mdash;from the islands in the west to the highlands in the east. Traditionally, Åfjord has been an agricultural society, while 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 near the south at the end of the Åfjorden.

The highest point in Åfjord is the 676 m tall Finnvollheia. There are over 1,000 lakes with fish. Åfjord also has two major salmon rivers&mdash;the Nordalselva and Stordalselva, which flow into Åfjorden. English Lords used to fish here in the late 19th century. The lake Stordalsvatnet lies just east of Årnes. The lake Straumsetervatnet lies in the east, along the border with Verran.

Notable people

 * Johan Strand Johansen (1903 in Åfjord - 1970 in Moscow), a politician who had a role in the 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