Rana, Norway

Rana kommune
Municipality
View of Mo i Rana in late July 2003

Coat of arms
Nordland within
Norway

Rana within Nordland
Coordinates: 66°22′19″N 14°20′34″E / 66.37194°N 14.34278°E / 66.37194; 14.34278Coordinates: 66°22′19″N 14°20′34″E / 66.37194°N 14.34278°E / 66.37194; 14.34278
Country Norway
County Nordland
District Helgeland
Established 1838
Administrative centre Mo i Rana
Government
 • Mayor (2015) Geir Waage (Ap)
Area
 • Total 4,459.98 km2 (1,722.01 sq mi)
 • Land 4,203.83 km2 (1,623.11 sq mi)
 • Water 256.15 km2 (98.90 sq mi)
Area rank #4 in Norway
Population (2017)
 • Total 26,101
 • Rank #40 in Norway
 • Density 6.2/km2 (16/sq mi)
 • Change (10 years) 3.6%
Demonym(s) Ranværing[1]
Time zone UTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code NO-1833
Official language form Neutral
Website rana.kommune.no
Data from Statistics Norway

Rana is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Mo i Rana, which houses the National Library of Norway. Other population centers in Rana include Alterneset, Båsmoen, Dunderland, Eiteråga, Flostrand, Hauknes, Mæla, Myklebustad, Nevernes, Røssvoll, Selfors, Skonseng, Storforshei, Utskarpen, and Ytteren.

The 4,460-square-kilometre (1,720 sq mi) municipality is the 4th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway (the largest municipality outside Finnmark county). Rana is the 40th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 26,101. This also makes it the second largest municipality in Nordland county—and the third largest in North Norway. The municipality's population density is 6.2 inhabitants per square kilometre (16/sq mi) and its population has increased by 3.6% over the last decade.[2]

Rana was a part of the Terra Securities scandal in 2007 relating to some investments that were made by the municipality.

General information

Mo, Nord-Rana, and parts of Nesna and Sør-Rana merged in 1964 to form Rana

Municipal history

The municipality of Rana was originally established in 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). However, it was divided into Nord-Rana and Sør-Rana in 1839. In 1844, Nord-Rana was renamed Mo and Sør-Rana was renamed Hemnes. The village of Mo was separated from the rural district of Mo and became a town and municipality of its own on 1 January 1923. At that time, the rural district changed its name back to Nord-Rana. On 1 January 1964, the town of Mo (population: 9,616), the municipality of Nord-Rana (population: 11,636), the northern part of Sør-Rana (population: 697), and the Sjona area of Nesna (population: 543) were all merged. The united municipality was named simply Rana.[3]

Name

The municipality is named after the river Ranelva (Old Norse: Raðund). The name of the river is probably derived from the word raðr which means "quick", "fast", or "rapid". Another possibility is that the name comes from the old Sami god Rana Niejta.[4]

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times; they were granted on 5 March 1965. The arms symbolize the forests (upper part/green) and the minerals (lower part/gold), as there many minerals can be found in the area, especially iron ore. The arms were originally granted to the municipality of Mo on 29 April 1960.[5]

Churches

The Church of Norway has six parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Rana. It is part of the Indre Helgeland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

Churches in Rana
Parish
(Sokn)		Church NameLocation
of the Church		Year Built
GrubenGruben ChurchMo i Rana1965
MoMo ChurchMo i Rana1724
NevernesNevernes ChurchNevernes1893
Nord-RanaSelfors ChurchSelfors1973
Ytteren ChurchYtteren1977
RøssvollRøssvoll ChurchRøssvoll1953
SjonaSjona ChurchMyklebustad1916

Geography

Municipality of Rana
The Sjona fjord, western part of Rana municipality.

The municipality is located just south of the Arctic circle, on the southern side of the Saltfjellet mountains with the Svartisen glacier, Norway's second largest glacier. Some of the large mountains in Rana include Bolna and Nasa. Mo is so close to the Arctic Circle that parts of the sun is continuously over the horizon (Midnight sun) from early June to early July, and there is no darkness from mid-May to the beginning of August. But there is no true polar night in December.[6] The Saltfjellet–Svartisen National Park is partly located in Rana. There are many valleys such as the Dunderland Valley and Grønnfjelldal.

The majority of the population in the municipality lives in Mo i Rana, where the Ranelva (river) meets the Ranfjorden. North of Mo i Rana, the European route E6 highway passes through the suburb of Selfors. In western Rana, the population centers around the Sjona fjord.

Rana and Saltfjellet are famous for their numerous caves due to the limestone rock. There are several nature reserves in the municipality, such as Alterhaug with several warmer-climate plants grow including the elm.[7] Engasjyen, the estuary of the Rana river, has a rich bird life in the spring.[8] Blakkådalen has old growth spruce forests.[9] Fisktjørna, has a largely undisturbed mixed old growth forest with unusually rich plant life due to the extremely lime-rich soil.[10]

Climate

Nerdal/Rana (1961-90)
Climate chart (explanation)
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
146
 
 
−3
−8
 
 
117
 
 
−2
−7
 
 
112
 
 
2
−4
 
 
74
 
 
5
−1
 
 
64
 
 
12
4
 
 
70
 
 
16
8
 
 
97
 
 
18
10
 
 
110
 
 
16
9
 
 
155
 
 
11
6
 
 
186
 
 
6
2
 
 
136
 
 
1
−4
 
 
163
 
 
−1
−6
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: met.no/klimastatistikk/eklima

Rana is situated near the innermost part of the long Ranafjord, and the winters can be cold, especially away from the fjord. There is often a lot of snow in winter. Summer days in Rana are among the warmest in North Norway.

Lakes and rivers

There are many lakes and rivers in the municipality, both in the lowlands and in the mountains.

LakesRivers

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Rana, are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. The municipality is governed by a municipal council of elected representatives, which in turn elect a mayor.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Rana is made up of 37 representatives that are elected to four year terms. Currently, the party breakdown is as follows:[11]

Rana Kommunestyre 2015–2019
Party NameName in NorwegianNumber of
representatives
 Labour PartyArbeiderpartiet17
 Progress PartyFremskrittspartiet3
 Conservative PartyHøyre7
 Christian Democratic PartyKristelig Folkeparti1
 Red PartyRødt1
 Centre PartySenterpartiet4
 Socialist Left PartySosialistisk Venstreparti3
 Liberal PartyVenstre1
Total number of members:37

Transportation

Rana has an airport, Mo i Rana Airport, Røssvoll in the village of Røssvoll, not far from the town of Mo i Rana. There are several large highways in Rana: European route E06, Norwegian County Road 17, and Norwegian County Road 12. The Illhollia Tunnel is part of the E6 highway. The Nordland Line passes through Rana, with several stations including Mo i Rana Station, Dunderland Station, and Bolna Station.

Culture

International relations

Twin towns—Sister cities

The sister cities of Rana are:[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Navn på steder og personer: Innbyggjarnamn" (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  2. ↑ Statistisk sentralbyrå (2017). "Table: 06913: Population 1 January and population changes during the calendar year (M)" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2017-09-19.
  3. ↑ Jukvam, Dag (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistisk sentralbyrå.
  4. ↑ Store norske leksikon. "Rana – kommune" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2011-12-28.
  5. ↑ Norske Kommunevåpen (1990). "Nye kommunevåbener i Norden". Retrieved 2008-11-25.
  6. ↑ "Mo i Rana". Retrieved 2008-11-25.
  7. ↑ "Alterhaug naturreservat" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
  8. ↑ "Engasjyen naturreservat" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
  9. ↑ "Blakkådalen naturreservat" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
  10. ↑ "Fisktjørna naturreservat" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
  11. ↑ "Table: 04813: Members of the local councils, by party/electoral list at the Municipal Council election (M)" (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway. 2015.
  12. ↑ "Vennskapsbyer" (in Norwegian). Rana Kommune. Archived from the original on 2012-04-20. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
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