The municipality surrounds part of the southern end of Romsdalsfjorden and the Isfjorden and it also includes the Romsdalen valley and Romsdalsalpene mountains. In the lower part of the valleys and around Romsdal Fjord and Rødvenfjorden are driven agriculture with emphasis on livestock. The clothing industry has traditionally been a dominant industry in the municipality, especially in Isfjorden. In the summer, Rauma has a fairly large amount of tourist traffic. The top tourist attractions include mountain climbing/hiking, salmon fishing, Trollstigen, and the historic Rødven Stave Church.[4]
The 1,449-square-kilometre (559 sq mi) municipality is the 61st largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Rauma is the 143rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 7,046. The municipality's population density is 5.1 inhabitants per square kilometre (13/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 5.1% over the previous 10-year period.[5][6]
General information
The municipality of Rauma was established on 1 January 1964 when the old municipalities of Eid (population: 381), Grytten (population: 3,683), Hen (population: 1,663), Voll (population: 1,163), and the southern part of Veøy (population: 1,400) were all merged to form one larger municipality.[7] On 1 January 2021, the 53-square-kilometre (20 sq mi) Vågstranda area in the northwestern part of Rauma was transferred to the neighboring Vestnes Municipality.[8]
Name
The municipality is named after the Rauma River (Old Norse: Raumr), which flows through the Romsdalen valley into the Romsdal Fjord. It is uncertain if the fjord is named after the river or the river is named after the fjord. The name Rauma likely comes from the word raum which has an unknown meaning, or it could come from the word raumr which means "roaring waterfall".[4][9]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 4 November 1983. The official blazon is "Azure, three piles issuant from base argent" (Norwegian: I blått tre opprette sølv spisser). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is three piles pointing upwards from the base of the shield. The charge 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 was chosen to represent the sky and three local mountains (Vengetindane, Trolltindane and Romsdalshornet). The arms were designed by Jarle Skuseth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[10][11][12]
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Rauma is made up of 27 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.