Prior to its dissolution in 2006, the 141-square-kilometre (54sqmi) municipality was the 363rd largest by area out of the 433 municipalities in Norway. Tustna Municipality was the 411th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of about 1,006. The municipality's population density was 7.1 inhabitants per square kilometre (18/sqmi) and its population had decreased by 11.1% over the previous 10-year period.[6][7]
General information
The area of Tustna Municipality was originally a part of the large Edøy Municipality (see formannskapsdistrikt law). A meeting held on 17 March 1863 decided to build a church on the island of Tustern (which was the name of the island at that time) and thereby gain status as a separate parish within the large municipality. Gullstein Church was built in the village of Gullstein on the eastern side of the island in 1864. A royal resolution of 3 May 1873 directed that the parish of Tustern be separated from Edøy Municipality to create the new Tustern Municipality effective on 1 January 1874. The new municipality had an initial population of 1,179.[8]
During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the part of Tustna Municipality on the island of Ertvågsøya (population: 85) was transferred to neighboring Aure Municipality to the east.[8]
On 1 January 2006, Tustna Municipality (population: 1,006) was merged into Aure Municipality.[8][9][10]
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the island of Tustna (the Old Norse form of the name may have been Old Norse: Þust), since it is the main island in the municipality. The name of the island was mentioned in historical records, as Toester, on a Dutch map from 1623. The name may be derived from the word ðústr which means "staff" or "walking stick". They could be referring to the form of one of the mountains on the island.[11][5] Historically, the name of the municipality was spelled Tusteren. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Tustna.[12]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 7 October 1988. The official blazon is "Azure, a klippfiskOr" (Norwegian: I blått en gul klippfisk). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a klippfisk (a split and salted dried fish, usually cod). The charge 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 design was chosen to symbolize the importance of the klippfisk industry which was pioneered in the Tustna area starting back in the 1690s. Traditionally the fish was spread out on rock to sun dry which gives the klippfisk its symmetrical shape (as opposed to the stockfish). The arms were designed by Jarle Skuseth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.[13][14][15]
The municipal council(Kommunestyre) of Tustna Municipality was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political party.
The mayor (Norwegian: ordfører) of Tustna Municipality was the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. The following people have held this position:[33][34]
↑"Godkjenning av våpen og flagg". Lovdata.no (in Norwegian). Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet. 2 December 1988. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
↑Hansen, Tore; Vabo, Signy Irene, eds. (25 November 2024). "kommunestyre". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
