Country Norway District Fosen Area rank 309 in Norway Population 4,314 (2010) Official language form Bokmål | County Sør-Trøndelag Administrative centre Sistranda Demonym(s) Frøyværing Local time Saturday 5:43 AM | |
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Weather 1°C, Wind N at 14 km/h, 88% Humidity Area 241.2 km² (229.8 km² Land / 11.43 km² Water) Points of interest Sula Lighthouse, Halten Lighthouse, HKB 22/975 Titran, Sletringen Lighthouse, Vingleia Lighthouse | ||
Frøya is the westernmost municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Fosen region and it consists of the island of Frøya which lies north of Hitra, as well several thousand other small islands surrounding the island of Frøya. The village of Sistranda is the administrative center of Frøya. Other villages include Hammarvika, Titran, Sula, and Mausund. The main island of Frøya is connected to neighboring Hitra (and ultimately the mainland of Norway) by the Frøya Tunnel which goes under the Frøyfjorden.
Contents
- Map of FrC3B8ya Norway
- General information
- Name
- Coat of arms
- Churches
- Geography
- Climate
- Notable residents
- References
Map of Fr%C3%B8ya, Norway
General information
The municipality of Frøya was established on 1 January 1877 when it was separated from Hitra to become a municipality of its own. Its initial population was 3,949. On 1 January 1906, it was split into two municipalities: Nord-Frøya and Sør-Frøya. That however, was short-lived. On 1 January 1964, Nord-Frøya and Sør-Frøya were merged back together again, forming a new municipality of Frøya.
Name
The name of the island and municipality come from Norse mythology. Although Frøya is a variant of the name of the Norse goddess Freyja, the Old Norse form of the name of the island was Frøy or Frey (the ending -a in the modern form is actually the definite article - so the meaning of Frøya is 'the Frøy'). Therefore, the name of the island probably has the same root as the name of the Norse god Freyr, brother to Freyja. The names originally were titles: "lord" or "lady". The oldest meaning of the common word was "(the one) in front; the foremost, the leading" and here in the sense "the island in front of Hitra". Until 1906 the island and municipality name was spelled Frøien (-en is the definite article in Danish-Norwegian).
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 13 March 1987. The arms show three silver fish hooks made of bone from the Stone Age on a blue background. The hooks symbolize the importance of fishing and trapping to the people of Frøya.
See also: The coats-of-arms of Båtsfjord, Øksnes, and TrænaChurches
The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) made up of 2 churches and 4 chapels within the municipality of Frøya. It is part of the Deanery (prosti) of Orkdal and the Diocese of Nidaros.
Geography
The municipality of Frøya has many small fishing communities on small islands in the ocean such as Mausundvær, Bogøyvær, and Sula, with Mausund being the largest of these with a population of approximately 270. Other small islands such as Froan and Halten, Sør-Trøndelag lay to the northeast of the island of Frøya. Many of these islands are home to lighthouses such as Halten lighthouse, Finnvær lighthouse, Vingleia lighthouse, Sula lighthouse, and Sletringen lighthouse.
The main island of Frøya is fairly open and has no natural forests–mostly covered with marshes and heather. The largest villages on the island are Sistranda in the east and Titran in the west. Frøya is a member of the International Island Games Association. The highest point above sea level is Bremnestua, at 74 metres (243 ft), located in the northwestern part of the island.
Climate
Frøya has a distinct temperate oceanic climate (Cfb), with a year amplitude of only 11 °C (20 °F) from the coldest to the warmest month, and a small diurnal temperature variation. Mean annual precipitation is 1,200 millimetres (47 in). The wettest season is September - January, while May - June is the driest with approximately 60 millimetres (2.4 in) precipitation each month.