Aukra


Aukra is municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the region of Romsdalen. The administrative centre is the village of Falkhytta, which is part of the Aukrasanden urban area.
The municipality is made up of the island of Gossa as well as many small surrounding islands, plus a small area around the village of Hollingen across the Julsundet strait on the mainland Romsdal peninsula. Some of the main population centers include the villages of Hollingen, Aukrasanden, Varhaugvika, and Røssøyvågen. Nyhamna is a major industrial area in Aukra.
The municipality is the 345th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Aukra is the 215th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 3,508. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 9.8% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Akerø was established on 1 January 1838. In 1840, most of Akerø on the Romsdal peninsula was separated to form the municipality of Frænen. On 1 January 1867, the islands that are located to the west of Gossa were separated to become the new Sandøy Municipality. On 1 January 1924, the southern part of the municipality were separated to form the new municipality of Sør-Aukra, and the remainder of the municipality was renamed Nord-Aukra.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the Mordal area of Nord-Aukra was transferred to Molde Municipality. On 1 January 1965, Nord- was dropped from the name of the municipality, so it was then just called Aukra.
On 1 January 2020, the uninhabited islands of Lyngværet and the island of Orta were transferred from Sandøy Municipality to Aukra.

Name

The municipality is named after the old Aukra farm, since the first Aukra Church was built there. The first element is akr which means "field" or "acre" and the last element is vin which means "meadow" or "pasture". Before 1918, the name was written Akerø or Agerø.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 22 May 1987. The arms show two Bronze Age bracelets on a blue background. The bracelets are based on an archaeological finding in the area. The rings thus symbolize the long tradition of habitation in the area.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish within the municipality of Aukra. It is part of the Molde domprosti in the Diocese of Møre.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
AukraAukra ChurchAukrasanden1835

History

Aukra is the site of a shipwreck and rescue operation, when the cargo ship on 4 April 1938. The monument of Rokta is situated on Rindarøy island with a view of Galleskjæra where the Rokta sank.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Aukra, are responsible for primary education, outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor. The municipality falls under the Romsdal District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Aukra is made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Aukra :
The Nyhamna industrial area on the northeastern part of the island of Gossa in Aukra is the location from where the Langeled pipeline, transporting natural gas from the enormous Ormen Lange gas field to the United Kingdom, came onstream in 2007. Local politicians expect a lot from the land-based production facility. Especially the taxes, which in their opinion, far exceeds the externalities put on the inhabitants of Gossa.
Aukra Auto runs the bus service on the island of Gossa.