Bremsnes

Bremsnes is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The 120 km2 municipality existed from 1897 until its dissolution in 1964. Bremsnes municipality surrounded the Bremsnesfjorden and it included parts of the islands of Averøya, Frei, and Nordlandet. Bremsnes essentially encircled the town of Kristiansund on the west, south, and east sides. The administrative centre of Bremsnes was the village of Bremsnes, where Bremsnes Church is located.

History
The municipality of Bremsnes was established on 1 January 1897 when the large municipality of Kvernes was divided into four municipalities: Kvernes, Kornstad, Eide, and Bremsnes. Initially, Bremsnes had a population of 2,917. On 8 July 1903, an uninhabited part of Bremsnes was transferred back to Kvernes.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Bremsnes municipality was dissolved. The Bolga and Valen areas on the island of Frei (population: 884) became a part of Frei Municipality. The Dale area on the island of Nordlandet (population: 963) was incorporated into Kristiansund Municipality. The rest of Bremsnes (population: 3,153) was merged with Kvernes Municipality and most of Kornstad Municipality to create the new Averøy Municipality.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Bremsnes farm (Brymsnes) since the first Bremsnes Church was built there. The first element is which means "surf" or "the surface of the sea". The last element is which means "headland".

Government
While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Bremsnes was made up of 29 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows: