Fræna

Fræna is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It was part of the region of Romsdal. The municipality was located on the Romsdal peninsula surrounding the Frænfjorden, the eastern shore of the Julsundet strait, and includes most of the Hustadvika area. It also included the now-abandoned Bjørnsund islands.

The main village and administrative centre in Fræna was Elnesvågen with over 2,300 inhabitants. Moxy Engineering, Hustad Marmor, and Tine Meierier are all factories located in Elnesvågen. Other villages in Fræna included Hustad, Bud, Tornes, Sylte, Malme, and Aureosen. The area is nice for hiking, including the mountains are Heiane/Lågheiane and Jendemsfjellet.

At the time if its dissolution in 2020, the 370 km2 municipality is the 250th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Fræna is the 115th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 9,775. The municipality's population density is 27 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 6.4% over the last decade.

General information
The municipality of Fræna was established in 1840 when it was separated from the municipality of Akerø. The original municipality was named Vaagø and it surrounded the Frænfjorden. Later the name was changed to Fræna.

During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, Bud Municipality (population: 1,610), Hustad Municipality (population: 2,196), and Fræna Municipality (population: 3,430) were merged to form a new, larger municipality of Fræna.

On 1 January 2020, the neighboring municipalities of Eide and Fræna merged into the new Hustadvika Municipality.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) was first named Vaagø, after the old Vaagøen farm (Vágøy) since the first Vågøy Church was built there. The first element is which means "bay" or "sea". The last element is which means "island". The municipality had this name from 1838 until 1865. In 1865, the municipal name was changed to Frænen, after the Frænfjorden (Fræni). The meaning of the fjord name is unknown, but it may have been derived from the word frænn which means "bright" or "shiny". Another option was that it comes from the word frenje which means "foam" or "howl", referring to the local fjord in high winds. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality from Frænen to Fræna.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 15 May 1995 and it was in use until 2020 when the municipality ceased to exist. The official blazon is "Or, three bars wavy azure crested to the dexter on the upper edge" (På gull botn tre blå bjelkar der overkantane er teikna med kvervelsnitt). This means the arms have a field (background) has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The charge is three horizontal bars designed too look like ocean surface waves. The arms were chosen to symbolize the municipality's connection to the sea. There are three bars to represent the three former municipalities which made up Fræna: Fræna, Bud, and Hustad. The arms were designed by Jarle Skuseth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway had four parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Fræna. It is part of the Molde domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

Geography
The municipality of Fræna was located on the northwestern end of the Romsdal Peninsula. The Norwegian Sea was to the north; the Harøyfjorden, Julsundet strait, and Aukra Municipality were to the west; Molde Municipality was to the south; and Gjemnes Municipality and Eide Municipality were to the east.

The Frænfjorden cut into the middle of the municipality. The coastal areas were low and marshy while the interior of the municipality was mountainous. Two of the more notable mountains in Fræna were Jendemsfjellet and Heiane. The Bjørnsund islands were located off the northwestern coast of Fræna. They are now uninhabited, but the Bjørnsund Lighthouse is still in operation.

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 (Kommunestyre) of Fræna was made up of 31 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The party breakdown for the final municipal council was as follows:

Mayors
The mayors of Fræna (incomplete list):
 * 1999-2003: Ragnar Valle (Sp)
 * 2003-2007: Arve Hans Otterlei (FrP)
 * 2007-2011: Kjell Lode (KrF)
 * 2011-2015: Nils Johan Gjendem (FrP)
 * 2015-2019: Tove Henøen (Sp)