The 387-square-kilometre (149 sq mi) municipality is the 239th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Osen is the 340th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 898. The municipality's population density is 2.3 inhabitants per square kilometre (6.0/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 9.9% over the previous 10-year period.[5][6]
General information
View of Strand
The municipality of Osen was established on 1 June 1892 when the old Bjørnør Municipality was divided into three: Osen Municipality (population: 1,575), Roan Municipality (population: 2,069), and Stoksund Municipality (population: 1,122). The municipal boundaries of Osen have not changed since.[7]
On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Sør-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old Osen farm (Old Norse: Óss) since the first Osen Church was built there. The name, óss, means "mouth of a river" (referring to the mouth of the Steinselva river). The suffix -en was added later to give the finite form of óss, giving the meaning of Osen as "the Os" or "the mouth of the river".[8]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 27 March 1987. The official blazon is "Azure, a net argent" (Norwegian: Blått dekket med sølv fiskegarn). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is part of a fishing net. The fishing net 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 design is based on an old petroglyph and it was chosen to symbolize the importance of fishing for the community. Several different arms were designed, all with fisheries as the main theme, but the council finally chose this one, which is unique among Norwegian civic heraldry. The arms were designed by Einar H. Skjervold. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[9][10][11]
Osen was used as a satellite prison camp during the World War Two, mainly for Yugoslavian population.
Geography
Normeland waterfall
Osen Municipality is located on the Fosen peninsula. The ocean lies to the west, Flatanger Municipality lies to the north, Namsos Municipality lies to the east, and Åfjord Municipality lies to the south. The highest point in the municipality is the 599.72-metre (1,967.6 ft) tall mountain Storheia, located on the border with Namsos Municipality.[1]
Most of the residents live in the Steinsdalen valley or along the coast. The northern part of the municipality has no direct road connection to the rest of the municipality, but is connected Flatanger Municipality to the north.
The Norwegian Meteorological Institute has a weather station located near the Buholmråsa lighthouse, with recording since 1965, showing a marine west coast climate/oceanic climate (Cfb). The all-time high temperature is 30.3 °C (86.5 °F) recorded July 2014; the all-time low is −20.7 °C (−5.3 °F) recorded in February 1966. The four months June - September have never recorded overnight freezes. The average date for the first overnight freeze (below 0 °C (32 °F)) in autumn is November 7 (1981-2020 average).[12] The driest month on record is January 1972 with 5.4 mm precipitation, and the wettest is September 1975 with 232.6 mm.
Climate data for Buholmråsa 1991-2020 (precipitation 1961-90, extremes 1965-2024)
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Osen is made up of 15 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
The mayor (Norwegian: ordfører) of Osen 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:[35][36]
