Hitra is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality covers the island of Hitra and hundreds of smaller islands, islets, and skerries as well as an area on the mainland of Norway. 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, Knarrlaget, Kvenvær, Melandsjøen, Nordbotn, Sandstad, and Ulvan.

The municipality is the 149th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Hitra Municipality is the 178th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 5,323. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 17.7% over the previous 10-year period.

Hitra Municipality is famous in Norway for its large and dense population of red deer (as symbolised in its coat of arms — see image right). Hitra Municipality is a member of the International Island Games Association.

General information

thumb|left|Map of the old municipal borders on the island of Hitra

thumb|left|Hopsjøbrygga, Hitra

The prestegjeld of Hitra was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). On 1 January 1877, the northern island of Frøya and its smaller surrounding islets (population: 3,949) was separated from Hitra to form the new Frøya Municipality. On 1 January 1886, the southern and eastern parts of Hitra Municipality were separated into a new Fillan Municipality. This left Hitra Municipality with 2,241 residents. Then on 1 January 1913, the western part of Hitra Municipality was separated to form the new Kvenvær Municipality. This left Hitra Municipality 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, Hitra Municipality (population: 1,344), Kvenvær Municipality (population: 840), Fillan Municipality (population: 1,759), and Sandstad Municipality (population: 1,028) were merged to form a new, larger Hitra Municipality.

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 () within Hitra Municipality. It is part of the Orkdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+ style="font-size:medium"|Churches in Hitra Municipality

!Parish ()!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built

|-

|rowspan="4"|Hitra og Fillan||Hitra Church||Melandsjøen||1927

|-

|Dolm Church||Dolmøya||1188

|-

|Fillan Church||Fillan||1789

|-

|Nordbotn Church||Nordbotn||1900

|-

|rowspan="3"|Kvenvær og Sandstad||Kvenvær Church||Kvenvær||1909

|-

|Forsnes Chapel||Forsnes||1935

|-

|Sandstad Church||Sandstad||1888

|}

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 () of Hitra Municipality 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 mayor () of Hitra Municipality 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 (incomplete list):

  • 1838–1840: Johan Jørgen Borten
  • 1840–1843: Rev. Christian Johannes Brodtkorb
  • 1844–1845: Mr. Morch
  • 1846–1847: Rev. Christian Meyer
  • 1848–1853: Unknown
  • 1854–1856: Rev. Mathias Heltberg
  • 1857–1857: Erik Sveberg
  • 1858–1859: Ellef Aret
  • 1860–1861: Mr. Akset
  • 1862–1869: Martin Nicolai Brodtkorb
  • 1870–1871: Unknown
  • 1871–1872: N. Schei
  • 1873–1875: Unknown
  • 1876–1885: Christoffer Lossius Strøm
  • 1885–1887: John Holm
  • 1888–1891: Nils Kristian Jørstad
  • 1892–1901: Hans Fredrik Strøm
  • 1901–1903: Knud Sverkli
  • 1903–1913: Hans Olsen Melandsø (V)
  • 1914–1916: Jonas Strøm
  • 1917–1919: Hans Olsen Melandsø (V)
  • 1920–1922: Fredrik H. Strøm (Bp)
  • 1922–1925: Morten Lossius (V)
  • 1926–1931: Fredrik H. Strøm (Bp)
  • 1931–1934: Johan Olaus Asmundvaag (H)
  • 1935–1940: Ludvig Smaage (V)
  • 1941–1942: Morten Lossius (V)
  • 1942–1945: Sigbjørn Årnes (NS)
  • 1945–1945: Ludvig Smaage (V)
  • 1946–1947: Sten Hamnes (Ap)
  • 1948–1955: Ludvig Smaage (V)
  • 1956–1959: Peder Roksvåg (Ap)
  • 1960–1963: Jakob Storvik (LL)
  • 1964–1967: Arne Schanche Nilsen (Sp)
  • 1968–1971: Isak Hegerberg (H)
  • 1972–1975: Arne Schanche Nilsen (Sp)
  • 1976–1981: Isak Hegerberg (H)
  • 1982–1983: Bergljot Stokkan (Sp)
  • 1984–1987: Helge Jektvik (Ap)
  • 1988–1999: Egil Hestnes (H)
  • 1999–2003: Sigmund Jessen (Ap)
  • 2003–2007: Egil Hestnes (H)
  • 2007–2023: Ole Haugen (Ap)
  • 2023–present: John Lernes (Ap)

Geography

thumb|left|View of Hitra

thumb|left|Entrance to the [[Hitra Tunnel]]

Hitra is the seventh largest island of mainland Norway. It is bordered by Frøya Municipality to the north and to the south (on the mainland) are Heim Municipality and Orkland Municipality. It lies between the Trondheimsleia strait and the Frøyfjorden. The tall Mørkdalstuva is the highest point on the island of Hitra. The highest point in the whole municipality is the tall mountain Vingfjellet on the mainland, on the border with Orkland Municipality.