The 756-square-kilometre (292 sq mi) municipality is the 149th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Hitra is the 178th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 5,281. The municipality's population density is 7.4 inhabitants per square kilometre (19/sq mi) and its population has increased by 14.8% over the previous 10-year period.[4][5]
Hitra is famous in Norway for its large and dense population of red deer (as symbolised in its coat of arms — see image right). Hitra is a member of the International Island Games Association.
General information
Map of the old municipal borders on the island of HitraHopsjøbrygga, Hitra
The prestegjeld of Hitra was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1877, the northern island district of Frøya (population: 3,949) was separated from Hitra to form a municipality of its own. On 1 January 1886, the southern and eastern parts of Hitra were separated into a new municipality of Fillan. This left Hitra with 2,241 residents. Then on 1 January 1913, the western part of Hitra was separated to form the new municipality of Kvenvær. This left Hitra with 1,439 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the municipalities of Hitra, Kvenvær, Fillan, and Sandstad were merged to form a new, larger Hitra municipality. Prior to the merger, Hitra had 1,344 residents.[6]
On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Sør-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.
On 1 January 2020, the island of Hemnskjela and the northwestern corner of the mainland municipality of Snillfjord was merged into Hitra.[7][8]
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the island of Hitra (Old Norse: Hitr). The name is probably derived from a word meaning "split" or "cleft" (referring to the many inlets of the island).[9] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Hitteren. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Hitra.[10]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 7 August 1987. The official blazon is "Azure, a stag's head coupedargent" (Norwegian: I blått et sølv hjortehode). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is the head of a stag. The stag's head 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 blue color in the field symbolizes the importance of the sea for the island municipality. The design of the stag's head symbolizes that Hitra is home to one of Northern Europe's largest populations of red deer. The arms were based on an idea by Ketil Gylland from Fillan and drawn by the designer Einar Skjervold from Trondheim.[11][12][13]
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Hitra is made up of 25 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
Mayors
The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Hitra (incomplete list):[34]
Hitra is the seventh largest island of mainland Norway. It is bordered by the municipality of Frøya to the north and the mainland municipalities of Hemne and Snillfjord to the south. It lies between the Trondheimsleia strait and the Frøyfjorden. The 345-metre (1,132 ft) tall Mørkdalstuva is the highest point on the island.
There is a wind farm in the central part of the island, Hitra Wind Farm, founded in 2004, which has 24 wind turbines which produce a total of 55 megawatts (74,000 hp).
Notable people
Margaret Berger, 2013
Simon Michelet (1863–1942), a Norwegian theologian, teacher, and academic who was brought up in Hitra
John Aalmo (1902–1981), a Norwegian politician and Mayor of Sandstad from 1934 to 1957 (except 1946–1947)
Martin Skaaren (1905 in Hitra – 1999), a Norwegian politician and Mayor of Kvenvær municipality from 1945 to 1961
Kjerstin Øvrelid (1929 in Hitra – 1989), a Norwegian painter of flowers and the sea and skerries
Knut Børø (born 1948 in Hitra), a retired 5,000- and 10,000-metre runner who competed in the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics
Rita Ottervik (born 1966 in Hitra), a Norwegian politician and Mayor of Trondheim from 2003-2023
Anders Jektvik (born 1982 in Hitra), a Norwegian musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
Margaret Berger (born 1985), a Norwegian singer, songwriter, music director, and DJ who was brought up in Hitra
^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.
^"Velkommen Snillfjordinger" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
^"Veien videre- Hitra, Snillfjord" (in Norwegian). Snillfjord kommune. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
^Rygh, Oluf (1901). Norske gaardnavne: Søndre Trondhjems amt (in Norwegian) (14 ed.). Kristiania, Norge: W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri. p. 63.
^"Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. 1917. Samling af Love, Resolutioner m.m". Norsk Lovtidend (in Norwegian). Kristiania, Norge: Grøndahl og Søns Boktrykkeri: 1057–1065. 1917.
^"Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
^"Hitra, South Trøndelag (Norway)". Flags of the World. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
^"Godkjenning av våpen og flagg". Lovdata.no (in Norwegian). Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet. 7 August 1987. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
^Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (20 September 2022). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
^"Kommunestyrevalg 2023 - Trøndelag Trööndelage". Valgdirektoratet. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
^"Tall for Norge: Kommunestyrevalg 2019 - Trøndelag". Valg Direktoratet. 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.
^"Tall for Norge: Kommunestyrevalg 2011 - Sør-Trøndelag". Valg Direktoratet. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
^"Kommunestyrevalget 1995" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1996. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
^"Kommunestyrevalget 1991" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1993. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
^"Kommunestyrevalget 1987" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1988. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
^"Kommunestyrevalget 1983" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo-Kongsvinger: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1984. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
^"Kommunestyrevalget 1979" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1979. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
^"Kommunevalgene 1975" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1977. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
^"Kommunevalgene 1972" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1973. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
^"Kommunevalgene 1967" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1967. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
^"Kommunevalgene 1963" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1964. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
^"Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1959" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1960. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
^"Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1955" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1957. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
^"Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1951" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1952. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
^"Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1947" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1948. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
^"Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1945" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1947. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
^"Kommunevalgene og Ordførervalgene 1937" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Oslo: Statistisk sentralbyrå. 1938. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
^"Ordførere i Hitra fra 1964". Hitterslekt.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 12 February 2023.
^"Hitra: Lernes blir ordfører". NRK (in Norwegian). 13 September 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2024.