Rana, 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 Båsmoen, Dunderland, Eiteråga, Flostrand, Hauknes, Mæla, Myklebustad, Nevernes, Røssvoll, Selfors, Skonseng, Storforshei, Utskarpen, and Ytteren.
The municipality is the 4th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Rana is the 44th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 26,184. This makes it the second largest municipality in Nordland county—and the third largest in North Norway. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 3.6% over the previous 10-year period. Rana was a part of the Terra Securities scandal in 2007 relating to some investments that were made by the municipality.

General information

Municipal history

The municipality of Rana was originally established on 1 January 1838. 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. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the town of Mo, the municipality of Nord-Rana, the northern part of the municipality of Sør-Rana, and the Sjona area of the municipality of Nesna were all merged. The united municipality was named simply Rana.

Name

The municipality is named after the river Ranelva. 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.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 5 March 1965. The arms symbolize the forests and the minerals, 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.

Churches

The Church of Norway has six parishes within the municipality of Rana. It is part of the Indre Helgeland prosti in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Parish Church NameLocation of the ChurchYear Built
GrubenGruben ChurchMo i Rana1965
MoMo ChurchMo i Rana1724
NevernesNevernes ChurchNevernes1893
Nord-RanaSelfors ChurchSelfors1973
Nord-RanaYtteren ChurchYtteren1977
RøssvollRøssvoll ChurchRøssvoll1953
SjonaSjona ChurchMyklebustad1916

Geography

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 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. 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 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. Engasjyen, the estuary of the Rana river, has a rich bird life in the spring. Blakkådalen has old growth spruce forests. Fisktjørna, has a largely undisturbed mixed old growth forest with unusually rich plant life due to the extremely lime-rich soil.

Climate

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

  • Andfiskvatnet
  • Bjørnefossvatnet
  • Blerekvatnet
  • Bogvatnet
  • Helgåvatnet
  • Kallvatnet
  • Langvatnet
  • Litlumvatnet
  • Nedre Fagervollvatnet
  • Överuman
  • Raudvatnet
  • Reingardslivatnet
  • Storakersvatnet
  • Tverrvatnet
  • Virvatnet
  • Grønfjellåga
  • Langvassåga
  • Messingåga
  • Plura
  • Ranelva
  • Revelelva
  • Tverråga
  • Virvasselva

    • Government

    All municipalities in Norway, including Rana, are responsible for primary education, 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. The municipality falls under the Rana District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

    Municipal council

    The municipal council of Rana is made up of 37 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

    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 E6, 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.

    Media gallery

    Culture

    Twin towns—Sister cities

    The sister cities of Rana are: