Rana Municipality


or 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, Myklebustad, Nevernes, Røssvoll, Selfors, Sjonbotn, Skonseng, Storforsheia, Utskarpen, and Ytteren.
The municipality is the 4th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Rana Municipality is the 47th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 25,994. 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 0.2% 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. In 1839, it was divided into Nord-Ranen Municipality and Sør-Ranen Municipality. In 1844, Nord-Ranen Municipality was renamed Mo Municipality and Sør-Ranen Municipality was renamed Hemnes Municipality. On 1 January 1923, the village of Mo was separated from Mo Municipality and became a town-municipality of its own. At that time Mo Municipality changed its name to Nord-Rana Municipality and the new town was known as Mo i 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, Nord-Rana Municipality, the northern part of Sør-Rana Municipality, and the Sjona area of Nesna Municipality were all merged to form Rana Municipality.

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.
On 16 February 2024, the national government approved a resolution to add a co-equal, official Sami language name for the municipality: Raane. The spelling of the Sami language name changes depending on how it is used. It is called Raane when it is spelled alone, but it is Raanen tjïelte when using the Sami language equivalent to "Rana Municipality".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 5 March 1965. The official blazon is "Per bend sinister vert and Or". This means the arms have a field that is divided by a diagonal line from the lower left to the upper right. The field that is below the line 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 field that is above the line has a tincture of green. 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 until that municipality was dissolved on 1 January 1964 when it became part of the new municipality of Rana. The arms were designed by Gunnar Alm.

Churches

The Church of Norway has six parishes within Rana Municipality. It is part of the Indre Helgeland prosti in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.
Parish ChurchLocationYear 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. The highest point in the municipality is the tall mountain Snøtinden. Some of the other 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. Some of the caves include Grønnligrotta, Setergrotta, and Pluragrotta. 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
  • Blerekvatnet
  • Bogvatnet
  • Flatisvatnet
  • Helgåvatnet
  • Holmvatnet
  • Kallvatnet
  • Langvatnet
  • Litlumvatnet
  • Nedre Fagervollvatnet
  • Överuman
  • Raudvatnet
  • Reingardslivatnet
  • Storakersvatnet
  • Tverrvatnet
  • Virvatnet
  • Bjøllåga
  • Grønfjellåga
  • Gubbeltåga
  • Langvassåga
  • Messingåga
  • Plura
  • Ranelva
  • Revelelva
  • Tverråga
  • Virvasselva

    • Government

    Rana Municipality is 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 is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Helgeland District Court and the Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

    Municipal council

    The municipal council of Rana Municipality is made up of 37 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

    Mayors

    The mayor of Rana Municipality is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:
    As of 2023, FREYR has a so-called test factory for battery technology in Rana. The size of the factory is. It had 70 employees before 10 were laid off in late November 2023. As of Q4 2023, the first production line had been delayed. The company said that it would halve its cash expenses for 2024.

    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