Flatanger

Flatanger is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is Lauvsnes. Other villages include Jøssund, Hasvåg, and Vik.

The 459 km2 municipality is the 217th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Flatanger is the 326th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,108. The municipality's population density is 2.6 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 4.3% over the previous 10-year period.

Flatanger is also known for having some of the most difficult sport climbing routes in the world.

General
Flatanger was established as a municipality in the old Nord-Trøndelag county on 1 January 1871 when it was separated from the large municipality of Fosnes. Initially, Flatanger had 1,472 residents. It is one of the few municipalities in Norway whose boundaries have not changed since it was established. In 2018, it became part of the new Trøndelag county.

Name
The municipality is likely named after one of the local fjords (Flat(r)angr), but it is not known exactly which one. The first element is which means "flat" or "shallow". The last element is which means "fjord or inlet".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 12 October 1990. The official blazon is "Vert, three chevronels embowed argent" (I grønt tre innbøyde sølv sparrer). This means the arms have a green field (background) and the charge is three chevrons with a slight curve to them. The charge 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 green color was chosen to represent the agriculture industry in the municipality. The design was chosen to represent the bow of a boat, seen from the front, since boats have a great historical significance in this coastal fishing community. The arms were designed by Even Jarl Skoglund.

Churches
The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Flatanger. It is part of the Namdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

Geography
The municipality consists mostly of mainland, but also includes almost 1,400 islands of various sizes. Some of the major islands include Bjørøya, Lauvøya, Villa, Halmøya, and Kvernøya. Ellingråsa Lighthouse is located on the island of Bjørøya and Villa Lighthouse is on Villa. These islands all lie on the south side of the Folda firth. The Namsenfjorden forms part of the northern boundary of the municipality.

Government
Flatanger 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.

Politics
In the 2007 municipal elections, Flatanger had the highest vote for the Venstre party in all of Norway, at 42.9 per cent.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Flatanger is made up of 15 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 Flatanger:


 * 1871–1877: Olaus Vedege
 * 1878–1879: Andreas Saxegård
 * 1880–1883: Bernt H. Solem
 * 1884–1885: Peder Musum
 * 1886–1887: Ole Martin Løfsnes
 * 1888–1893: Albert Opland (V)
 * 1894–1898: Odin Aune (V)
 * 1899–1901: Albert Opland (V)
 * 1902–1916: Odin Aune (V)
 * 1917–1928: Carl Sitter (V)
 * 1929–1934: Anton Høstland (Bp)
 * 1935–1937: Sigurd Halmøy (KrF)
 * 1938–1940: Øistein Aarseth (V)
 * 1941–1945: Lauritz Sved
 * 1945–1947: Øistein Aarseth (V)
 * 1948–1951: Anton Høstland (Bp)
 * 1952–1953: Sverre Hustad (Ap)
 * 1954–1955: Ingolf Lindseth
 * 1956–1961: Carl Gulbrandsen (LL)
 * 1962–1967: Birger Skotnes (LL)
 * 1968–1969: Aage Aagård (Sp)
 * 1970–1973: Otmar Lauvsnes (Sp)
 * 1973–1979: Aage Aagård (Sp)
 * 1980–1987: Øyvind Mårvik (LL)
 * 1988–1995: Ronald Geving (Sp)
 * 1995–1999: Per Bårdsen (Ap)
 * 1999–2003: Trond Strøm (Sp)
 * 2003–2011: Reidar Lindseth (V)
 * 2011–present: Olav Jørgen Bjørkås (Sp)

Rock climbing
Flatanger is home to some of the world's hardest sport climbs that are located in the nearby Hanshelleren Cave. In 2012, Adam Ondra completed the redpoint of , which became the first-ever rock climbing route in history to be graded at. In 2017, Ondra completed the redpoint of Silence, which then became the first-ever to be graded at. The cave has attracted many of the world's strongest sport climbers.

Notable people

 * Ole Konrad Ribsskog (1865 in Flatanger – 1941), a Norwegian teacher and politician, Mayor of Trondhjem
 * Toralf Sandø (1899 in Flatanger – 1970), a Norwegian film director and actor
 * Julie Dahle Aagård (born 1978 in Flatanger), a Norwegian Jazz singer, sister of Tora Dahle Aagård
 * Tora Dahle Aagård (born 1994 in Flatanger), a Norwegian guitarist, singer and songwriter, sister of Julie Dahle Aagård
 * Brede Moe (born 1991 in Flatanger), a Norwegian footballer with 180 club caps