Rauma, Norway


Rauma is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Romsdal. The administrative centre is the town of Åndalsnes. Other settlements in Rauma include the villages of Vågstranda, Måndalen, Innfjorden, Veblungsnes, Verma, Isfjorden, Eidsbygda, Rødven, Åfarnes, and Mittet. Most settlement in the municipality is located along the fjords and in the Romsdalen valley.
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.
The municipality is the 57th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Rauma is the 136th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 7,468. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 0.7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Rauma was established on 1 January 1964 when the old municipalities of Eid, Grytten, Hen, Voll, and the southern part of Veøy were all merged to form one large municipality. The municipal borders have not changed since that time.

Name

The municipality is named after the Rauma River, which flows through the Romsdalen valley.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 4 November 1983. The arms are blue and silver/gray representing the sky and mountains. The three mountains on the arms represent the three mountains of Vengetindane, Trolltindane and Romsdalshornet, all located in the municipality.

Churches

The Church of Norway has seven parishes within the municipality of Rauma. It is part of the Indre Romsdal prosti in the Diocese of Møre.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
Eid og HolmEid ChurchEidsbygda1796
Eid og HolmHolm ChurchHolm1907
Eid og HolmRødven ChurchRødven1907
Eid og HolmRødven Stave ChurchRødvenc. 1200
GryttenGrytten ChurchVeblungsnes1829
HenHen ChurchIsfjorden1831
KorsKors ChurchMarstein in Romsdalen1797
VollVoll ChurchMåndalen1896
VollInnfjorden ChapelInnfjorden1976
VågstrandaVågstranda ChurchVågstranda1870
ØverdalenØverdalen ChurchVerma1902

Geography

The municipality surrounds the eastern part of Romsdal Fjord, Isfjorden, and Rødvenfjorden, and it is south of the Langfjorden. It also surrounds the Romsdalen valley and the Rauma River from the mouth to the Oppland county border.
The Kyrkjetaket and Gjuratinden mountains lie in the northeastern part of the municipality. The mountains Romsdalshornet, Store Trolltind, Trollryggen, Store Venjetinden, and the Troll Wall are all in the central part of the municipality in the Romsdalsalpene mountain range. The mountains Karitinden and Puttegga are located in the southwestern part of the municipality. Part of Reinheimen National Park lies within the municipality.

Transportation

, Norwegian County Road 63, and Norwegian County Road 64 all pass through the municipality. The Trollstigen road is part of County Road 63 in Rauma, and it is a famous tourist attraction due to the many hairpin turns on the steep road.
The Rauma railway line also runs through the municipality, over the Kylling Bridge, and terminates at Åndalsnes Station. The nearest airports are Ålesund Airport which is by road from Åndalsnes and Molde Airport which is by road plus a road ferry.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Rauma, 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 Romsdal District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Rauma is made up of 27 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown of the council is as follows:

Mayor

The mayors of Rauma :
Rauma is frequently visited by tourists, especially due to the major sights: