Roan is a former municipality in Trøndelagcounty, Norway. The municipality existed from 1892 until its dissolution in 2020 when it joined Åfjord Municipality. It was part of the Fosenregion along the coast. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Roan. Other villages included Bessaker, Brandsfjord, and Hofstad. A large wind park is located on the mountain plateau just southeast of Bessaker. At the time of its dissolution in 2020, the municipality was the 248th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Roan was the 399th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 953. The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 5.4% over the last decade.
General information
The municipality of Roan was established on 1 June 1892 when the old municipality of Bjørnør was divided into three separate municipalities: Roan, Osen, and Stoksund. On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Sør-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county. On 1 January 2020, the neighboring municipalities of Roan and Åfjord merged into one large municipality called Åfjord.
Name
The municipality is named after the old Roan farm where the first Roan Church was built. The name is probably derived from the Old Norse word róða which means "pole" a reference to a mountain peak behind the farm.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 22 May 1987. The arms show three silver terns on a blue background. Terns, a very watchful and energetic bird, are intended to symbolize the local inhabitants and the coast with the vast bird life in the area.
Roan was located on the Fosen peninsula between the municipalities of Åfjord and Osen, with Namdalseid to the east. Roan also included a number of islands in the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Three major fjords cut into the landscape: the Brandsfjorden in the north, Bersfjorden in the central part, and the Skjørafjorden in the south. The Kaura lighthouse was located on a small island in the mouth of the Brandsfjorden. The Hellfjorden is a small fjord arm that branches off the main Brandsfjorden. The landscape was very hilly, with bare mountaintops reaching above sea level. The highest mountain is the tall Dåapmaon the border with Namdalseid.
The municipal council of Roan is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:
Population
Almost all the inhabitants lived along the coast or in the Hofstaddalen valley. The islands were all generally uninhabited with few exceptions. The island of Brandsøya, which has a bridge connecting it to the mainland, has some inhabitants. There are only two roads leaving the municipality: one going south to Å in Åfjord and one to Osen.
