The municipality surrounds part of the southern end of Romsdalsfjorden and the Isfjorden and it also includes the Romsdalen valley and Romsdalsalpene mountains. In the lower part of the valleys and around Romsdal Fjord and Rødvenfjorden are driven agriculture with emphasis on livestock. The clothing industry has traditionally been a dominant industry in the municipality, especially in Isfjorden. In the summer, Rauma has a fairly large amount of tourist traffic. The top tourist attractions include mountain climbing/hiking, salmon fishing, Trollstigen, and the historic Rødven Stave Church.[4]
The 1,449-square-kilometre (559 sq mi) municipality is the 61st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Rauma is the 143rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 7,046. The municipality's population density is 5.1 inhabitants per square kilometre (13/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 5.1% over the previous 10-year period.[5][6]
General information
View of Marstein in the Romsdalen valleyView of the two churches in Rødven
The municipality of Rauma was established on 1 January 1964 when the old municipalities of Eid (population: 381), Grytten (population: 3,683), Hen (population: 1,663), Voll (population: 1,163), and the southern part of Veøy (population: 1,400) were all merged to form one larger municipality.[7] On 1 January 2021, the 53-square-kilometre (20 sq mi) Vågstranda area in the northwestern part of Rauma was transferred to the neighboring Vestnes Municipality.[8]
Name
The municipality is named after the Rauma River (Old Norse: Raumr), which flows through the Romsdalen valley into the Romsdal Fjord. It is uncertain if the fjord is named after the river or the river is named after the fjord. The name Rauma likely comes from the word raum which has an unknown meaning, or it could come from the word raumr which means "roaring waterfall".[4][9]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 4 November 1983. The official blazon is "Azure, three piles issuant from base argent" (Norwegian: I blått tre opprette sølv spisser). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is three piles pointing upwards from the base of the shield. 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 design was chosen to represent the sky and three local mountains (Vengetindane, Trolltindane and Romsdalshornet). The arms were designed by Jarle Skuseth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[10][11][12]
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Rauma is made up of 27 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
^Statistisk sentralbyrå. "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian).
^Statistisk sentralbyrå. "09280: Area of land and fresh water (km²) (M)" (in Norwegian).
^Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå. ISBN 9788253746845.
^"Vedtak om grensejustering mellom kommunane Rauma og Vestnes, Møre og Romsdal". Lovdata.no (in Norwegian). 21 June 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
^Rygh, Oluf (1908). Norske gaardnavne: Romsdals amt (in Norwegian) (13 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 239.
^"Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
^"Rauma, Møre og Romsdal (Norway)". Flags of the World. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
^"Godkjenning av våpen og flagg". Lovdata.no (in Norwegian). Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet. 7 January 1984. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
^Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
^"Kommunestyrevalg 2023 - Møre og Romsdal". Valgdirektoratet. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
^"Kommunestyrevalg 2019 – Møre og Romsdal". Valgdirektoratet. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
^ a b c d"Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway.
^"Kommunestyrevalg 2011 – Møre og Romsdal". Valgdirektoratet. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
^"Kommunestyrevalget 1995" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1996. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
^"Kommunestyrevalget 1991" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1993. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
^"Kommunestyrevalget 1987" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1988. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
^"Kommunestyrevalget 1983" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1984. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
^"Kommunestyrevalget 1979" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1979. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
^"Kommunevalgene 1975" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1977. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
^"Kommunevalgene 1972" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1973. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
^"Kommunevalgene 1967" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1967. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
^"Kommunevalgene 1963" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1964. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
^"Peder Mork gjenvalgt til ordfører i Rauma". Tidens Krav (in Norwegian). 31 December 1965. p. 1.
^"Peder Mork gjenvalgt til ordfører". Tidens Krav (in Norwegian). 16 November 1967. p. 1.
^"Ordfører". Romsdal Folkeblad (in Norwegian). 25 November 1985. p. 4.
^"Valde er valgt til ordfører i Rauma". Romsdals Budstikke (in Norwegian). 30 December 1987. p. 6.
^"Ny ordfører i Rauma". Romsdals Budstikke (in Norwegian). 3 January 1990. p. 26.
^"Ordfører i Rauma". Sunnmørsposten (in Norwegian). 7 November 1991. p. 15.
^"Raumas ordfører". Åndalsnes Avis (in Norwegian). 11 November 1993. p. 2.
External links
Media related to Rauma, Norway at Wikimedia Commons