At the time of its dissolution in 2020, the 384-square-kilometre (148 sq mi) municipality was the 245th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Bjugn was the 207th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 4,864. The municipality's population density was 13.7 inhabitants per square kilometre (35/sq mi) and its population had increased by 5.6% over the last decade.[6][7]
General information
The municipality of Bjugn was established in 1853 when it was separated from the large municipality of Ørland. Initially, Bjugn had 2,903 residents. On 26 March 1870, a royal resolution moved an unpopulated part of Aafjord to Bjugn. On 1 January 1899, the municipality of Bjugn was divided into three municipalities. The western district (population: 1,285) became the municipality of Nes. The southern district (population: 2,166) became the municipality of Skjørn. The rest of the municipality (population: 1,256) remained the (much smaller) municipality of Bjugn.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the neighboring municipalities of Nes (population: 1,107), Jøssund (population: 1,917), Bjugn (population: 1,240), and the northern part of the municipality of Stjørna (population: 676) were all merged to create a new, larger municipality called Bjugn. The population of Bjugn then increased from 1,240 to 4,940.[8]
On 1 January 2018, the municipality switched from the old Sør-Trøndelag county to the new Trøndelag county.
On 1 January 2020, the neighboring municipalities of Bjugn and Ørland merged to become a single municipality called Ørland with its administrative centre at Botngård.[9]
Name
The municipality is named after the old Bjugn farm (Old Norse: Bjugn) since the first Bjugn Church was built there. The name is derived from the Old Norse word bjúgr which means "bent" or "crooked", probably referring to the bent/crooked path of the local fjord, the Bjugnfjorden.[10]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 17 February 1989 and it was in use until the municipality was dissolved on 1 January 2020. The official blazon is "Azure, a rudder Or" (Norwegian: I blått et gull ror). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a rudder. The rudder has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The blue color in the field and the rudder design symbolizes the historical importance of fishing in the municipality. The arms were designed by Einar H. Skjervold.[11][12][13]
The municipality of Bjugn is located on the Fosen peninsula on the mainland, plus many islands, including the Tarva islands. The Asenvågøy Lighthouse is located in the far north of the municipality. The Bjugnfjorden and Stjørnfjorden both are located partially in Bjugn.
Neighboring Bjugn were the municipalities of Ørland to the southwest, Rissa to the south and southeast, and Åfjord to the northeast.
There are five nature reserves in Bjugn. Hildremsvatnet Nature Reserve is the largest at 23,441 decares (23.441 km2; 9.051 sq mi) and includes several nature types, among these are 9 localities identified as boreal rainforest (see Scandinavian coastal conifer forests).[14]
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Bjugn was made up of 21 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the final municipal council was as follows:
+5.6%
