Hitra is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality covers the island of Hitra and hundreds of smaller islands, islets, and skerries. It is part of the Fosen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Fillan. Other villages include Andersskogan, Ansnes, Forsnes, Hestvika, Knarrlagsund, Kvenvær, Melandsjøen, Nordbotn, Sandstad, and Ulvan. The 756 km2 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 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 14.8% over the previous 10-year period. 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

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. 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.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the island of Hitra. The name is probably derived from a word meaning "split" or "cleft" (referring to the many inlets of the island). 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.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 7 August 1987. The official blazon is "Azure, a stag's head couped argent". 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.

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Hitra. It is part of the Orkdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

Government

Hitra Municipality is 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 is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

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 of Hitra (incomplete list):

Geography

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 m tall Mørkdalstuva is the highest point on the island. Other than the large island of Hitra, there are many other islands in the municipality, notably Fjellværsøya, Ulvøya, Dolmøya, Helgbustadøya, and Bispøyan. The Børøyholmen Lighthouse and Terningen Lighthouse are located in the Trondheimsleia in the southeast part of Hitra municipality.

Transportation

The company Kystekspressen runs westamaran services from Trondheim and Kristiansund. The 5610 m long undersea tunnel called the Hitratunnelen connects the island of Hitra to the mainland to the south and the 5305 m long Frøya Tunnel connects Hitra to the neighboring island of Frøya to the north.

Energy

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 MW.

Notable people