Frøya, Sør-Trøndelag

Infobox_Kommune
name=Frøya
idnumber=1620
county=Sør-Trøndelag
landscape=
capital=Sistranda
governor=Hans Stølan (AP)
governor_as_of=2007
arearank=309
area=241
arealand=230
areapercent=0.07
population_as_of=2004
populationrank=225
population=4,107
populationpercent=0.09
populationdensity=18
populationincrease=0.5
demonym=Frøyværing
language=Bokmål
lat_deg=63| lat_min=43| lat_sec=32| lon_deg=8| lon_min=44| lon_sec=39
utm_zone=32V| utm_northing=7066477 |utm_easting=0487371| geo_cat=adm2nd




munwebpage=www.froya.kommune.no

Frøya is the westernmost municipality in the county of Sør-Trøndelag, Norway. It consists of the island Frøya which lies north of Hitra, as well as a number of other small islands.

Frøya was separated from Hitra as a municipality of its own January 1, 1877. It was split in two municipalities (Nord-Frøya and Sør-Frøya) January 1, 1906 - but these were merged again January 1, 1964.

Facing the ocean are the fishing communities of Mausundvær, Bogøyvær and Sula, Mausund being the largest with a population of approximately 270. The main island of Frøya is fairly open and has no natural forests.

The largest villages on the island are Sistranda in the east and Titran in the west.

Frøya is a member of the International Island Games Association.

The name

Although "Frøya" is the name of the Norse goddess "Frøya"/"Freya" (Freyja), the Norse form of the name was "Frøy"/"Frey". Therefore the name of the island has probably the same root as the name of the Norse god Freyr, brother of Freyja. The names originally were titles: 'lord, master', 'lady, mistress'. The oldest meaning of the common word was '(the one) in front; the foremost, the leading' - and here in the sense 'the island in front of Hitra'.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1987). It shows three fish hooks made of bone from the Stone Age.

(See also the coat-of-arms of Båtsfjord, Øksnes and Træna.)

People from Frøya

*Norwegian-American John A. Widtsoe (1872-1952) was born and lived here for the first twelve years of his life.