Fosnes is a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Namsos Municipality. It was part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Dun on the island of Jøa. Other villages include Salsnes and Nufsfjord. At the time of its dissolution in 2020, the 544 km2 municipality was the 199th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Fosnes was the 413th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 605. The municipality's population density was 1.1 PD/km2 and its population had decreased by 11% over the last decade.

General information

Fosnes was established as a municipality in the old Nord-Trøndelag county on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1871, the western district of Fosnes Municipality (population: 1,472) was separated to form the new Flatanger Municipality. This left Fosnes Municipality with 2,655 residents. On 1 January 1889, a small area of Fosnes Municipality (population: 61) was transferred to the neighboring Vikten Municipality. Then on 1 January 1913, the western part of Fosnes Municipality (population: 1,631) was separated to form the new Otterøy Municipality. This left the much smaller Fosnes Municipality with 1,107 residents. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the Finnanger area of Fosnes Municipality on the northern part of the island of Otterøya (population: 116) was transferred to Namsos Municipality. In 2018, it became part of the new Trøndelag county which replaced the old Nord-Trøndelag county. On 1 January 2020, Fosnes Municipality became a part of the neighboring Namsos Municipality. This happened because on 16 June 2016 Fosnes Municipality, Namsos Municipality, and Namdalseid Municipality voted to merge into a new, larger municipality as part of a large municipal reform across Norway.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Fosnes farm, since the first Fosnes Church was built there (Fosnes Chapel is now located on the site). The first element is fólgsn which means "hiding place", referring to an inlet behind the farm, where ships could not be seen from the main fjord. The last element is which means "headland". Historically, the name was spelled Fosnæs.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 13 November 1992 and it was in use until 1 January 2020 when the municipality was merged into Namsos. The official blazon is "Or, a rowlock sable". This means the arms have a field (background) that has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The charge is a oarlock from a rowing boat. The design was chosen to symbolize the importance of the sea for this coastal municipality where rowing boats were the main form of transportation in the former centuries. The arms were designed by Even Jarl Skoglund. The first proposal for a coat of arms for Fosnes date back to 1989 when the municipal council launched a contest to develop a coat of arms. Several proposals were received, but none of them were acceptable to the council nor were they acceptable to the Norwegian Heraldry Society which determined the proposals were not made according to heraldic rules. Finally the Society proposed the current coat of arms, which was acceptable to the municipal council.

Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within Fosnes Municipality. It was part of the Namdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

Geography

Fosnes was a coastal municipality located along the Foldafjord, north of the town of Namsos. The municipality included the island of Jøa, part of the island of Elvalandet, and part of the mainland. The second deepest lake in Europe, Salvatnet, and the lake Mjosundvatnet are both located in the eastern part of the municipality. The highest point in the municipality was the 765 m tall mountain Grønkleppen.

Government

While it existed, Fosnes Municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Namdal District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Fosnes was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayor of Fosnes was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who held this position: