Hen Municipality


Hen is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1902 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Rauma Municipality in the traditional district of Romsdal. The administrative centre was the village of Isfjorden. The area of Hen Municipality is still a parish within the municipality of Rauma. The parish has one church, Hen Church, located in Isfjorden.
Prior to its dissolution in 1964, the municipality was the 332nd largest by area out of the 689 municipalities in Norway. Hen Municipality was the 504th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,661. The municipality's population density was and its population had decreased by 0.7% over the previous 10-year period.

General information

The municipality of Hen was established on 1 January 1902 when the large Grytten Municipality was divided into two parts: Hen Municipality in the east and Grytten Municipality in the west.
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, a large municipal merger took place. The following places were merged to form the new Rauma Municipality on that date:
The municipality is named after the old Hen farm since the first Hen Church was built there. The meaning of the first element is uncertain. It could be which means "high" or alternatively which means "the grass that grows after the first crop has been mown". The last element is which means "meadow" or "pasture".

Churches

The Church of Norway had one parish within Hen Municipality. At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Grytten prestegjeld and the Indre Romsdal prosti in the Diocese of Nidaros.
Parish Church nameLocation of the churchYear built
HenHen ChurchIsfjorden1831

Geography

Hen encompassed the valleys extending to the south and east of the Isfjorden in the northeastern part of the present-day Rauma Municipality. The mountains Kyrkjetaket and Gjuratinden are both located in Hen. Veøy Municipality was to the north, Eresfjord og Vistdal Municipality was to the east, and Grytten Municipality was to the south and west. The highest point in the municipality was the tall mountain Store Venjetinden, located on the border with Grytten Municipality.

Government

While it existed, Hen Municipality was responsible for primary education, outpatient health services, senior citizen services, welfare and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Hen Municipality was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayor of Hen Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:
  • 1902–1904: Erik Olsen Tokle
  • 1905–1908: Erik L. Kavli
  • 1908–1910: Elling Thokle
  • 1911–1913: Erik L. Kavli
  • 1913–1922: K.K. Brevik
  • 1922–1926: P.E. Brevik
  • 1926–1928: Søren O. Dahle
  • 1928–1931: O.O. Tokle
  • 1931–1941: Søren O. Dahle
  • 1941–1944: Jacob Grøvdal
  • 1945–1945: Gregorius Aasen
  • 1945–1951: Søren O. Dahle
  • 1951–1957: Lars E. Kavli
  • 1957–1963: Søren O. Dahle