Træna is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the island/village of Husøya. Other population centres include Selvær and Sanna. Fishing is the economic mainstay of the island municipality of Træna. Connections to mainland Norway are by means of boat and ferry. Routes are provided to Sandnessjøen, Nesna, and Stokkvågen. Each year Træna plays hosts a music festival called Traena Music Festival. The islands of Træna have been the site of a number of archeological discoveries, indicating that the island has been populated since the Stone Age. The 16.5 km2 municipality is the 353rd largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Træna is the 353rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of only 442. The municipality's population density is 26.7 PD/km2 and its population has decreased by 9.6% over the previous 10-year period. As of October 2020, there are two regular boat departures per day; authorities have suggested having only one regular departure per day.

General information

The municipality of Træna was established on 1 January 1872 when it was separated from Lurøy Municipality. Initially, Træna had 289 residents. The municipal borders have not changed since that time.

Name

The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Træna island group. The meaning of the name is uncertain, but it may be derived from the word which means "three", probably referring to the three peaks on the island. Historically, the name of the municiaplity was spelled Trænen. On 6 January 1908, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Træna.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 24 July 1987. The official blazon is "Gules, three fish-hooks Or two over one". This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is three fishhooks made of bone from the Stone Age. The fishhooks have a tincture of argent which means they are commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. These hooks symbolize the importance of fishing in the municipality. They are based on the historic bone hooks found in the local cave Kirkhelleren on the island of Sanna. They are canting arms because there are three hooks and the name Træna originates from a word meaning number "three". The arms were designed by Jarle E. Henriksen.

Churches

The Church of Norway has one parish (sokn) within Træna Municipality. It is part of the Nord-Helgeland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

Government

Træna 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 Helgeland District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Mayors

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

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Træna is made up of 11 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Geography

The municipality consists of 477 islands and skerries off the coast of mainland Norway. Four of the islands are populated: Husøya, Selvær, Sanna, and Sandøy. The islands lie along the Trænfjorden to the southeast and the Norwegian Sea to the west. Træna Lighthouse is located in the southern part of the municipality. The highest point in the municipality is the 336.74 m tall mountain Trænstaven.

Farms of Træna

Historically, the land of Træna was divided up into named farms. These farms were used in census and tax records and are useful for genealogical research.

Farm names and numbers

The farms in Træna Municipality are listed in O. Rygh's series Norske Gaardnavne ("Norwegian farm names"), the Nordland volume of which was published in 1905. The farm numbers are used in some census records, and numbers that are near each other indicate that those farms are geographically proximate. Handwritten Norwegian sources, particularly those prior to 1800, may use variants on these names. For recorded variants before 1723, see the digital version of O. Rygh. Farm names were often used as part of Norwegian names, in addition to the person's given name and patronymic or inherited surname. Some families retained the farm name, or toponymic, as a surname when they emigrated, so in those cases tracing a surname may tell you specifically where in Norway the family was from. This tradition began to change in the mid to late 19th century, and inherited surnames were codified into law in 1923. If you can't find an entry when you are searching for a word that starts with AE, Ae, O, A or Aa, it may have been transcribed from one of the letters not used in English. Try looking for it under the Norwegian letter; Æ, Ø, and Å appear at the end of the Norwegian alphabet